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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2978
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE TERR Y .
6630H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 160, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the use of
technology in elementary schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 160, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 160.068, to read as follows:
160.068. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Digital instruction", lessons, assignments, testing, or activities deliver ed
3 thr ough instructional technology;
4 (2) "Instructional technology", a laptop, tablet, computer , Chr omebook, smart
5 device, software platform, or other similar device or platform used for student learning;
6 (3) "Manipulatives", hands-on physical learning items including, but not limited
7 to, blocks, counters, cubes, rulers, cards, science materials, and similar educational
8 tools;
9 (4) "T raditional materials", printed books, paper -based workbooks, notebooks,
10 handwriting materials, and physical educational res our ces.
11 2. (1) Digital instruction for elementary school students in kindergarten thr ough
12 grade five shall not exceed forty-five minutes per student per instructional day , inclusive
13 of all subjects.
14 (2) Instructional technology shall not repl ace primary instruction in:
15 (a) Reading and literacy;
16 (b) Foundational mathematics;
17 (c) Handwriting or cursive writing;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 (d) Science lessons re quiring physical demonstration or manipulatives; and
19 (e) Social studies content knowledge.
20 (3) At least seventy percen t of student assignments for elementary school
21 students in kindergarten thr ough grade five shall be completed using pen or pencil and
22 paper including, but not limited to, dedicated handwriting practice and cursive writing
23 tasks for students in grade two thr ough grade five.
24 (4) Each elementary school student in kindergarten thr ough grade five shall
25 have daily access to printed books and printed read ing materials. No elementary school
26 shall rel y exclusively on digital textbooks or digital read ing platforms for elementary
27 literacy instruction.
28 (5) Elementary school classr ooms shall incorporate physical manipulatives in
29 cor e mathematics and science instruction for all elementary school students in
30 kindergarten thr ough grade five.
31 3. (1) Beginning in grade two, all elementary schools shall pro vide explicit,
32 systematic instruction in cursive handwriting including, but not limited to, letter
33 formation, connecting str okes, and fluency .
34 (2) Instruction shall be aligned with curren t res earch showing that:
35 (a) Cursive activates neural cir cuits used for letter r ecognition, decoding, and
36 orthographic mapping, all of which str engthens readi ng ability;
37 (b) Students reta in and comprehen d mor e when writing by hand due to
38 activation of visual-motor memory centers;
39 (c) The continuous strokes of cursive writing improve read ing fluency , spelling
40 accuracy , and long-term r etention;
41 (d) Cursive instruction improves phonological awar eness and reinfor ces letter
42 sequencing; and
43 (e) Students with dyslexia benefit fro m cursive thr ough r educed letter reversals ,
44 impr oved letter -shape stability , and enhanced decoding pathways.
45 (3) Elementary school students shall be able to re ad and write legible cursive by
46 the end of grade five.
47 (4) Cursive instruction shall not be r eplaced with stylus-based digital
4 8 handwriting, typing prog rams, or tablet simulations.
49 4. For elementary school students in kindergarten thr ough grade five,
50 technology may be used for the following purposes, which shall not count toward the
51 daily cap under subsection 2 of this section:
52 (1) Special-education needs documented in an individualized education
5 3 pr ogram, or IEP , as such term is defined in 20 U.S.C. Section 1401, as amended, or a
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54 504 plan creat ed under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.
55 Section 794, as amended;
56 (2) Assistive or adaptive technology requ ired for student access; and
57 (3) T eacher -dir ected demonstrations on a pro jector or smartboard, pr ovided
58 students ar e not individually using devices.
59 5. For elementary school students in kindergarten thr ough grade five,
60 elementary schools shall not:
61 (1) Assign req uired homework that r equir es the use of instructional technology;
62 (2) Requir e elementary school students in kindergarten thr ough grade five to
63 carry devices to and fro m school daily;
64 (3) Use technology for classr oom management, behavioral tracking, or
65 entertainment;
66 (4) Replace library time with digital re ading labs; or
67 (5) Substitute cursive handwriting instruction with digital handwriting or typing
68 pr ograms.
69 6. (1) For elementary school students in kindergarten thr ough grade five, each
70 school district shall adopt a written technology-use policy consistent with this section
71 and that establishes requ irem ents for the following:
72 (a) The school's daily scr een-time limits;
73 (b) A list of digital platforms used;
74 (c) Notice of a par ent's or guardian's right to requ est additional scr een-time
75 r eductions for their child; and
76 (d) A description of the school's handwriting and cursive instruction plan.
77 (2) Each elementary school shall notify paren ts and guardians annually of the
78 items listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
79 7. For elementary school students in kindergarten thr ough grade five, each
80 school district shall annually r eport:
81 (1) A verage daily student device-use minutes by grade;
82 (2) A list of software and digital platforms used by elementary school students in
83 kindergarten thr ough grade five;
84 (3) V erification that printed textbooks and physical manipulatives are prov ided;
85 and
86 (4) V erification of compliance with cursive instruction req uirements including,
87 but not limited to, minutes of instruction and pr oficiency benchmarks.
88 8. (1) Each elementary school shall adopt a written policy governing the
89 r equir ements of this section.
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90 (2) Such elementary school shall develop and design such policy to promot e the
91 educational interes ts of students and to ensure that technology supports, rather than
92 supplants, foundational learning and to r estore evidence-based practices of handwriting
93 and cursive writing that impr ove literacy .
94 (3) Each elementary school shall publish such policy on such school's website.
95 9. This section shall apply for the 2027-28 school year and all subsequent school
96 years.
✔
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