The use of pencils, pens, paper workbooks and textbooks — along with the teaching of cursive handwriting and a stipulation that only 45 minutes of screen time per day be allowed for students to use electronic devices — would be required if the Republican-led bill, House Bill 2230, passes and is signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe .
Rep. Tricia Byrnes , a Republican who represents Wentzville in western St. Charles County , submitted the bill last month. Wednesday marks the first day of the reconvening of the state Legislature's regular session and the bill is currently not scheduled for hearings, according to the Missouri House of Representatives' website.
Also referred to as the Hands-On Learning Restoration Act, the bill's provisions would take effect at the start of the 2027-2028 school year and would apply to all subjects for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
"A child's brain is wired by their hands, not a stylus," Byrnes said in a statement issued in a press release. "If we care about literacy, we have to care about handwriting ... When we turn elementary school into a software platform, we are literally reshaping how the brain learns, and it is showing up in our reading scores.
"We replaced crayons with Chromebooks before we had evidence it worked. Missouri is now leading the nation in correcting course. Phones and tablets are tools, but they are not teachers — especially for a six-year-old learning to read."
If the bill becomes law, it would require that "70% of student work be done on paper," direct elementary schools to maintain printed textbooks, and restore the use of physical manipulatives in math and science. In regard to handwriting, the bill would mandate "explicit, research-based instruction in cursive writing," grounding the policy in "established neuroscience that connects handwriting to reading fluency, spelling accuracy, and long-term comprehension."
A few research notes mentioned in the language of the bill include:
— Cursive activates neural pathways critical to letter recognition and decoding.
— Children retain and comprehend more when writing by hand instead of typing.
— Continuous cursive strokes improve reading fluency and spelling accuracy.
— Students with dyslexia benefit through reduced letter reversals.
— Early handwriting improves orthographic mapping, a core component of reading.
Byrnes said she hopes to receive bipartisan support for the bill, though the only other lawmaker publicly backing it so far is fellow Republican Rep. Jeff Coleman of the Kansas City area.
The Hands-On Learning Restoration Act would not affect special education services or the use of electronic devices for students with special needs. "HB 2230 would not seek to limit technology used for special-education services documented in a student's IEP or 504 plan, ensuring that assistive technology remains fully available," the press release states.
Additionally, the Act would also prohibit school districts from:
— assigning required homework that requires technology
— substituting cursive with typing or stylus apps
— using tablets for classroom management or entertainment
— relying exclusively on digital textbooks
— replacing library time with "digital reading labs
© 2026 Edwardsville Intelligencer (Edwardsville, Ill.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
