Leising Files Two Bills Ahead of 2026 Legislative Session

Both bills are similar to bills she has authored in the past.

INDIANAPOLIS - State Senator Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) has filed two bills for the 2026 legislative session. 

Leising has once again filed a bill that would require the teaching of cursive writing while also mandating the teaching of printing and spelling Indiana schools. 

Leising authored a bill that went into law in 2023 that required each public elementary school and state accredited nonpublic elementary school to provide to the department of education information regarding whether the school provides instruction on cursive writing to students. The statewide survey found that 91 percent of private schools taught cursive writing, while only 52 percent of public schools taught cursive. 

Another study, conducted in 2024, suggests writing letters by hand at a young age helps students read better as they learn. 

“Many constituents have told me that not only are their children not being taught to use paper and pencil to write in cursive or print, they have also told me many schools no longer teach spelling,” Leising said. “It is important that our students learn these vital skills. Writing allows students to understand how letters work together to form words and is the key foundation for learning to read.”

Leising also filed a bill that would transfer the management of historic sites from the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The bill would create a division of historic sites as part of the DNR, which would be tasked with managing the sites.

Leising filed a similar bill during the last legislative session. 

“We have 11 historic sites in our state, and they have not been maintained as they should,” Leising said. “The Department of Natural Resources previously managed these sites until 2011. I believe the DNR has the resources available to take good care of our historic sites and maintain them properly for the future of Indiana.”