Cursive is making a comeback in New York Schools, and kids are actually learning to sign their names again.

If you grew up writing pages of cursive in elementary school, you may have assumed that particular rite of passage had gone the way of overhead projectors and passing notes in class.

But cursive isn't quite dead.

In fact, cursive is making something of a comeback in schools across the country, and some New York students are getting reacquainted with the loops, swirls and questionable capital letters many of us learned decades ago.

So, when did schools stop teaching cursive?

There wasn't one specific day when schools across America collectively put their cursive worksheets in the recycling bin.

The decline happened gradually, but the Common Core era around 2010 to 2013 was a major turning point.

The original Common Core English Language Arts standards did not include a requirement for students to learn cursive handwriting. Instead, the standards placed more emphasis on keyboarding skills and being able to produce written work digitally.

New York adopted the Common Core standards in 2011, with implementation beginning during the 2012-13 school year.

That meant cursive was no longer a statewide requirement in New York classrooms.

Importantly, though, that didn't mean New York schools were prohibited from teaching it. Individual districts and teachers could still decide to include cursive in their curriculum.

And that's exactly why you can have one New York elementary school teaching cursive while another isn't.

New York actually tried to bring it back

The cursive conversation didn't end with Common Core.

In 2017, a bill was introduced in the New York State Legislature that would have required public schools to teach cursive handwriting and have students demonstrate proficiency by the end of fifth grade.

The bill didn't become law.

New York City also began encouraging schools to bring cursive back around the same time, providing schools with resources for teaching it.

So while New York never reinstated a statewide cursive mandate, the handwriting style that seemed destined for the history books started creeping back into classrooms.

And now the cursive comeback is nationwide

The trend isn't limited to New York.

According to the National Education Association, 27 states now have laws either requiring or encouraging cursive instruction, up from roughly half that number about a decade ago.

The reasons vary. Some educators argue that learning cursive helps students develop handwriting skills and fine motor coordination. Others point to the practical reality that students still encounter cursive in historical documents, handwritten notes and everyday life.

And, of course, there's the ultimate practical application:

Being able to sign your name.

Despite the fact that New York doesn't require cursive statewide, plenty of local teachers continue to teach it.

In fact, some parents may be surprised to discover that their kids are learning the very same loops and letter connections they remember from elementary school.

That's certainly the case in my family.

I still use cursive myself, and my son's past two teachers have both taught their students cursive!

So while it may have disappeared from many classrooms during the Common Core transition, it certainly hasn't disappeared altogether.

And perhaps that's the bigger story.

Cursive didn't exactly die. It just took a little detour through the digital age.

Now it's showing signs of coming back.