RALEIGH - House members unanimously passed a bill Thursday requiring public schools to teach cursive writing and multiplication tables in elementary schools.

Some school districts recently opted to omit the handwriting course from their curriculums ... State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson says the notion was not necessarily to depart from teaching cursive:

"It was just one of the standards that was not explicitly included. And the bill that is before the General Assembly now explicitly indicatesthat all students should learn cursive writing."

The bill now goes to the Senate.