The Indiana state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would require schools to teach cursive writing.

The bipartisan legislation, known as House Bill 1640, passed overwhelmingly in a 31-18 vote and now heads to the state House for consideration, The Associated Press reports.

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The bill states that it would require “each school corporation, charter school, and accredited nonpublic elementary school to include cursive writing in its curriculum.”

The legislation was first read in January and was introduced by state Sens. Lonnie Randolph (D), John Crane (R), Dennis Kruse (R) and Jeff Raatz (R).

State Sen. Jean Leising (R), one of the bill’s backers, told the AP that “cursive writing was not made a Common Core standard in the past, so numerous schools stopped teaching this valuable skill.”

“As a result, many of today’s teenagers do not have a signature to validate their driver’s license or sign agreements,” she said. “People in our community have stressed to me the importance of this skill for years, and I have worked to make it an educational requirement for eight consecutive legislative sessions.”

“If signed by the governor, I believe this bill would greatly benefit our students by strengthening their educational foundations and preparing them for tasks required outside of school,” she added.

Leasing has reportedly been pushing for the bill for about eight years, ever since the state’s Department of Education dropped the writing requirement in 2011. According to the AP, the move by the department came amid a push to have students become more computer-savvy.

The bill, which would take effect in July, has reportedly failed to pass in the state House for multiple years.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed legislation into law that made similar requirements in December.