Conflating cursive with phonics is disingenuous, at best.
There is no need to read cursive, so why must everyone learn to write it?
I know I often cannot read it, and certainly can no longer write it. This old man is to shaky to make it legible...even to myself.
And everyone learns to read via phonics, whether it’s taught in school or not. It’s universal. And the only real pathway to reading.
I haven’t used cursive writing for anything but signing my name in over 45 years. Getting a bit hard to sign my name, too! There are educational standards that have slipped, but I’m not convinced cursive is a useful skill. If it is, why have I been able to go most of my life without it?
Phonics? Math skills? Grammar? Those are very different!