Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|
Feb. 28, 2019 | AR | HB 1419 | Requires Public Schools To Allow Enrollment In Individual Classes For Homeschooled Students | Bill Passed - House (55 - 27) |
May 25, 2019 | AZ | HB 2749 | Appropriates Funds for K-12 Education for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 | Bill Passed - House (31 - 28) |
Sept. 14, 2019 | CA | SB 328 | Requires Later Start Times for Middle and High Schools | Bill Passed - House (44 - 20) |
Aug. 26, 2019 | CA | SB 223 | Authorizes Medical Cannabis on K-12 Campuses | Bill Passed - House (43 - 22) |
May 28, 2019 | CA | AB 493 | Specifies Biennial LGBTQ Teacher Training be Encouraged | Bill Passed - House (61 - 0) |
April 27, 2019 | CO | HB 19-1312 | Requires Waivers from Parents Wanting to Exempt their Children from Vaccinations | Bill Passed - House (39 - 20) |
Feb. 19, 2019 | CO | HB 19-1032 | Amends Sex Education Standards | Bill Passed - House (39 - 23) |
May 1, 2019 | FL | SB 7030 | Authorizes Firearms on School Campuses | Bill Passed - House (65 - 47) |
April 2, 2019 | GA | SB 15 | Requires Schools to Perform Certain Threat Assessments | Bill Passed - House (110 - 56) |
March 26, 2019 | GA | SB 83 | Authorizes Biblical Classes be Taught in High Schools | Bill Passed - House (122 - 44) |
March 7, 2019 | GA | HB 444 | Limits State Funding for Dual Enrollment | Bill Passed - House (99 - 72) |
Feb. 11, 2019 | IA | HF 306 | Increases School Funding by 2 Percent | Bill Passed - House (53 - 47) |
March 6, 2019 | ID | H 209 | Authorizes Warrant-less Arrests for Individuals Responsible for School Threats | Bill Passed - House (47 - 22) |
May 29, 2019 | IL | HB 254 | Reduces Class Sizes | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (86 - 32) |
May 30, 2019 | IL | HB 3606 | Authorizes Parental Privacy Rights for Student Data Collection | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (93 - 22) |
Oct. 29, 2019 | IL | SB 1970 | Authorizes Student Absences for Voting | Bill Passed - House (74 - 40) |
March 28, 2019 | IL | HB 2265 | Requires Civics Education | Bill Passed - House (73 - 31) |
April 9, 2019 | IL | HB 2078 | Increases Teacher Salary to $40,000 | Bill Passed - House (79 - 31) |
April 11, 2019 | IL | HB 1873 | Increases Fines for Drivers Who Pass School Buses | Bill Passed - House (74 - 16) |
April 12, 2019 | IL | HB 2263 | Requires "Work Ethic" Curriculum | Bill Passed - House (69 - 39) |
Feb. 18, 2019 | IN | HB 1253 | Authorizes Firearm Training for Teachers and School Staff | Bill Passed - House (72 - 25) |
April 4, 2019 | KS | SB 16 | Appropriates Additional $90 Million for Public Education | Conference Report Adopted - House (76 - 47) |
March 29, 2019 | MD | SB 128 | Authorizes Regulation of School Calendars | Veto Override Passed - House (93 - 43) |
May 30, 2019 | ME | LD 1050 | Requires Education About African American History and the History of Genocide | "Ought to Pass as Amended" Report Adopted - House (87 - 54) |
May 7, 2019 | ME | LD 502 | Establishes the "Summer Success" Pilot Program Fund | "Ought to Pass as Amended" Report Adopted - House (87 - 53) |
June 13, 2019 | ME | LD 1820 | Amends School Investigation Regulations | Bill Passed - House (91 - 50) |
April 23, 2019 | ME | LD 798 | Prohibits Non-Medical Exemptions for Vaccinations | Bill Passed - House (78 - 59) |
May 28, 2019 | ME | LD 307 | Limits the Number of Charter Schools | Bill Passed - House (81 - 59) |
May 14, 2019 | ME | LD 513 | Limits Enrollment at Virtual Public Charter Schools | Bill Passed - House (87 - 53) |
May 1, 2019 | MI | HB 4206 | Authorizes Four Built-In Snow Days for Public Schools | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (56 - 53) |
April 23, 2019 | MN | HF 2400 | Appropriates Funds for Education Finance | Bill Passed - House (78 - 55) |
May 17, 2019 | MO | HB 604 | Authorizes Funding to Under-performing Schools | Bill Passed - House (116 - 25) |
March 25, 2019 | MO | HB 267 | Authorizes Public Schools to Offer Bible Courses | Bill Passed - House (95 - 52) |
March 6, 2019 | MO | HB 161 | Prohibits Schools from Enacting Early Start Dates in the Fall | Bill Passed - House (86 - 64) |
Oct. 31, 2019 | NC | SB 354 | Increases Pay for Public School Teachers and Personnel | Conference Report Adopted - House (62 - 46) |
Oct. 29, 2019 | NC | SB 522 | Amends the Innovative School District (ISD) Program | Conference Report Adopted - House (64 - 48) |
Oct. 30, 2019 | NC | HB 377 | Increases State Teacher Pay | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (61 - 49) |
April 2, 2019 | ND | HB 1332 | Authorizes Schools to Develop a Plan for an Armed First Responder | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (75 - 15) |
June 5, 2019 | NH | SB 263 | Prohibits Discrimination in Public Schools | "Ought to Pass" Report Adopted - House (211 - 141) |
June 27, 2019 | NJ | S 692 | Prohibits the Department of Education from Establishing Maximum Salaries for Superintendents | Bill Passed - House (48 - 21) |
June 20, 2019 | NY | A 6787 | Prohibits Use of Biometric Identifying Technology in Schools | Bill Passed - House (128 - 19) |
May 1, 2019 | OH | HB 154 | Repeals Use of Academic Distress Commissions | Bill Passed - House (83 - 12) |
Oct. 2, 2019 | OH | HB 123 | Requires Annual Suicide Prevention Classes for Public Middle and High Schools | Bill Passed - House (85 - 7) |
Nov. 13, 2019 | OH | HB 164 | Authorizes Religious Expression in Public Schools | Bill Passed - House (61 - 31) |
March 13, 2019 | OK | HB 2336 | Authorizes Handguns on the Premises of Schools | Bill Passed - House (72 - 25) |
May 6, 2019 | OR | HB 3063 | Prohibits All Religious and Philosophical Vaccination Exemptions | Bill Passed - House (35 - 25) |
June 28, 2019 | PA | HB 1615 | Expands Tax Credit Education Scholarships | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (160 - 39) |
Nov. 19, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (161 - 37) |
June 27, 2019 | PA | SB 621 | Authorizes Schools to Arm Security Guards | Bill Passed - House (116 - 83) |
May 7, 2019 | PA | HB 800 | Increases Amount of Tax Credits Available for Students to Attend the School of Their Choice | Bill Passed - House (111 - 85) |