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. 24, 2020 | SD | HB 1175 | Defines Dyslexia for Special Education and Other Related Services | Bill Passed - House (58 - 10) |
| Feb. 20, 2020 | VA | SB 161 | Requires Schools to Create Policies Transgender-Friendly Student Policies | (58 - 40) |
| Feb. 20, 2020 | NH | HB 1454 | Authorizes Credit for Alternative Learning and Work Programs | "Ought to Pass" Report Adopted - House (202 - 142) |
| Feb. 13, 2020 | KY | HB 37 | Requires Visual and Performing Arts Courses be Taught in Elementary and Middle Schools | Bill Passed - House (73 - 16) |
| Feb. 12, 2020 | OK | HB 2336 | Authorizes Handguns on the Premises of Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 7) |
| Feb. 12, 2020 | UT | HB 99 | Expands Enhanced Kindergarten Early Intervention Programs | Bill Passed - House (48 - 21) |
| Feb. 12, 2020 | WA | SB 6262 | Requires Schools to Incorporate Curriculum on Local Indian Tribes | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 13) |
| Feb. 11, 2020 | WV | SB 131 | Establishes the Tim Tebow Act | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 9) |
| Feb. 11, 2020 | WV | HB 4069 | Prohibits Religious Discrimination in Public Schools | Bill Passed - House (76 - 22) |
| Feb. 7, 2020 | VA | HB 837 | Establishes the "Dress Code Equity Act" | Bill Passed - House (81 - 17) |
| Feb. 7, 2020 | KY | HB 22 | Prohibits Corporal Punishment in Schools | Bill Passed - House (65 - 17) |
| Jan. 30, 2020 | DE | HB 285 | Requires Schools to Provide Free Feminine Hygiene Products | Bill Passed - House (33 - 6) |
| Jan. 28, 2020 | GA | HB 444 | Limits State Funding for Dual Enrollment | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 18) |
| Jan. 21, 2020 | VA | SB 161 | Requires Schools to Create Policies Transgender-Friendly Student Policies | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 16) |
| Jan. 16, 2020 | MA | H 4218 | Requires School Districts Offer Breakfast After Instruction Begins | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 0) |
| Jan. 14, 2020 | IN | SB 69 | Authorizes Firearms on School Grounds | Bill Passed - Senate (42 - 7) |
| Jan. 9, 2020 | MS | HB 1 | Increases State Teacher Pay | Bill Passed - House (121 - 1) |
| Nov. 21, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (35 - 14) |
| Nov. 19, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (161 - 37) |
| Nov. 13, 2019 | OH | HB 164 | Authorizes Religious Expression in Public Schools | Bill Passed - House (61 - 31) |
| Oct. 31, 2019 | NC | SB 354 | Increases Pay for Public School Teachers and Personnel | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (28 - 21) |
| Oct. 31, 2019 | NC | SB 354 | Increases Pay for Public School Teachers and Personnel | Conference Report Adopted - House (62 - 46) |
| Oct. 30, 2019 | NC | HB 377 | Increases State Teacher Pay | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (61 - 49) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | NC | SB 522 | Amends the Innovative School District (ISD) Program | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (33 - 16) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | NC | SB 522 | Amends the Innovative School District (ISD) Program | Conference Report Adopted - House (64 - 48) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | IL | SB 1970 | Authorizes Student Absences for Voting | Bill Passed - House (74 - 40) |
| Oct. 24, 2019 | NC | HB 377 | Increases State Teacher Pay | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 20) |
| Oct. 23, 2019 | OH | SB 26 | Repeals the Tax on Feminine Hygiene Products | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (30 - 1) |
| Oct. 23, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 20) |
| Oct. 2, 2019 | OH | HB 123 | Requires Annual Suicide Prevention Classes for Public Middle and High Schools | Bill Passed - House (85 - 7) |
| Sept. 19, 2019 | MI | HB 4242 | Establishes K-12 Education Budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (21 - 17) |
| Sept. 14, 2019 | CA | SB 328 | Requires Later Start Times for Middle and High Schools | Bill Passed - House (44 - 20) |
| Sept. 9, 2019 | CA | AB 1505 | Establishes Public Oversight for Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 11) |
| Sept. 5, 2019 | CA | AB 197 | Requires Schools To Offer A Full-day Kindergarten Program | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 9) |
| Sept. 3, 2019 | CA | AB 624 | Requires Listing a Sexual Assault Hotline and Reproductive Health Care Telephone Numbers on Student Identification Cards | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 11) |
| Aug. 30, 2019 | CA | SB 223 | Authorizes Medical Cannabis on K-12 Campuses | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (28 - 7) |
| Aug. 26, 2019 | CA | SB 223 | Authorizes Medical Cannabis on K-12 Campuses | Bill Passed - House (43 - 22) |
| Aug. 12, 2019 | CA | AB 711 | Authorizes High School Document Name Changes Regarding Gender Identity | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 0) |
| June 28, 2019 | PA | HB 1615 | Expands Tax Credit Education Scholarships | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (160 - 39) |
| June 27, 2019 | PA | HB 1615 | Expands Tax Credit Education Scholarships | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 13) |
| June 27, 2019 | NJ | S 692 | Prohibits the Department of Education from Establishing Maximum Salaries for Superintendents | Bill Passed - House (48 - 21) |
| June 27, 2019 | PA | SB 621 | Authorizes Schools to Arm Security Guards | Bill Passed - House (116 - 83) |
| June 24, 2019 | WV | HB 206 | Authorizes the Creation of Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 16) |
| June 20, 2019 | NY | A 6787 | Prohibits Use of Biometric Identifying Technology in Schools | Bill Passed - House (128 - 19) |
| June 19, 2019 | WV | HB 206 | Authorizes the Creation of Charter Schools | Bill Passed - House (51 - 47) |
| June 18, 2019 | WI | AB 110 | Requires State Published Dyslexia Guidebooks in Public Schools | Bill Passed - House (76 - 21) |
| June 13, 2019 | NY | A 2371 | Prohibits Exemption from Vaccinations Based on Religious Beliefs | Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 26) |
| June 13, 2019 | ME | LD 1820 | Amends School Investigation Regulations | Bill Passed - House (91 - 50) |
| June 11, 2019 | PA | HB 800 | Increases Amount of Tax Credits Available for Students to Attend the School of Their Choice | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |
| June 11, 2019 | PA | SB 621 | Authorizes Schools to Arm Security Guards | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 17) |