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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 9, 2017 | PA | HB 97 | Authorizes Budget Cuts for Low-Performing Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 23) |
| June 15, 2017 | MI | SB 401 | Amends Teacher Retirement Plans | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 17) |
| June 6, 2017 | RI | S 608 | Requires Notification of Sex Offenders Living Near School Bus Stops | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 0) |
| May 5, 2017 | FL | HB 989 | Authorizes Residents to Challenge School Textbooks | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 17) |
| May 2, 2017 | NE | LB 427 | Requires Schools to Accommodate Pregnant and Parenting Students | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 7) |
| April 6, 2017 | MD | HB 978 | Requires Improvement and Accountability Programs for Public Schools | Veto Override Passed - Senate (32 - 15) |
| March 30, 2017 | TX | SB 3 | Appropriates State Funds for Education in Non-Rural Areas | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 13) |
| March 29, 2017 | KY | HB 128 | Establishes Regulations for Elective Courses on Religious Literature | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 4) |
| March 24, 2017 | MD | HB 978 | Requires Improvement and Accountability Programs for Public Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 15) |
| March 23, 2017 | FL | SB 436 | Prohibits Discrimination Against Religious Expression in Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 13) |
| March 15, 2017 | KY | HB 520 | Authorizes Charter Schools to Operate in Kentucky | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 15) |
| March 9, 2017 | NM | SB 374 | Prohibits Public Shaming of Students Who Can't Pay for Lunch | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 7) |
| March 6, 2017 | KY | SB 17 | Authorizes Expression of Religious or Political Viewpoints in Public Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 3) |
| March 1, 2017 | WY | HB 236 | Reduces the Education Budget | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 5) |
| Feb. 23, 2017 | NH | SB 8 | Authorizes Overpopulated Public Schools to Transfer Students Elsewhere | Bill Passed - Senate (14 - 9) |
| Feb. 15, 2017 | KY | SB 1 | Amends State Educational Standards | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 0) |
| Feb. 2, 2017 | IA | SF 166 | Authorizes School Funding Increase of 1.11 Percent | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |
| June 8, 2016 | MI | HB 5384 | Appropriates Funds for New Detroit School District | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 18) |
| May 10, 2016 | IL | SB 231 | Appropriates Funds for Education | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 21) |
| May 4, 2016 | AK | HB 156 | Amends Certain Public Education Regulations | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (14 - 4) |
| April 17, 2016 | AK | HB 156 | Amends Certain Public Education Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (15 - 5) |
| April 7, 2016 | MA | S 2220 | Increases Spending Cap on Charter School Tuition | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 13) |
| March 23, 2016 | KS | SB 469 | Amends Labor Union Procedures | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 18) |
| March 22, 2016 | AL | SB 205 | Prohibits Abortion Clinics from being Located Near Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 6) |
| March 22, 2016 | MI | SB 710 | Amends the Detroit Public School System | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 16) |
| March 16, 2016 | MD | SB 706 | Establishes Education Credit | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 19) |
| March 16, 2016 | KY | SB 253 | Establishes Public Charter School Pilot Project | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 9) |
| March 11, 2016 | VA | HB 8 | Establishes Virtual Public School | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (23 - 17) |
| March 10, 2016 | IN | HB 1005 | Establishes Regulations Regarding Education | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (33 - 17) |
| March 10, 2016 | WA | SB 6194 | Authorizes Public Charter Schools | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (26 - 23) |
| March 9, 2016 | FL | HB 7029 | Amends Charter School Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |
| March 7, 2016 | VA | HB 389 | Establishes School Choice Program for Children with Disabilities | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 19) |
| March 1, 2016 | VA | HB 516 | Requires Parental Review of Explicit School Books | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 17) |
| Feb. 29, 2016 | AK | SB 89 | Prohibits Schools from Contracting with Abortion Services Providers | Bill Passed - Senate (12 - 7) |
| Feb. 23, 2016 | IN | HB 1395 | Repeals ISTEP Test | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 10) |
| Feb. 22, 2016 | ID | S 1248 | Repeals the Requirement that Charter Schools Use State Contracts | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 13) |
| Feb. 17, 2016 | KY | SB 1 | Amends Public Education Standard Review Processes | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 12) |
| Feb. 16, 2016 | SD | HB 1008 | Prohibits Students from Using School Restrooms Designated for the Opposite Biological Sex | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
| Feb. 16, 2016 | WA | SB 6195 | Amends Education Funding System | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 23) |
| Feb. 15, 2016 | VA | SJ 6 | Authorizes the Board of Education to Establish Charter Schools | Bill Failed - Senate (19 - 21) |
| Feb. 10, 2016 | WA | SB 6443 | Repeals Rule Authorizing Use of Bathrooms Consistent with Gender Identity | Bill Failed - Senate (24 - 25) |
| Jan. 20, 2016 | NE | LB 18 | Requires a Meningitis Immunization Before Entering Seventh Grade | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (29 - 14) |
| Jan. 20, 2016 | WA | SB 6194 | Authorizes Commission Oversight for Public Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 20) |
| Sept. 10, 2015 | CA | AB 329 | Requires Age Appropriate Comprehensive Sex Education | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 14) |
| July 9, 2015 | WA | HB 2266 | Establishes a Delay on Class Size Restrictions | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 11) |
| July 7, 2015 | WI | SB 21 | 2015-2017 Biennium Budget | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 15) |
| June 30, 2015 | WA | HB 2266 | Establishes a Delay on Class Size Restrictions | Bill Failed - Senate (27 - 17) |
| June 30, 2015 | OR | SB 895 | Requires Schools to Report Immunization Rates | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 10) |
| June 17, 2015 | DE | HB 50 | Authorizes Parents to Opt Children Out of Standardized Tests | Bill Passed - Senate (14 - 7) |
| June 9, 2015 | WI | SB 70 | Authorizes Certain Officers to Carry Firearms in Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 11) |