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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2019 | OR | HB 2191 | Expands Reasons for School Absences to Include Mental and Behavioral Health | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 6) |
| May 21, 2019 | ME | LD 513 | Limits Enrollment at Virtual Public Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 15) |
| May 3, 2019 | CO | HB 19-1032 | Amends Sex Education Standards | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 14) |
| May 1, 2019 | TN | HB 939 | Authorizes Education Savings Account Vouchers | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (19 - 14) |
| May 1, 2019 | MN | HF 2400 | Appropriates Funds for Education Finance | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 30) |
| April 23, 2019 | FL | SB 7030 | Authorizes Firearms on School Campuses | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 17) |
| April 16, 2019 | IN | HB 1253 | Authorizes Firearm Training for Teachers and School Staff | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 14) |
| April 11, 2019 | IL | SB 2075 | Requires 5-Year-Olds to Attend Kindergarten | Bill Passed - Senate (39 - 16) |
| April 10, 2019 | IL | SB 1970 | Authorizes Student Absences for Voting | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 10) |
| March 29, 2019 | ND | HB 1346 | Amends State K-12 School Year Calendar | Bill Passed - Senate (46 - 0) |
| March 29, 2019 | ND | HB 1332 | Authorizes Schools to Develop a Plan for an Armed First Responder | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 14) |
| March 28, 2019 | MD | SB 128 | Authorizes Regulation of School Calendars | Veto Override Passed - Senate (32 - 15) |
| March 26, 2019 | GA | HB 83 | Requires Recess for Students in Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade | Bill Passed - Senate (48 - 4) |
| March 21, 2019 | AL | SB 119 | Repeals Common Core | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 7) |
| March 12, 2019 | OR | SB 664 | Requires School Districts to Teach About the Holocaust and Genocide | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 3) |
| Feb. 27, 2019 | WA | SB 5395 | Establishes K-12 Sexual Health Education Programs in Public Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |
| Feb. 26, 2019 | NJ | S 692 | Prohibits the Department of Education from Establishing Maximum Salaries for Superintendents | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 15) |
| Feb. 21, 2019 | NJ | S 3381 | Authorizes Graduation Proficiency Tests to High School | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 7) |
| Feb. 12, 2019 | MD | SB 128 | Authorizes Regulation of School Calendars | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 13) |
| Feb. 4, 2019 | VA | SB 1502 | Requires School Boards to Offer Classes on the Bible | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 18) |
| Feb. 4, 2019 | WV | SB 451 | Amends Certain Education Laws and Programs | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 16) |
| Jan. 24, 2019 | IN | SB 132 | Requires Citizenship Test Prior to High School Graduation | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 17) |