Database Pre-K-12 Education Legislation Database

The information below provides an overview of how legislation is added and displayed in the database, including general search tips.

For more details on how to use the dashboard features, click on the information icon in the top right corner of the database.

Introduced Legislation Database

This is an introduced legislation database, meaning it contains bills and resolutions in all stages of the legislative process, including pending, failed, vetoed, enacted and adopted. New legislation is added as bills and resolutions are identified by NCSL staff.

The status information for legislation in introduced databases is updated daily and includes bill history, status and date of last action. Each entry also contains a link to the most recent version of text, which is updated daily.

Status for Bills in Previous Sessions

NCSL’s databases operate on a standard 12-month calendar cycle with updates ceasing at the end of each calendar year and beginning again in January of the following year. If a bill from a previous calendar year session is enacted, vetoed or signed by the governor in the new calendar year, NCSL staff will update that information in the previous calendar year listing. NCSL does not retroactively update the status of legislation that fails due to adjournment or that carries over into the next session (in with a two-year biennium).

Therefore, in states that are in session at the end of a calendar year, some bills from previous sessions may still be listed as “pending” years after that session has ended. These bills frequently fail due to adjournment or sometimes carry over to the second year of a state’s biennium. To see if a bill has carried over to the second year of a biennium, you will need to check for the bill in the next year listed in the database for the updated status. If a bill is not tracked in the second calendar year of a state’s biennium, it likely failed. 

What is carryover legislation and how does it impact NCSL’s databases?

In nearly half the states, legislation pending at the end of session dies, with most of these states starting each new calendar year with a clean slate of newly introduced legislation. Legislatures in Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas are biennial, so no regular session is held during the second year of a biennium. 

The remaining states allow bills to carry over from the first year of a biennium to the second. Legislation in 25 states carries over from the odd-numbered year to the even-numbered year. In two states, New Jersey and Virginia, legislation carries over from the even-numbered year to the odd-numbered year in a biennium. 

Carryover bills generally fall into one of three “status” categories: 

• Bills remain exactly where they were when the first year ended (for example, in committee or on a floor calendar).
• Bills remain in, or revert to, the standing committee to which last referred.
• All bills are sent to the chamber’s rules committee. 

Some states establish special procedures for carryover bills. For example, in California, bills introduced in the first year of the biennium must be passed by the house of origin by Jan. 31 of the second year. If the house of origin does not pass a bill by Jan. 31, it dies.

In Maine and North Carolina, the second session of a biennium has a limited scope (i.e., only certain subjects or bills are allowed to be considered), so not all bills introduced in the first session are eligible for consideration in the second session. The legislature passes a joint order or a resolution listing the bills to carry over. 

Carryover does not prohibit new identical bills containing the same text. A member may introduce identical legislation in both years of a biennium unless prohibited from doing so by other rules and procedures.

Carryover legislation will appear in a subsequent year if additional action is taken during that year. However, if no action has been taken since the initial year of introduction, then the legislation will not appear in the subsequent year.

For example, if State House Bill 123 is introduced in 2022 and is carried over into 2023, it will populate in the database as pending in the 2022 records. The 2022 entry will not be updated as the bill was still pending at the end of the 2022 calendar year. If the bill continues to advance through the legislature in 2023, it will populate in the database for 2023 with any status updates and new bill text. If no additional action is taken on State House Bill 123 during the 2023 calendar year, the bill will not populate in the 2023 records. 

Search Tips

Below are ways to use NCSL’s database to find legislation, including helpful hints about how the database works. The default setting for this database is to return results for all topics in all states in the most recent calendar year available. Users may narrow their searches by state, year, topic and status of legislation. 

• Topic: The database contains a list of topics developed by NCSL staff. NCSL staff read and manually assign legislation to these topics when a bill is added to the database. These topics frequently reflect the bill as introduced, so bills that have been significantly amended may no longer reflect the initial topics assigned by NCSL staff. If no topics are selected in the database, the database will default to returning results from all topics. Searches may be run with one or multiple topics. A description of the topics can be found below. If topics are used only in certain years, those notes will be available in the description of topics. 
• State: Searches may be run by selecting one, multiple or all states to tailor results to a specific region or grouping of jurisdictions. Information from the District of Columbia and the territories is also available. After performing a search with any filters, the results bar will display the total number of bills and the total number of jurisdictions where results were found. 
• Year: Searches may be run by selecting one year or all available years. Information for previous sessions is not updated beyond the end of a calendar year. See above for specific timelines for status updates. 
• Status: This field may be used to filter bills by their progress through legislatures, including pending, failed, vetoed, enacted and adopted.
• Keyword: Search bill summaries using a keyword. Note that this field is not a full-text search of bill text. 

Legislation entries in NCSL databases from 2015 forward include a hyperlink to the most current version of the text of that measure. This feature is limited or unavailable in databases that contain information predating 2015.

NCSL’s bill-tracking databases are powered by LexisNexis State Net and are populated manually by NCSL staff. The databases generally include legislation of significant action and not technical legislation due to the volume of bills considered every year in state legislatures. Please use the contact form on this page to let NCSL know if you think a bill is missing from a database.

Accountability

Includes legislation relating to establishing a state or local framework for school accountability.

Aftermath

Includes legislation relating to addressing the aftermath of incidents of school violence, including counseling and other supports for affected schools.

Afterschool

Includes legislation relating to programs outside regular school hours. May be referred to as out-of-school time or extended learning.

Alternative Schools

Includes legislation relating to programs outside of general, choice, special or vocational education.

Apprenticeships

Includes legislation relating to establishing apprenticeship opportunities for middle and high school students and teacher apprenticeship programs.

Appropriation

Includes legislation relating to appropriations for basic elementary and secondary education or its component parts.

Arming School Personnel

Includes legislation relating to explicitly permitting or prohibiting the possession of firearms by school personnel, including teachers.

Assessment and Intervention (Early Education)

Includes legislation relating to required or suggested assessments or education interventions for PreK to third grade students.

Assessments

Includes legislation relating to state and local student assessments or tests.

At Risk

Includes legislation relating to at-risk students, encompassing rules, support systems, and interventions designed to address the challenges and educational needs of students who face factors that may hinder their academic success.

Attendance

Includes legislation relating to school attendance, absenteeism and truancy.

Bonds

Includes legislation relating to bonding or debt service for capital improvement projects.

Budget Augmentation

Includes legislation relating to an appropriation above the prior fiscal year's appropriation.

Budget Reduction

Includes legislation relating to an appropriation below the prior fiscal year's appropriation.

Building Security

Includes legislation relating to addressing school building infrastructure as it relates to improving security and response.

Bullying

Includes legislation relating to rules, policies, and interventions addressing bully, harassment or discriminatory behavior among students.

Career and Technical Education

Includes legislation relating to teaching academic and technical skills to middle and high school students to prepare them for high-demand careers. Includes industry certifications and apprenticeships.

Career Pathways and Planning 

Includes legislation related to career pathways and planning. (Topic added in 2025.) 

Charter Schools

Includes legislation relating to charter schools broadly, including whether states permit them.

Civic Education

Includes legislation relating to curriculum and school programs that teach political science, law, American history, and related subjects such as media literacy and civic skills and values.

Class Size

Includes legislation relating to school class size.

Classified Staff

Includes legislation relating to classified staff, including paraprofessionals, teaching assistants, bus drivers, etc.

Communications

Includes legislation relating to addressing communication systems between schools and other stakeholders in the event of an emergency.

Community Schools

Includes legislation relating to the structure and requirements for schools actively engaging with community resources and partnerships. Similar terms: collaborative schools, community-based learning.

Community Schools Funding

Includes legislation relating to funding for or related to community schools.

Compensatory Aid

Includes legislation relating to state aid to students living in poverty or learning English.

Computer Science

Includes legislation relating to computer science requirements, coding, digital literacy and other related subjects.

Consolidation

Includes legislation relating to the consolidation of school districts.

Curriculum (School Safety) 

Includes legislation relating to requiring or encouraging the development or implementation of standards or curriculum related to school safety.

Curriculum and Standards 

Includes legislation relating to state or local curricular standards establishing what students should be taught, materials used by educators and prohibited concepts. 

Data Privacy

Includes legislation relating to protecting the privacy of K-12 student and staff data.

Data Security

Includes legislation relating to security of education data collected by local and state actors.

Data Reporting 

Includes legislation relating to data systems, reporting requirements, governance and visualizations.

Distance and Virtual Learning

Includes legislation relating to digital, online, hybrid and blended learning, including whether school choice programs and funds can be used for online schooling. 

Dual/Concurrent Enrollment and Early College 

Includes legislation relating to programs through which students can earn college-level credits, including dual or concurrent enrollment, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and early college programs. 

Dual Language Learners (Early Education)

Includes legislation relating to dual language and English second language students.

Dyscalculia 

Includes legislation relating to the identification and education of students with dyscalculia. (Topic added in 2025.) 

Dyslexia 

Includes legislation relating to the identification and education of students with dyslexia. (Topic added in 2025.) 

Early Education Workforce

Includes legislation relating to the early education workforce including compensation and benefits, training, certification, licensing and requirements.

Early Social Emotional Learning

Includes legislation relating to education programs related to mental and emotional health for early learners.

Education Savings Accounts

Includes legislation relating to publicly funded, government-authorized accounts for families to use for specified educational expenses.

Education Service Agencies

Includes legislation relating to funding for or related to education service agency finance.

Emergency Aid

Includes legislation relating to continuing appropriation or aid in the event of an emergency impacting the operation of schools.

Emergency Drills

Includes legislation relating to encouraging or mandating regular school safety drills, excluding fire and extreme weather drills.

Emergency Response Plan

Includes legislation relating to mandating the development of an emergency response plan or provides a framework for such plans. 

English Language Learners

Includes legislation relating to funding for English language learners.

English Learners

Includes legislation relating to English language learners.

Est. Study Committee/Task Force (School Safety)

Includes legislation relating to establishing a study committee or task force to research school safety for the purpose of making policy recommendations.

Expanded Firearm Carry

Includes legislation relating to expanding an individual’s right to carry a firearm into K-12 schools. 

Facilities

Includes legislation relating to funding for capital outlays, debt service, technology, supplies and building maintenance.

Facilities and School Conditions

Includes legislation relating to capital outlays, debt service, technology, supplies, building maintenance.

Family Engagement (Early Education)

Includes legislation relating to the parents of PreK to third grade students.

Federal Funds

Includes legislation relating to matters related to funding from federal sources.

First Amendment

Includes legislation relating to free speech, including prayer in schools, display of the national motto, and the pledge of allegiance.

Fiscal Transparency

Includes legislation relating to requirements to make public elements of state and district budgeting.

Flexibility

Includes legislation relating to flexibility in use of categorical funding.

Funding (School Safety) 

Includes legislation relating to appropriations for school safety activities.

Funding Formula

Includes legislation relating to intergovernmental aid formulas relied upon to distribute state aid to local education agencies.

Funding Reform

Includes legislation relating to major changes to the existing funding formula.

General PreK to 3rd Grade

Includes legislation relating to students PreK to third grade.

Geographic Cost Adjustment

Includes legislation relating to adjustments for hard-to-staff locations, locations with diseconomies of scale or for cost of living factors.

Governance

Includes legislation relating to local and state boards of education, state departments of education, and other K-12 school governance matters.

Governance (Early Education)

Includes legislation relating to the state entities or established structure for implementing state early education programs and policies.

Grant Programs

Includes legislation relating to an appropriation for a specific grant or categorical program.

Guns in K-12

Includes legislation relating to the possession of firearms in K-12 schools. 

Health and Physical Education 

Includes legislation relating to instructional requirements and practices for health and physical education in K-12 schools, including sexual health education. (Topic added in 2025.) 

High School Dropout Prevention

Includes legislation relating to strategies to support students who are at risk of dropping out.

High School Graduation Rates

Includes legislation relating to the percentage of high school students who graduate.

High School Graduation Requirements

Includes legislation relating to state course requirements for high school graduation.

Higher Education

Includes legislation relating to funding for higher education.

Hold Harmless

Includes legislation relating to hold harmless provisions in the funding formula.

Homeschooling

Includes legislation relating to homeschooling, including regulations, hybrid models, and whether choice programs can be used towards homeschool expenses.

Inflation Adjustment 

Includes legislation relating to adjustments for inflation in education finance formulas. (Topic added in 2025.)

K-12 Finance

Includes legislation relating to appropriations for basic elementary and secondary education or its component parts.

K-12 School Safety

Includes legislation relating to K-12 school safety. 

Kindergarten

Includes legislation relating to kindergarten and kindergarten readiness programs and assessments.

Law Enforcement

Includes legislation relating to the role of law enforcement in assisting with school safety measures. Legislation may include collaboration in the development of school safety plans, the assignment of an active duty officer as an SRO or reporting requirements that include reporting to law enforcement. Legislation amending criminal penalties is also included.

Leader Compensation

Includes legislation relating to compensation of school leaders, including pay, loan forgiveness and scholarships, tax incentives, etc.

Leader Employment

Includes legislation relating to requirements and policies around the employment of school leaders such as principals, assistant principals, deans, superintendents, school board members, etc.

Leader Induction and Mentoring

Includes legislation relating to induction programs, early career supports for school leaders, mentoring, including requirements and training for mentors.

Leader Licensing and Certification

Includes legislation relating to the certification of school leaders, including types of licenses or certifications, fingerprinting, background checks, education/preparation requirements, renewal timeline and requirements, revocation, etc.

Leader Preparation

Includes legislation relating to school leader preparation, including authorization and reauthorization of educator preparation programs, traditional and alternative pathways, program or curricular requirements and clinical experiences.

Leader Professional Development

Includes legislation relating to professional learning opportunities and training requirements for school leaders, including in relation to licensure renewal requirements.

Leader Recruitment and Retention

Includes legislation relating to explicit recruitment and retention efforts regarding school leaders, which may include expanded pathways into the profession, monetary incentives, changes to licensure requirements, efforts to increase diversity, etc.

LGBTQ+

Includes legislation relating to policies around LGBTQ+ individuals within educational settings. Similar terms: gender diversity, sexual orientation inclusion.

Libraries 

Includes legislation relating to school library policies, including staffing, materials and notification requirements. 

Local Taxation

Includes legislation relating to local tax policy that generates local revenue for public education.

Mathematics

Includes legislation relating to K-12 math curriculum and instruction.

Open Enrollment

Includes legislation relating to whether students can attend a different public school, either in the same district or in a different district, than where they are geographically assigned to enroll.

Other (Finance)

Includes legislation relating to miscellaneous categories related to education finance.

Other School Choice 

Includes legislation relating to additional types of school choice policies, including magnet schools, proprietary schools, microschools and learning pods. (Topic added in 2025.) 

Parental Involvement

Includes legislation relating to family engagement and parental notification.

Partnership

Includes legislation relating to mandating, encouraging, or allowing collaboration with a private consultant or partner.

Personal Devices 

Includes legislation relating to personal device and cellphone use in schools. (Topic added in 2025.) 

Personal Income Tax

Includes legislation relating to changes to personal income tax policy for purposes of funding public education.

Personalized/Competency-Based Learning 

Includes legislation relating to personalized, competency-based, and deeper learning, among other related concepts.

Prekindergarten

Includes legislation relating to education programs prior to kindergarten.

Private Schools

Includes legislation relating to addressing private school safety requirements.

Productivity

Includes legislation relating to actions taken to improve efficiency, ROI or productivity in the delivery of public education.

Property Tax

Includes legislation relating to changes to property tax policy for purposes of funding public education.

Pupil Count

Includes legislation relating to methods for counting students for purposes of funding.

Reading/Literacy 

Includes legislation relating to curriculum, instruction and standards for reading and literacy.

Reparations

Includes legislation relating to funding intended to provide reparations for historically marginalized populations.

Reporting

Includes legislation relating to outlining reporting requirements related to mental health, firearms, etc. 

Restricted Carry

Includes legislation relating to restricting an individual right to carry a firearm into K-12 schools. 

Revenue

Includes legislation relating to policies impacting the revenue sources used on state and local levels for public education.

Risk Assessment

Includes legislation relating to requiring districts or third parties to conduct an assessment of potential threats to the safety of the school.

Safety Center

Includes legislation relating to state or regional school safety center establishment, requirements, funding or other programs. 

Salaries and Benefits

Includes legislation relating to fiscal policies impacting the compensation for individuals in the education workforce.

Sales and Use Tax

Includes legislation relating to changes to sales, use or excise tax policy for purposes of funding public education.

School Calendar

Includes legislation relating to school calendar including year-round school and four-day school weeks.

School Climate

Includes legislation relating to policies and practices shaping the overall atmosphere and environment within schools to promote a positive and safe setting.

School Discipline

Includes legislation relating to rules, procedures, and alternatives for discipline within educational institutions.

School District Boundaries

Includes legislation relating to the boundaries relied upon for purposes of the intergovernmental aid formula.

School Identification

Includes legislation relating to addressing student and staff identification requirements.

School Meals

Includes legislation relating to school meal programs, including in relation to food sources, services, and waste.

School Mental Health Staff 

Includes legislation relating to school mental health staff, including school counselors, social workers, psychologists, mental health professionals. For legislation generally relating to the employment of school mental health staff, see Special Services Providers. (Topic added in 2025.) 

School Resource Officers

Includes legislation relating to school resource officer requirements, regulations, training and assignment.

School Safety Audits

Includes legislation relating to requiring a review of school safety measures including building security and emergency response plans.

Science

Includes legislation relating to K-12 science curriculum and instruction.

Social and Emotional Learning

Includes legislation relating to the integration of educational programs and resources for developing students' social and emotional skills. 

Social Studies

Includes legislation relating to K-12 social studies curriculum, including history, geography, and political science. Also includes curriculum about specific people groups.

Special Education (Finance)

Includes legislation relating to funding for special education activities.

Special Education

Includes legislation relating to special education.

Special Services Providers

Includes legislation relating to school audiologists, counselors, nurses, physical or occupational therapists, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, etc.

STEM

Includes legislation relating to science, technology, engineering, and math.

Student Athletics

Includes legislation relating to K-12 student athletics, including in relation to coaches, athletic trainers, student participation and eligibility, and sports-related emergencies.

Student Health

Includes legislation relating to physical health of students within the school environment.

Student Mental Health 

Includes legislation relating to strategies, resources, and support systems addressing the mental well-being of students and staff within schools.  

Students Experiencing Homelessness 

Includes legislation relating to students experiencing homelessness, not including funding-related bills. (Topic added in 2025.)

Study Committee

Includes legislation relating to establishment of a formal committee or task force to review state education funding and finance.

Summer Programs

Includes legislation relating to guidelines, funding, and objectives for educational initiatives provided during the summer break. Similar terms: summer enrichment.

Task Forces, Pilot Programs, and Committees (Early Education)

Includes legislation relating to early education task forces, pilot programs and committees.

Tax and Expenditure Limit

Includes legislation relating to limits on tax rates or expenditures of specific revenue streams.

Tax Credits and Deductions

Includes legislation relating to tax credit ESAs, tax credit scholarships, and individual and business tax credits and deductions as they relate to education choice.

Tax Policy

Includes legislation relating to tax policy broadly impacting funding for public education.

Tax Swap

Includes legislation relating to the reliance on one tax revenue source for another.

Teacher Compensation

Includes legislation relating to compensation of K-12 teachers, including pay, loan forgiveness and scholarships, post-retirement employment and pay, tax incentives, etc.

Teacher Employment

Includes legislation relating to the employment of K-12 teachers, including staffing policies, employment requirements and other teacher policies.

Teacher Evaluation

Includes legislation relating to K-12 teacher evaluations, including system requirements and use of evaluation data.

Teacher Induction and Mentoring

Includes legislation relating to induction programs, early career supports for teachers, and mentoring, including requirements and training for mentors.

Teacher Licensing and Certification

Includes legislation relating to the certification of K-12 teachers, including types of licenses or certifications, fingerprinting, background checks, education/preparation requirements, renewal timeline and requirements, revocation, etc.

Teacher Preparation

Includes legislation relating to K-12 teacher preparation, including authorization and reauthorization of educator preparation programs, traditional and alternative pathways, program or curricular requirements and student teaching or clinical experiences.

Teacher Professional Development

Includes legislation relating to professional learning opportunities and requirements for K-12 teachers, including in relation to licensure renewal requirements.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Includes legislation relating to explicit recruitment and retention efforts regarding K-12 teachers, which may include expanded pathways into the profession, monetary incentives, changes to licensure requirements, efforts to increase diversity, programs targeting specific grade levels or subject areas, etc.

Teacher Substitutes

Includes legislation relating to substitute teachers, including employment, pay and credentialing.

Technology in Education

Includes legislation relating to the internet, digital devices, artificial intelligence, and the use of other technologies in education.

Threat Penalty

Includes legislation relating to addressing the penalty or reporting requirements for a threat against a school.

Time and Learning

Includes legislation relating to policies impacting the school day (or year) and the length thereof, or out-of-school learning.

Training

Includes legislation relating to requiring completion of a training program related to school safety.

Transportation (Finance)

Includes legislation relating to funding of transportation of students.

Transportation

Includes legislation relating to school transportation services, safety, and staffing.

Tutoring

Includes legislation relating to rules, standards, and support mechanisms for the provision of instructional support for students. Similar terms: academic support, individualized instruction.

Unhoused Youth

Includes legislation relating to funding for youth experiencing homelessness.

Vouchers

Includes legislation relating to programs that permit families to use funds typically spent by a school district on a student's private school tuition.

Whole Child

Includes legislation relating to policies and practices encompassing comprehensive development, covering academic, social, emotional and physical well-being.