2024: Schweikert Voted To Require The Victims Of Communism Memorial Foundation To Develop A High School Curriculum On Communism And Totalitarianism. In December 2024, Schweikert voted for , according to Congressional Quarterly, "the bill, as amended, that would require the nonprofit Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a high school civic education curriculum to promote the understanding of certain political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism, and compare how they conflict with U.S. principles of freedom and democracy. The bill would require the curriculum to be compatible with a variety of school courses (including social studies, government, history and economics classes). It also would direct the foundation to develop associated oral history resources that could be used with the curriculum and include personal stories from individuals who are victims of communism and totalitarianism who can compare those ideologies with U.S. democracy. As amended, it would require the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation-developed high school civic education curriculum to be updated periodically to include past and present communist and totalitarian regimes. It also would direct the foundation to engage with local and state educational leaders to assist high schools using the curriculum and oral history resources." The House passed the bill by a vote of 327 to 62. [House Vote 492, 12/6/24; Congressional Quarterly, 12/6/24; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5349]
2023: Schweikert Voted To Allow Federal Funds To Be Used In Educational Programs Involving Dangerous Weapons. In September 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted for the "motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended, that would allow federal funds appropriated for elementary and secondary education to be used for educational instruction or extracurricular activities that involve the use of a dangerous weapon, such as archery, hunting, other shooting sports or culinary arts." The vote was on passage. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 424 to 1, thus the bill was sent to the Senate. [House Vote 407, 9/26/23; Congressional Quarterly, 9/26/23; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5110]
2015: Schweikert Voted Against An Amendment That Required A National Strategy For Elementary And Secondary School Education That Included Annual Assessments, Teacher Development, And International Comparison. In July 2015, Schweikert voted against an amendment requiring a national education strategy that included annual assessments. According to Congressional Quarterly, the amendment would have, "require[d] the Education Department to develop a national strategy for elementary and secondary school education that includes advancing an annual measure of student learning, including a system of assessments; effective teacher preparation and continuing professional development; education administration; and international comparisons of education." The underlying bill would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "reauthorize[d] the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and would make fundamental changes to many of its programs through Fiscal 2019." The vote was on the amendment. The House rejected the amendment 186 to 245. [House Vote 414, 7/8/15; Congressional Quarterly, 7/8/15; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 58; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5]
The Amendment Proposed Measures Outlined By The Obama Administration In 2010 And Requested For FY2015. According to the Department Of Education, "The fiscal year 2015 request for the Department of Education aligns Federal education resources with key priorities and principles included in "A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," the Administration's comprehensive plan for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was released in March 2010. [...] A key emphasis of the Administration's ESEA reauthorization proposal is supporting State and local efforts to improve teacher and leader effectiveness, including ensuring the equitable distribution of effective teachers and leaders across districts and schools. Longstanding achievement gaps closely track the talent gap found in the classrooms and schools attended by many poor and minority students. The Administration's reauthorization plan would require States to set clear standards for effective teaching and to design evaluation systems that identify effective teachers, while also restructuring the ESEA to help school districts more effectively recruit, train, reward, and retain effective teachers and school leaders. For example, the proposal would increase to 10 percent the national activities reservation under Effective Teachers and Leaders State Grants to support efforts to improve the pathways through which candidates prepare for and enter teaching and school leadership." [Department Of Education, Accessed 10/21/15]
The National Education Association Was Opposed To More Standardized Testing. According to the National Education Association, "NEA proposes reducing the number of mandated standardized assessments: one in grades four through six, and one in grades seven through nine. Instead of so many standardized tests, the NEA draft calls for assessments designed to improve instruction and student learning. Assessment systems should provide for multiple measures of learning, including measures that assess higher-order thinking skills. NCLB tests have tended to lean heavily on easily scorable multiple-choice questions that stress memory rather than understanding. [...] The Obama administration's 'blueprint' for a revamped ESEA emphasizes more tests and tying teacher evaluations to their students' scores. The Administration lists four strategies for schools where students score low, including firing the entire faculty. NEA has expressed its opposition to all except the 'transformation' model that features collaboration among key stakeholders, noting that the other three have never been shown to help. [National Education Association, Accessed 10/26/15]
2023: Schweikert Voted To Allow National School Lunch Program Participating Schools To Serve Whole Milk. In December 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted for "the bill, as amended, that would allow schools to participate in the National School Lunch Program to serve whole or 2 percent reduced-fat milk to students, including flavored and unflavored milk. It would also modify the Richard B. Russell School Lunch Act to require participating schools to offer a variety of milk options to students who don't conform to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans requirements. The bill would allow schools to serve flavored or unflavored whole milk, 2% reduced-fat milk, 1% low-fat milk, fat-free milk, and lactose-free milk to students. The bill would exclude the saturated fat found in milk from counting towards the amount of saturated fats allowed under the National School Lunch Program's minimum nutritional requirements for an average meal. As amended, the bill would allow schools to serve organic or non-organic whole milk; prohibit schools participating in the National School Lunch Program from purchasing or offering milk produced by any company owned or operated by a Chinese entity; and bar the Agriculture Department from prohibiting any school participating in the National School Lunch Program from offering students flavored and unflavored whole, reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free fluid milk and lactose-free fluid milk." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 330 to 99, thus the bill was sent to the Senate. [House Vote 718, 12/13/23; Congressional Quarterly, 12/13/23; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1147]