Student Freedom of Choice Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Judiciary.
Student Freedom of Choice Act - States that no department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States empowered to extend Federal financial assistance to any program or activity at any public school by way or grant, loan, or otherwise shall withhold, or threaten to withhold, such financial assistance from any such program or activity: (1) on account of the racial composition of the student body at any public school or in any class at any public school in any case whatever where the school board operating such public school or class maintains, in respect to such public school and class, a freedom of choice system; (2) to coerce or induce the school board operating such public school to transport students from such public school to any other public school for the purpose of altering in any way the racial composition of the student body at such public school or any other public school; (3) to coerce or induce any school board operating such public school system to close any public school, and transfer the students from it to another public school for the purpose of altering in any way the recial composition of the student body at any public school; and (4) to coerce or induce the school board operating such public school system to transfer any member of any public school faculty from the public school in which the member of the faculty contracts to serve to some other public school for the purpose of altering the racial composition of the faculty at any public school. Provides that whenever any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States violates or threatens to violate this Act, the school board aggrieved by the violation or threatened violation, or the parent of any student affected or to be affected by the violation or threatened violation, or any member of any faculty affected or to be effected by the violation or threatened violation may bring a civil action against the United States in a district court of the United States complaining of the violation or threatened violation. Provides that no court of the United States shall have jurisdiction ot make any decision, enter judgment, or issue any order requiring any school board to make any change in the racial composition of the student body at any public school or in any class at any public school to which students are assigned in conformity with a freedom of choice system, or requiring any school board to transport any students from one public school to another public school or from one place to another place or from one school district to another school district in order to effect a change in the racial composition of the student body at any school or place or in any school district, or denying to any student the right or privilege of attending any public school or class any any public school chosen by the parent of such student in conformity with freedom of choice system, or requiring any school board to close any school and transfer the students from the closed school to any other school for the purpose of altering the racial composition of the student body at any public school, or precluding any school board from carrying into effect any provision of any contract between it and any member of the faculty of any public school it operates specifying the public school where the member of the faculty is to perform his or her duties under the contract.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 14, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 14, 1974: Referred to House Committee on Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
NORMAN LENT (R-NY) introduced it on May 14, 1974. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 14, 1974, 19112 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19112 days ago, on May 14, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers