THE ISSUES

EDUCATION

Senator Boxer firmly believes that a quality education is the key to our children's success and our nation's economic future. She is a proud graduate of public schools from kindergarten through college and an outspoken advocate for improving our nation's public school system.

Senator Boxer is working to improve our public schools, including helping communities repair crumbling schools, reduce class size, and hire more qualified teachers. She has introduced legislation to increase the number of after- school programs, make preschool available to more children, and promote school safety.

• In order to help protect and nurture children during their most vulnerable hours of the day, Senator Boxer has pushed for federal funding of after-school programs. When Senator Boxer was elected to the Senate in 1992, after-school programs received no federal funding. The Boxer-Ensign amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 2001 was the first successful vote on legislation dealing specifically with after-school funding. As passed into law, it authorized $1.25 billion in funding for fiscal year 2002, increasing $250 million each year until reaching $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2007. This will provide after-school programs for 3.5 million kids. During her tenure in Congress, Senator Boxer has visited many schools to talk with students, parents, and teachers about the benefits of after-school programs.
• Over 30 California school superintendents have endorsed the Boxer Early Education Act. It would provide grants for states to expand the existing education system to include at least one year of early education preceding the year a child enters kindergarten. This program would be taught by certified teachers and open to all children. Research has shown that children who attend a pre-kindergarten program are better prepared for school.
• Senator Boxer introduced the School Safety Fund Act, which would authorize the Attorney General to make grants to local school districts to carry out violence prevention programs. Such programs could include the hiring of community police officers and providing training for school officials to detect early warning signs of troubled students. This bill would establish conflict resolution, counseling, mentoring and other violence prevention and intervention programs for students.
• To address the need for new classroom space and to fix dilapidated buildings, Senator Boxer also supports federal assistance to help local school districts build and repair classrooms.
• Senator Boxer supported the No Child Left Behind Act. Unfortunately, since its passage, the bill has been underfunded by billions of dollars. She will continue to make sure the federal government follows through on its commitment to fund education and to give schools the resources they need to improve and to meet higher standards.
• Senator Boxer supports efforts to provide students with access to technology in order to be prepared for careers. She wrote a bill to give companies a tax incentive to donate computers to schools and other educational or charitable organizations. This program is now law.
• Senator Boxer introduced legislation that would make schools safer by waiving the local matching requirement under the community policing program for the placement of law enforcement officers in local schools. This program was first instituted in 1998, and has put more than 400 police officers in California’s schools and thousands in schools nationwide. Senator Boxer believes the COPS in Schools program has worked for California schools and is fighting to prevent President Bush's continued efforts to cut this vital program.
• Studies show that children who attend Head Start are more likely to succeed academically, get along socially with other children, get good jobs, and end up as homeowners than similar children who did not attend Head Start. Senator Boxer has been a longtime supporter of Head Start programs and supports funding for Early Head Start. This program provides enrichment for children from birth to three years of age. It also focuses on the parents of these very young children, coaching them on parenting skills, the importance of good healthcare and ways to improve academic performance, even at an early age. Early Head Start children are showing better language and cognitive skills and parents are showing improved parenting skills.
• Senator Boxer has been an enthusiastic supporter of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which provides grants to states to form local partnerships between employers, educators and student workers to help students make the transition from school to work.
• Senator Boxer has worked to make higher education a reality for more Californians. She has voted to increase the maximum award for the Pell Grant program, which provides grants to lower income students for college. In addition, Senator Boxer has supported new tax benefits to help more families pay for higher education.
• Senabor Boxer introduced legislation to allow college graduates to refinance their student loans at market rate, in order to ease the financial burden on those starting their careers.
• Senator Boxer established the Excellence in Education award to recognize teachers, parents, businesses and organizations that are working to make positive changes in education. Since 1997 Senator Boxer has presented the Excellence in Education Award to 38 recipients.