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Education has always been a top priority for me. I am committed to improving education and to advocating that all children have fair and equitable access to a quality education. Regardless of geographic, economic, or linguistic barriers, I have always fought hard to ensure that no child is left behind.

Whereas we have made significant strides in funding for general educational priorities, Latinos remain among the most educationally disadvantaged of all students. As a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Task force on Education, I will continue pushing for adequate and protected funding for Title I programs for poor and disadvantaged children, bilingual education, immigrant and special education.

I will also continue to focus on what is needed for the schools in my district. The rapidly growing population of the Inland Empire presents unique educational challenges. We need to move out of the box to meet the needs of changing populations. We must address the unique needs of every community! I am working on legislation to improve instruction quality by increasing educational opportunities for substitute teachers, and to increase access for all students to college counselors and information on the college process.

I believe that a stronger school system can provide the tools necessary for our children to actively compete in the next millennium. We are not only fighting for our children to catch up we are also fighting for our children to move ahead, excel, fulfill their hopes and dreams and lead us into the 21st century!

Second Annual Inland Empire Education Summit:

On June 7, 2002, I held the Second Annual Inland Empire Education Summit: Working Together for Academic Excellence at the San Bernardino Valley College Student Union. I am very proud to have hosted the Education Summit again this year, as education has always been a priority for me, and I have held this summit since I was a member of the California Assembly.

Over 120 Inland Empire education experts and officials, community leaders, and concerned citizens attended the Summit. The Summit focused on preparing area students for higher education beginning at an early age. The Education Summit is an important convention because it is only through discussions, ideas, and sometimes even arguments that we can work together to solve the problems our youth face as they try to acquire the tools they need to succeed as adults. We can't have those discussions unless we get together, in the same room, at the same time, and hammer out education policies that will benefit our kids.

The Summit included remarks by prominent education officials and a keynote address by Dr. Kathleen Kinley, Chaffey Joint Union High School Board of Education member. Kinley is the California School Board Association Region 16 director and a member of the California Master Plan on Education K-16 Committee. Her remarks were followed by an expert panel and discussion by the K-16 Council entitled "College Begins in Kindergarten."

College should not be separated out as only a possibility for our kids, but instead thought of as a necessity for all of our children. This mindset must be instilled in our children early so that by the time they are ready to graduate, they are prepared for college. It's our responsibility.

In the 107^th Congress I Sponsored the Following Education Legislation:

H.R. 1216: Comprehensive School Safety Act: To ensure that schools develop and implement comprehensive school safety plans. Latest Major Action: 5/8/2001 Referred to House subcommittee Committees: House Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 1217: Multilingual Education and Technological Advancement Act of 2001: To provide grants to local educational agencies to provide financial assistance to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computer software for multilingual education, and for other purposes. Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 1224: Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2001: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit teachers at the elementary and secondary school level, whether or not they itemize deductions, to deduct reasonable and incidental expenses related to instruction, teaching, or other educational job-related activities. Latest Major Action: 3/27/2001 Referred to House committee Committees: House Ways and Means.

H.R. 1423: Quality Remedial Education Act of 2001: To provide for quality remedial education by encouraging increased partnerships between middle and high schools with community and technical colleges which have experience in remedial education services. Latest Major Action: 6/20/2001 Referred to House subcommittee Committees: House Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 5181: Quality Partners Neighborhood Preservation Act of 2002: Provides low cost mortgages for teachers and certain substitute teachers to increase and preserve healthy neighborhoods.

Amendment to H.R.2330: An amendment to increase funding for Hispanic-serving institutions by an amount of $16,508,000.

Amendment to H.R. 3130 and H.R. 4664: An amendment to set up a program that would grant $30 million for minority serving institutions to improve the number of students pursuing science, mathematics and engineering.

Amendment to H.R. 1858: An amendment to award grants for pilot or demonstration programs that utilize the Internet to aid teachers to develop high-quality instruction.

Key Co-sponsored Legislation:

H. RES. 28: Honoring the contributions of Catholic schools.

H.R. 17: To provide assistance to mobilize and support United States communities in carrying out youth development programs that assure that all youth have access to programs and services that build the competencies and character development needed to fully prepare the youth to become adults and effective citizens.

H.R. 100: To establish and expand programs relating to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education.

H.R. 489: To expand the teacher loan forgiveness programs under the guaranteed and direct student loan programs for teachers of mathematics and science.

H.R. 771: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants to States for the construction, repair, renovation, and modernization of public school facilities, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the tax incentives for such undertakings.

H.R. 835: To authorize appropriations for part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to achieve full funding for part B of that Act by 2011.

H.R. 1076: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the incentives for the construction and renovation of public schools.

H.R. 1162: To increase the authorization of appropriations of programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

H.R. 1180: To recruit and retain more qualified individuals to teach in Tribal Colleges or Universities.

H.R. 3163: To provide student loan forgiveness to the surviving spouses of the victims of the September 11, 2001, tragedies.

In the 107^th Congress I Voted For the Following Education Legislation:

Conference Report to the Labor HHS-Education Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2002.

Conference Report on HR 1, the No Child Left Behind Act.

H. Con. Res. 239: Expressing the sense of Congress that Schools in the US should set aside a sufficient period of time to allow children to pray for, or quietly reflect on behalf of, the Nation during this time of struggle against the forces of international terrorism.

H.R. 768: The Need-Based Educational Aid Act

H.R. 3086: The Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act

H. Con. Res. 248: Expressing the Sense of the Congress the public schools may display the words "God Bless America" as an expression of Support for the Nation.

H.R. 3061: Final Passage of Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations for Fiscal year 2002.

H. Res. 28: Honoring the contributions of Catholic Schools.

Congressman Baca's Funded Grant Requests:

• May 16, 2001: $396,540 grant to the Fontana Unified School District from the U.S. Department of Education for elementary school counseling programs. The Fontana Unified School District will utilize these grant funds to support counseling programs in 7 elementary schools. The schools will be given the opportunity to establish or expand their capacity to provide counseling services and the school district an opportunity to identify model strategies, enhance its knowledge of what works, and expand the inventory of effective counseling programs. The emphasis of the program is on counseling services that focus on prevention and early intervention services for elementary school students.
• June 26, 2001: $624,762 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for California State University - San Bernardino to expand its capacity to serve Hispanic and low income students. The funds can be used for a variety of activities, including scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, the renovation of instructional facilities, faculty development, funds and administrative management, development and improvement of academic programs, acquisition of equipment to strengthen funds management and academic programs, joint use of facilities, academic tutoring, counseling programs, and student support services.
• July 4, 2001: $341,154 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to California State University San Bernardino for integrating technology into the classrooms.
• September 17, 2001: $288,962 grant from the Department of Education to the San Bernardino City Unified School District for the Drug & Violence Prevention coordinators For Middle Schools Program.
• September 24, 2001: $281,411.00 grant from the Department of Education to the Ontario Montclair School District under the Comprehensive School Grants Program. This grant will provide funding for school-wide bilingual education or English-as-a-second-language programs and other special alternative instructional programs to schools with concentrations of limited English proficient students.
• September 26, 2001: $245,024 grant from the Department of Education to the San Bernardino City Unified School District under the Center for Civic Education Program for the Physical Education for Progress program. The funds with help initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs in local education agencies.
• September 27, 2001: $156,686.00 grant from the United States Department of Education to California State University, San Bernardino for the Teachers and Personnel Grants Program. The program provides discretionary grants for professional development of bilingual education teachers and other education personnel for the purpose of improving education services to limited English proficient (LEP) students.
• April 17, 2002: $326,457.57 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Fontana Unified School District. This funding will be used for discounting Telecommunications services.
• April 17, 2002: $8,542.16 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Mountain View School District. This funding will be used for discounting Telecommunications services.
• April 17, 2002: $1,418.40 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to St. Anthony's Elementary School, San Bernardino, California. This funding will be used for discounting Telecommunications services.
• May 1, 2002: $582,072.57 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Colton Joint Unified School District. This funding will be used for discounting Telecommunications services.
• May 1, 2002: $176,054.00 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Rialto Unified School District. This funding will be used for discounting Internet access.
• May 2, 2002: $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the City of Rancho Cucamonga. This FY 2002 EDI-Special Project grant will be used for the construction of a senior center.
• May 15, 2002: $80,162.65 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Alta Loma School District. This funding will be used for discounting Telecommunications services.
• May 15, 2002: $23,540.75 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Central School District. This funding will be used for discounting telecommunications services.
• May 29, 2002: $8,151.84 from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to the Ontario City Library. This funding will be used for discounting Internet access.
• August 22, 2002: $500,000 from the United States Department of Education to the California State University at San Bernardino. CSUSB, under the Directed Grants Program, will use the funding in one-time federal funds for telecommunications and equipment to develop capability to serve the educational needs of the residents of the rapidly expanding Coachella Valley.

The 106^th Congress:

In the 106^th Congress I Sponsored the Following Education Legislation:

H.R. 4349: The "Beta" bill. Would provide grants to local educational agencies to provide financial assistance to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computer software for bilingual education, and for other purposes. Status: house education and the workforce committee.

H.R. 4428: School Safety. Authorizes the secretary of education to provide grants on a competitive basis to state education agencies to enable schools to develop and implement comprehensive school safety plans. Some of the options schools might consider are closed campuses, enforcing a dress code, hot line number, emergency safety drills, intercom systems, video cameras, peer mediation councils, character education curriculum, panic buttons. Status: committee on education and the workforce.

Teacher salaries. Provides a $1,500 federal income tax credit to teachers to boost teacher compensation to attract more teachers.

In The 106^th Congress I Co-Sponsored the Following Education Legislation:

H. Res. 492: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of America's teachers.

H.R. 1660: To amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to expand the incentives for the construction and renovation of public schools and to provide tax incentives for corporations to participate in cooperative agreements with public schools in distressed areas.

H.R. 4094: To amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to expand the incentives for the construction and renovation of public schools.

H.R. 4176: To provide grants to partnerships to establish and carry out information technology training programs and to provide incentives for educators to obtain information technology certification, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4271: To establish and expand programs relating to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4272: To amend the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 to establish and expand programs relating to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4273: to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to encourage stronger math and science programs at elementary and secondary schools.

H.R. 4539: To direct the secretary of education to provide grants to promote holocaust education and awareness.

H.R. 4630: To provide for the health, education, and welfare of children under 6 years of age.

H.R. 2611: To amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to exclude from income the salary of certain teachers who teach in high-poverty schools.

In The 106^th Congress I Voted On the Following Education Legislation:

I stood up for America's school children by supporting funding for students with disabilities. I voted against the republicans' plan, which would slash class size reduction programs, take money away from needed school repairs, and eliminate school counselors.

YES	Roll # 140, 5/3/00, on motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4055, the idea full funding act, to provide funding under The individuals with disabilities education act.
YES	Roll # 149, 5/9/00, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.Res. 492, expressing the sense of the house of representatives in support of America's teachers.
NO	Roll # 273, 6/14/00, on passage of H.R. 4577, making Appropriations for labor, health and human services for fiscal Year 2001. Cuts education funding, including repealing the commitment to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size; denies $1.3 billion to renovate 5,000 schools for urgent safety repairs; cuts $1 billion in teacher quality initiatives for recruitment and training; eliminates funding for elementary and secondary school counselors; blocks OSHA regulation on ergonomics (workplace injuries); cuts funding to protect elderly Americans, including eliminating family care and support for 250,000 americans with long term care needs, cuts funds to enforce nursing quality, cuts mental health for seniors, cuts funding for battered women's shelters, family planning, and health coverage for uninsured workers.

In The 106^th Congress I Was Pleased To Announce Several Important Grants For Schools In My District:

• $1.3 million to encourage low-income students to continue on to college
• $ 0.17 million to integrate technology into the classroom
• $ 2.6 million to put more community police officers in more San Bernardino schools.

Updated August 28, 2002