As a legislator, I've worked to fully fund education, starting with restoring Prop. 98 funds that the state owes our schools. As a Certified Public Accountant, I've demanded accountability to make sure dollars get into classrooms and help students learn. I've opposed George Bush's No Child Left Behind Act and worked to ensure that all students, including English language learners and students with learning disabilities, can receive a high-school diploma. In the community, we've worked together to help families figure out how to afford college and expand vocational programs for high-school students who go straight to work.

A few examples:

Voted for a budget that fully funded Proposition 98 and repaid funds the state owed to public education.

Authored AB 125 to ensure that bond funds for schools and colleges are properly spent by establishing a minimum standard for performance audits.

Co-Authored AJR 23 to establish California's policy position for No Child Left Behind reauthorization, and joined legislative colleagues in opposing the renewal of a No Child Left Behind bill that punishes teachers and increases high-stakes testing.

Sponsored workshops in the community to expand awareness of the Cal-Grant program, that helps California's students afford college tuition.

Worked with community organizations to expand language and vocational training at all levels of life.

Authored AB 125 (Ma) – School Audits: Ensures that bond funds for schools and colleges are properly spent by establishing a minimum standard for performance audits.

Authored AB 1062 (Ma) – Solar Schools: Cuts the red tape to install more solar panels to help California’s public schools reduce energy costs.

Authored AB 1934 (Ma) – SFUSD Property: Provides San Francisco Unified School District budgetary flexibility to sell surplus school property to pay for technology and student information systems.

Authored AB 199 (Ma) – Filipino WW II Veterans: Encourages instruction in schools to include the role of Filipino veterans in World War II.

Co-Authored AB 2728 (Karnette): Restores arts grant programs.

Co Authored AB 2762 (Huffman): Prevents school bullying by requiring school officials to report student harassment that could lead to student expulsion.

Co-Authored AB 2989 (Fuentes): Expands outdoor environmental education for California youth.

Co-Authored Assembly Joint Resolution 23 (Hancock): Establishes California's policy position for No Child Left Behind reauthorization, and joined legislative colleagues in opposing the renewal of a No Child Left Behind bill that punishes teachers and increases high-stakes testing.

Authored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 159 (Ma/Gorrell): Encourages California's institutions of higher learning, the University of California, California State Universit,y and the California Community Colleges to move cohesively and in an expeditious manner to evaluate and adopt the American Council on Education's (ACE) credit recommendations to give veterans their due credit for appropriate military experience.

Co-Authored AB 1500 and 1501 (Speaker John Perez) - Middle Class Scholarships: Increases access to education and makes education more affordable. I strongly supported these bills.