Senator Barbara Boxer replaces King as Conference Opening Keynote

• By: CASC
• On: 09/19/2018 14:15:40
• In: CASC Blogs

Senator Barbara Boxer

King expressed deep regret for not being able to keep her commitment. Unfortunately, the date conflicted with a recent request by the Pope for King to speak at the World Peace Summit in Barcelona. Over 10,000 world leaders will attend the World Peace Summit, and there has never been an African American woman speak at this event. King is also meeting one on one with the pope and it's the 50th anniversary of her father's assassination. King stated: "I feel awful to not be there to speak with school counselors in California, and I wish you all the best with your conference this year." 

CASC is pleased that Senator Barbara Boxer has agreed to provide the opening address. Senator Boxer is a longtime supporter of education in California and in the nation, and we are honored to have her. The audience will be inspired by Senator Boxer's personal story of what we can do individually and collectively to make a difference. She was elected to serve as U.S. Senator representing the state of California in 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives and six years on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. In 2016, Boxer retired after her fourth and final term in the Senate. 

Boxer is considered one of the most influential political figures in the country. She is a national leader on matters pertaining to K-12 and higher education. While in the Senate, she served in various leadership roles including Vice Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she created the first subcommittee ever to focus on global women's issues. Senator Boxer advocated for several educational bills including bills on early childhood education, school safety, after school programs and healthy choices for school lunches. Early on in her career Boxer proclaimed her commitment to ensure all students — including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students — have access to a public education in an environment free from discrimination. She also advocated for the reauthorization of the Perkins Loan Program, the nation's oldest federal student loan program, by advocating for a critical lifeline for many low-income students and also co-authored legislation to require schools to focus on prevention of gender-bias violence.