Dede Alpert

Senator Dede Alpert (D-San Diego) was re-elected to represent the 39th Senate District in 2000 after having served three terms as an Assemblywoman and one term as a Senator. She is widely recognized as one of the Legislature's foremost advocates of public education. Her legislative agenda has also consistently stressed ensuring a prosperous economy for California, as well as advocating health and safety issues for women and children.

Senator Alpert currently chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee; the Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Education--Kindergarten through University; the Select Committee on Family, Child and Youth Development; and the Select Committee on Genetics and Public Policy. Her standing committee assignments include the committees on Education, Elections and Reapportionment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Agriculture and Water Resources, and Revenue and Taxation.

Alpert has received numerous awards and citations for her efforts, among them having been named the "High Tech Legislator of the Year" by the American Electronics Association seven of the nine years she has been in office. In recognition of her contributions to the visitor industry, Alpert was honored with induction into the California Tourism Hall of Fame in 1997. Additionally, she was recognized as "Legislator of the Year" by the California State University system and "Senator of the Year" by the California School Boards Association in 1998.

Senator Alpert is also the author of numerous pieces of landmark legislation, including some that established new standards nationwide. In the area of education, Senator Alpert authored Assembly Bill 1114 of 1993, which allows parents to choose the public school their children will attend; the California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act in 1995, which established a state-wide standardized test through which students, schools, and school districts around the state could be compared; and the "Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999," which created criteria by which California schools are evaluated according to student performance on standardized tests, and high-performing or improving schools are rewarded and under-performing schools are provided assistance. Alpert was a principal author of the "ABC" education reform package of 1995, which requires the integration of phonics, basic spelling, and fundamental computational skills into school curriculum.

Prior to her election to the California State Legislature, Alpert served on the Solana Beach School Board for seven years. She was also a court-appointed special advocate for Voices for Children and was active with United Cerebral Palsy, PTA, and the Girl Scouts. She is married to Michael Alpert, a retired attorney, and they are the parents of three daughters, Lehn, Kristin, and Alison, and are also proud grandparents.