View source for Department of Education

{{Short description|U.S. federal government department}}
{{For|the earlier incarnation with the same name, established in 1867|United States Office of Education}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}

{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = United States<br />Department of Education
| type            = Department
| nativename      = 
| nativename_a    = 
| nativename_r    = 
| seal            = Seal of the United States Department of Education.svg
| seal_width      = 175px
| seal_caption    = Seal of the United States Department of Education
| logo            = Flag of the United States Department of Education.svg{{!}}border
| logo_width      = 175px
| logo_caption    = Flag of the United States Department of Education
| picture         = Usdepartmentofeducationbuilding.jpg{{!}}border
| picture_caption = Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, Department Headquarters
| formed          = {{Start date and age|1979|10|17}}
| preceding1      = [[United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare|Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]]
| preceding2      = [[United States Office of Education]]
| dissolved       = 
| superseding     = 
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States]]
| headquarters    = [[Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building]], 400 [[Maryland Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Maryland Avenue]], [[Southwest, Washington, D.C.|Southwest]], [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S. 20202
| coordinates     = {{coord|38|53|11.5|N|77|1|7.9|W|type:landmark_region:US-DC|display=title}}
| employees       = 3,912 (2018)<ref name="politico">{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2018/01/22/education-department-goes-into-shutdown-mode-079492|title=Education Department goes into shutdown mode|work=[[Politico]]|first=Michael|last=Stratford|date=January 22, 2018|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125074610/https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2018/01/22/education-department-goes-into-shutdown-mode-079492|archive-date=25 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
| budget          = 238.04B (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Education (ED) {{!}} Spending Profile (FY 2024) |url=https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education?fy=2024 |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=[[USAspending.gov]] |language=en}}</ref>
| chief1_name     = [[Miguel Cardona]]
| chief1_position = [[United States Secretary of Education|Secretary]]
| chief2_name     = [[Cindy Marten]]
| chief2_position = [[United States Deputy Secretary of Education|Deputy Secretary]]
| keydocument1    = [[Department of Education Organization Act]]
| website         = {{URL|https://www.ed.gov|ed.gov}}
| footnotes       = 
| parent_department = 
}}

The '''United States Department of Education''' is a [[United States Cabinet|cabinet]]-level department of the [[federal government of the United States|United States government]]. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the [[Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] was split into the Department of Education and the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]] by the [[Department of Education Organization Act]], which President [[Jimmy Carter]] signed into law on October 17, 1979.<ref>{{USStatute|96|88|93|668|1979|10|17|S|210}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Kosar | first=Kevin R. | title=Department of Education Organization Act, 1979 | website=Federal Education Policy History | date=15 April 2011 | url=https://federaleducationpolicy.org/2011/04/15/department-of-education-organization-act-1979/ | access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref>

The Department of Education is administered by the [[United States Secretary of Education|United States secretary of education]]. It has 4,400 employees – the smallest staff of the Cabinet agencies<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-15 |title=Federal Role in Education |url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=www2.ed.gov |language=en}}</ref> – and a 2024 budget of $238 billion.<ref name="DOE-mission">{{Cite web |title=Agency Profile {{!}} U.S. Department of Education |url=https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education?fy=2024 |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www2.ed.gov}}</ref> The 2023 Budget was $274 billion, which included funding for children with disabilities ([[Individuals with Disabilities Education Act|IDEA]]), pandemic recovery, early childhood education, [[Pell Grant]]s, [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act|Title I]], work assistance, among other programs. This budget was down from $637.7 billion in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-15 |title=What the New PISA Results Really Say About U.S. Schools|url=https://www.future-ed.org/what-the-new-pisa-results-really-say-about-u-s-schools/ |access-date=2024-11-14|website=future-ed.com |language=en}}</ref> Its official abbreviation is '''ED''' ("DOE" refers to the [[United States Department of Energy]]) but is also abbreviated informally as "DoEd".

==Purpose and functions==
Unlike the systems of many other countries, [[education in the United States]] is organized as a sub-national level by each of the 50 states. Under the [[Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|10th Amendment]], the federal government and Department of Education are not involved in determining curricula or educational standards or establishing schools or colleges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Roles of Federal and State Governments in Education |url=https://www.findlaw.com/education/curriculum-standards-school-funding/the-roles-of-federal-and-state-governments-in-education.html |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=Findlaw |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Department of Defense Education Activity]] (DoDEA) oversees schools located on American military bases<ref>{{Cite web |last=Communications |first=DoDEA |title=About DoDEA |url=https://www.dodea.edu/aboutdodea/index.cfm |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=www.dodea.edu |language=en-us}}</ref> and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education supports tribally controlled schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribally Controlled Schools {{!}} Bureau of Indian Education |url=https://www.bie.edu/topic-page/tribally-controlled-schools |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=www.bie.edu}}</ref> The quality of higher education institutions and their degrees are maintained through an informal private process known as [[educational accreditation|accreditation]], over which the Department of Education has no direct public jurisdictional control.

The department identifies four key functions:<ref name="DOE-mission"/>

* Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
* Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research.
* Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
* Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.

The Department of Education is a member of the [[United States Interagency Council on Homelessness]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usich.gov/member_agency/department_of_education/|title=Department of Education &#124; Member Agency &#124; United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)|publisher=Usich.gov|access-date=2012-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826101616/http://www.usich.gov/member_agency/department_of_education|archive-date=26 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and works with federal partners to ensure proper education for homeless and runaway youth in the United States.

==Budget==

{| class="wikitable floatleft" width="210"
|
{{#invoke:Chart|pie chart
| radius = 90
| slice 1 = 28.856 : [[Pell Grant]]s : : [[Pell Grant]]
| slice 2 = 23.661 : [[Federal Direct Student Loan Program]] : : [[Federal Direct Student Loan Program]]
| slice 3 = 14.410 : [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act#Title I|Title I]] Grants : : [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act#Title I]]
| slice 4 = 12.522 : [[Special education in the United States|Special education]] : : [[Special education in the United States]]
| slice 5 =  7.920 : Other : lightgray
| units prefix = $
| units suffix = B
| percent = true
}}
|-
|Budget of the Department of Education for [[2015 United States federal budget|FY 2015]], showing its largest components<ref>{{cite web|title=ED History|url=https://ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/edhistory.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of Education|access-date=2017-02-28|date=2015-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221015517/https://ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/edhistory.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
|}
{{Education in the U.S.}}For 2006, the ED discretionary budget was $56 billion and the mandatory budget contained $23 billion.<ref name=":0" /> In 2009 it received additional [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|ARRA]] funding of $102 billion.<ref name="FY2011 Federal Budget">{{cite web|title=Budget of the US Government, Fiscal Year 2011|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201203603/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=1 February 2017|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[Office of Management and Budget]]|date=13 January 2017}}</ref> As of 2011, the discretionary budget is $70 billion.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/index.html?src=ct|title=Overview|date=2011-02-12|publisher=U.S. Department of Education Budget Office|access-date=2011-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904204006/http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/index.html?src=ct|archive-date=4 September 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==
===Establishment===
The department's origin goes back to 1867, when President [[Andrew Johnson]] signed legislation for a Department of Education. It was seen as a way to collect information and statistics about the nation's schools and provide advice to schools in the same way the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]] helped farmers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Warren |first=Donald R. <!-- Indiana University (see p. 498) --> |title=Historical dictionary of American education |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-585-39202-8 <!-- also 9780313285905 and 9780313005336 --> |editor-last=Altenbaugh |editor-first=Richard J. <!-- Slippery Rock University (see pp. 483-484) --> |publication-place=Westport, Connecticut |pages=370–372 |chapter=United States Department of Education (ED) |lccn=98-51632 |oclc=49569806 |id={{EBSCOhost|63757}}}}</ref> The department was originally proposed by [[Henry Barnard]] and leaders of the National Teachers Association (renamed the [[National Education Association]]). Barnard served as the first commissioner of education but resigned when the office was reconfigured as a bureau in the Department of Interior known as the [[United States Office of Education]] due to concerns it would have too much control over local schools.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kosar | first=Kevin R. | title=Act to Establish a Federal Department of Education, 1867 | website=Federal Education Policy History | date=19 February 2011 | url=https://federaleducationpolicy.org/2011/02/19/1867-act-to-establish-a-federal-department-of-education/ | access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref><ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=014/llsl014.db&recNum=465 Chap. CLVIII. 14 Stat. 434] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221074808/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=014%2Fllsl014.db&recNum=465 |date=21 December 2016 }} from [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U. S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406043000/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/ |date=6 April 2012 }}. [[Library of Congress]], [[Law Library of Congress]]. Retrieved April 25, 2012.</ref><ref name="Department History">{{cite web|url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/what.html|title=The Department's History|work=An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education|page=1|date=September 2010|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=United States Department of Education|access-date=April 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331143527/https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/what.html|archive-date=31 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Over the years, the office remained relatively small, operating under different titles and housed in various agencies, including the [[United States Department of the Interior]] and the former United States Department of Health Education and Welfare (DHEW) (now the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] (DHHS)).<ref name="Department History"/> An unsuccessful attempt at creating a Department of Education, headed by a [[United States Secretary of Education|Secretary of Education]], came with the Smith–Towner Bill in 1920.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=April 1920|title=The Smith-Towner Bill|journal=[[Elementary School Journal]]|volume=20|issue=8|pages=575–583|jstor=994235|doi=10.1086/454812|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1939, the organization (then a bureau) was transferred to the [[Federal Security Agency]], where it was renamed as the Office of Education. After [[World War II]], President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] promulgated "Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953." The Federal Security Agency was abolished and most of its functions were transferred to the newly formed DHEW.<ref>[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/ewing3.htm "Oral History Interview with Oscar R. Ewing."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821024839/http://trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/ewing3.htm |date=21 August 2016 }} Oral History Interviews. Truman Presidential Library. May 1, 1969; [https://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/reorg.htm Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953. Title 5: Appendix: Reorganization Plans.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512143544/http://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/reorg.htm |date=12 May 2009 }} Transmitted to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, March 12, 1953.</ref>

In 1979, President Carter advocated for creating a cabinet-level Department of Education.<ref name=outlined>{{cite news |title= Department of Education Outlined |agency= Associated Press |date= February 9, 1979 |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IkwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,1224804&dq=department+of+education&hl=en |access-date= 23 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160307083553/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IkwNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OG0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,1224804&dq=department+of+education&hl=en |archive-date= 7 March 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref> Carter's plan was to transfer most of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's education-related functions to the Department of Education.<ref name=outlined/> Carter also planned to transfer the education-related functions of the departments of Defense, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, as well as a few other federal entities.<ref name=outlined/> Among the federal education-related programs that were not proposed to be transferred were Headstart, the Department of Agriculture's school lunch and nutrition programs, the Department of the Interior's Native Americans' education programs, and the Department of Labor's education and training programs.<ref name=outlined/>

Upgrading Education to cabinet-level status in 1979 was opposed by many in the [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]], who saw the department as [[United States Constitution|unconstitutional]], arguing that the Constitution does not mention ''education'', and deemed it an unnecessary and illegal federal bureaucratic intrusion into local affairs. However, many see the department as constitutional under the [[Commerce Clause]], and that the funding role of the department is constitutional under the [[Taxing and Spending Clause]]. The [[National Education Association]] supported the bill, while the [[American Federation of Teachers]] opposed it.<ref>{{cite news |title=House Narrowly Passes Department of Education Bill | agency=The New York Times | location=Washington | publication-place=Spokane, Washington | work=The Spokesman-Review | date=July 12, 1979 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lGsjAAAAIBAJ&pg=7077,5962023&dq=department-of-education&hl=en |access-date=23 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513043257/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lGsjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HO4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7077,5962023&dq=department-of-education&hl=en |archive-date=13 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of 1979, the Office of Education had 3,000 employees and an annual budget of $12 billion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Federal Education Branch Is Foundering, Leaderless |first=Fred M |last=Hechinger |agency=New York Times News Service |date=September 3, 1979 |location=Lexington, North Carolina |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_zUgAAAAIBAJ&pg=6849,7247406&dq=department-of-education+senate&hl=en |access-date=23 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307092129/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_zUgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qVEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6849,7247406&dq=department-of-education+senate&hl=en |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Congress appropriated to the Department of Education an annual budget of $14 billion and 17,000 employees when establishing the Department of Education.<ref>{{cite news |title=Education Department Created |agency=United Press International |date=October 18, 1979 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0sZUAAAAIBAJ&pg=1984,3959160&dq=department+of+education&hl=en }}</ref> During the 1980 presidential campaign, Gov. Reagan called for the total elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, severe curtailment of bilingual education, and massive cutbacks in the federal role in education. [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Once in office]], President Reagan [[Domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration#Education|significantly reduced its budget]],<ref name=edleg>{{cite journal | last=Clabaugh | first=Gary K. | date=Summer 2004 | title=The educational legacy of Ronald Reagan | department=The Cutting Edge | journal=Educational Horizons | publisher=[[Pi Lambda Theta]] | volume=82 | issue=4 | issn=0013-175X | pages=256–259 | jstor=42926508 | id={{ERIC|EJ684842}} | url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ684842.pdf | access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref> but in 1989, perhaps to reduce conflict with [[United States Congress|Congress]], he decided to change his mind and ask for an increase from $18.4 billion to $20.3 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 9, 1988 |orig-date=dateline Jan. 8 |title=Reagan Asks Increase for Education in '89 Budget |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/09/us/reagan-asks-increase-for-education-in-89-budget.html |work=The New York Times |page=28 |edition=National |id=[[Factiva]] [https://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?p=sa&NS=16&an=NYTF000020050426dk1900agb&drn=drn:archive.newsarticle.NYTF000020050426dk1900agb&cat=a&ep=asi NYTF000020050426dk1900agb], [https://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?p=sa&NS=16&an=nyta000020011117dk19003nm&drn=drn:archive.newsarticle.nyta000020011117dk19003nm&cat=a&ep=asi nyta000020011117dk19003nm]. {{Gale|A175820082}}. {{ProQuest|110637452|426722255|110604112}}. |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]]}}</ref>

===Early history===
The Republican Party platform of 1980 called for the elimination of the Department of Education created under Carter, and President [[Ronald Reagan]] promised during the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]] to eliminate it as a cabinet post,<ref name="pbsfall96">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/backgrounders/department_of_education.html|title=Online Backgrounders: The Department of Education|date=Fall 1996|publisher=PBS|access-date=2005-07-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107065647/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/backgrounders/department_of_education.html|archive-date=7 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> but he was not able to do so with a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref name="catoed" /> In the 1982 [[State of the Union]] Address, he pledged: "The budget plan I submit to you on Feb. 8 will realize major savings by dismantling the Department of Education."<ref name="catoed" />

By 1984 the GOP had dropped the call for elimination from its platform, and with the election of President [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1988, the Republican position evolved in almost lockstep with that of the Democrats, with [[Goals 2000]] a virtual joint effort.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

After the [[Newt Gingrich]]-led "revolution" in 1994 had taken control of both Houses of Congress, federal control of and spending on education soared. That trend continued unabated despite the fact that the Republican Party made abolition of the department a cornerstone of 1996 platform and campaign promises, calling it an inappropriate federal intrusion into local, state, and family affairs.<ref name="catoed" /> The GOP platform read: "The Federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the market place. This is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning."<ref name="catoed" />

In 2000, the [[Republican Liberty Caucus]] passed a resolution to abolish the Department of Education.<ref name="workingca">{{cite web|url=http://workingcalifornians.com/2008_presidential_issues/education|title=Education|year=2007|access-date=2007-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117185409/http://workingcalifornians.com/2008_presidential_issues/education|archive-date=17 November 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Abolition of the organization was not pursued under the [[George W. Bush]] administration, which made reform of federal education a key priority of the president's first term. In 2008 and 2012, presidential candidate [[Ron Paul]] campaigned in part on an opposition to the department.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3970818|title=Ron Paul Unplugged|date=2007-12-10|publisher=ABC News|access-date=2008-01-30|author=Stossel, John|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209020218/https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3970818|archive-date=9 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Later history ===
[[File:Department of Education - NCLB door.jpeg|thumb|right|upright=1.05|A construction project to repair and update the building façade at the Department of Education headquarters in 2002 resulted in the installation of structures at all of the entrances to protect employees and visitors from falling debris. ED redesigned these protective structures to promote the [[No Child Left Behind Act]]. The structures were temporary and were removed in 2008. Source: U.S. Department of Education<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2002/04/04112002a.html|title=Paige Fields Team to Leave No Child Behind|date=April 11, 2002|publisher=United States Department of Education|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030924230508/http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2002/04/04112002a.html|archive-date=September 24, 2003}}</ref>]]
Under President [[George W. Bush]], the department primarily focused on elementary and secondary education, expanding its reach through the [[No Child Left Behind Act]]. The department's budget increased by $14 billion between 2002 and 2004, from $46 billion to $60 billion.<ref name="catoed">{{citation |url=http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/elimination-lost-what-happened-abolishing-department-education|title=Elimination Lost: What happened to abolishing the Department of Education?|date=2004-02-11|publisher=Cato Institute|quote=This article originally appeared in [[National Review Online]] on February 11, 2004.|first1=Veronique | last1=de Rugy | first2=Marie | last2=Gryphon|access-date=February 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207081957/http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/elimination-lost-what-happened-abolishing-department-education|archive-date=7 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Young|first1=Michelle D.|last2=Winn|first2=Kathleen M.|last3=Reedy|first3=Marcy A.|date=2017-10-13|title=The Every Student Succeeds Act: Strengthening the Focus on Educational Leadership|journal=Educational Administration Quarterly|volume=53|issue=5|pages=705–726|doi=10.1177/0013161x17735871|s2cid=149148569|issn=0013-161X}}</ref>

On March 23, 2007, President [[George W. Bush]] signed into law {{USBill|110|H.R.|584}}, which designates the ED Headquarters building as the [[Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070323-6.html |title=President Bush Signs H.R. 584, Designates U.S. Department of Education as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building |date=2007-03-23 |access-date=2012-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032706/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070323-6.html |archive-date=21 July 2011 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2015, President Barack Obama instituted the [[Every Student Succeeds Act]], which reauthorized the Elementary Secondary Education Act. "In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law, reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and replacing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). ESEA, the federal law that authorizes federal funding for K-12 schools, represents the nation's commitment to equal educational opportunity for all students and has influenced the education of millions of children."{{Citation needed|date=August 2020|reason=This whole paragraph has no citation, plus is poorly written in general}}

==Organization==
[[File:US Department of Education organizational chart.gif|thumb|upright=1.35|right|Department of Education structure]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col" colspan="2" | Program
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="13" | [[United States Secretary of Education|Secretary of Education]]
| Office of Communications and Outreach
|-
| Office of the General Counsel 
|-
| Office of Inspector General
|-
| Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs
|-
| [[Office for Civil Rights]]
|-
| [[Office of Educational Technology]]
|-
| [[Institute of Education Sciences]]
*[[National Center for Education Statistics]]
**[[National Assessment of Educational Progress]]
**[[Education Resources Information Center]]
|-
| [[Office of Innovation and Improvement]]
|-
| Office of the Chief Financial Officer
|-
| Office of Management
|-
| Office of the Chief Information Officer
|-
| Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development
*Budget Service
|-
| Risk Management Service
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4" | [[United States Deputy Secretary of Education|Deputy Secretary of Education]]
| [[Office of Elementary and Secondary Education]]
*[[Education Facilities Clearinghouse]]
*[[Office of Migrant Education]]
*[[Office of Safe and Healthy Students]]
*[[Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs]]
*[[White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders]]
*[[White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics]]
*White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education
*White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans
|-
| Office of English Language Acquisition
|-
| [[Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services]]
*[[National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research]]
*[[Office of Special Education Programs]]
*[[Rehabilitation Services Administration]] 
|-
| [[Office of Innovation and Improvement]]
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="5" | [[Under Secretary of Education]] 
| Office of Postsecondary Education
|-
| [[Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education]]
|-
| [[Office of Federal Student Aid]]
|-
| President's Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities 
|-
| President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="7" | Associated federal organizations
| [http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/com.html Advisory Councils and Committees]
|-
| National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB)[http://www.nagb.gov/]
|-
| National Advisory Council on Indian Education
|-
| Federal Interagency Committee on Education 
|-
| Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities
|-
| National Board for Education Sciences
|-
| National Board of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | Federally aided organizations
| [[Gallaudet University]] 
|-
| [[Howard University]] 
|-
| [[National Technical Institute for the Deaf]] 
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Politics|Education}}
* [[Council for Higher Education Accreditation]]
* [[Educational attainment in the United States]]
* [[FAFSA|Free Application for Federal Student Aid]]
* [[FICE code]]
* [[Federal Student Aid]]
* [[National Diffusion Network]]
* [[School Improvement Grant]]
* [[Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
* [[National Endowment for the Humanities]]

=== Related legislation ===
* 1965: [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act]] (ESEA)
* 1965: [[Higher Education Act of 1965]] (HEA) (Pub. L. No. 89-329)
* 1974: [[Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act]] (FERPA)
* 1974: [[Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974]] (EEOA)
* 1975: [[Education for All Handicapped Children Act]] (EHA) (Pub. L. No. 94-142)
* 1978: [[Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment]]
* 1979: [[Department of Education Organization Act]] (Pub. L. No. 96-88)
* 1984: [[Equal Access Act]]
* 1990: [[Clery Act|The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act]] (Clery Act)
* 1994: [[Improving America's Schools Act of 1994]]
* 2001: [[No Child Left Behind Act]] (NCLB)
* 2004: [[Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]] (IDEA)
* 2005: Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA) (Pub. L. No. 109-171)
* 2006: [[Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act|Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act]]
* 2007: [[America COMPETES Act]]
* 2008: Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) (Pub. L. No. 110-315)
* 2009: [[Race to the Top]]
* 2009: [[Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act]]
* 2010: [[Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010]]
* 2015: [[Every Student Succeeds Act]] (ESSA)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Radin, Beryl A., and Willis D. Hawley (1988). ''Politics of Federal Reorganization: Creating the U.S. Department of Education'', {{ISBN|978-0080339771}}
* Heffernan, Robert V. (2001). ''Cabinetmakers: Story of the Three-Year Battle to Establish the U.S. Department of Education'', {{ISBN|978-0595158706}}

===Primary sources===
* {{citation | title=Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education. Hearing before the Committee on Education and Labor. U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session (April 10, 2019) | date=2020 | url=https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED606237 | id={{ERIC|ED606237}}}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|United States Department of Education}}
{{Wikisource portal}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education Department of Education] on [[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006|USAspending.gov]]
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/education-department Department of Education] in the [[Federal Register]]
* [https://www.gao.gov/agencies/department-education Department of Education] reports and recommendations from the [[Government Accountability Office]]
* [http://www.ericdigests.org/ ERIC Digests] – Informational digests on educational topics produced by the U.S. Department of Education before 1983.
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Education,+United+States+Department+of }}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=("Department of Education" OR "DOED")}}
* [http://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=8ghEuYRf8O8=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY= United States Government Manual, Department of Education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016221319/https://usgovernmentmanual.gov/(S(lzajmarpmy2tewkan5llvun5))/Agency.aspx?EntityId=8ghEuYRf8O8=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY= |date=16 October 2020 }}

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