View source for Secretary of Education

{{Short description|Head of the United States Department of Education}}
{{redirect|Secretary of education|other uses|Secretary of Education}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = United States Secretary of Education
| body = 
| flag = Flag of the United States Secretary of Education.svg
| flagborder = yes
| flagcaption = Flag of the secretary
| insignia = Seal of the United States Department of Education.svg
| insigniacaption = Seal of the Department of Education
| image = Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, official portrait (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Miguel Cardona]]
| incumbentsince = March 2, 2021
| department = [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]]
| style = Mr. Secretary (informal)<br/>[[The Honourable#United States|The Honorable]] (formal)
| reports_to = [[President of the United States|President]]
| seat = [[Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
| appointer = [[President of the United States|President]]
| appointer_qualified = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| termlength = No fixed term
| constituting_instrument = {{UnitedStatesCode|20|3411}}
| formation = {{start date and age|1979|11|30}}
| first = [[Shirley Hufstedler]]
| succession = [[United States presidential line of succession|Sixteenth]]<ref>{{cite web |title=3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19 |website=Legal Information Institute |access-date=31 July 2021 |language=English }}</ref>
| deputy = [[United States Deputy Secretary of Education|Deputy Secretary]]
| salary = [[Executive Schedule|Executive Schedule, Level I]]
| website = {{url|https://www.ed.gov/|ed.gov}}
}}
The '''United States secretary of education''' is the head of the [[United States Department of Education]]. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities related to all education in the United States. As a member of the [[Cabinet of the United States]], the secretary is sixteenth in the [[line of succession]] to the [[presidency]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Order of presidential succession |url=https://www.usa.gov/presidential-succession |access-date=15 September 2023 |website=www.usa.gov |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915062750/https://www.usa.gov/presidential-succession |archive-date=15 September 2023}}</ref>

The current secretary of education is [[Miguel Cardona]], who was confirmed by the Senate on March 1, 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Kathryn |title=Senate confirms Miguel Cardona as education secretary |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/miguel-cardona-education-secretary-senate-confirmation/ |website=CBS News |access-date=31 July 2021 |language=English |date=March 2, 2021 |archive-date=15 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915061609/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmiguel-cardona-education-secretary-senate-confirmation%2F |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Function==
The United States secretary of education is a member of the [[President of the United States|president's]] [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] and is the fifteenth in the [[United States presidential line of succession]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilson |first1=Reid|title=The Presidential order of succession |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/10/20/the-presidential-order-of-succession/|access-date=December 28, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 20, 2013}}</ref> This secretary deals with federal influence over [[education policy]], and heads the United States Department of Education.<ref>{{cite web |title=US Department of Education Principal Office Functional Statements |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/om/fs_po/osods/intro.html|publisher=United States Department of Education |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410180435/https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/om/fs_po/osods/intro.html |url-status=dead |access-date=December 28, 2016}}</ref>

The secretary is advised by the [[NACIQI|National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity]], an advisory committee, on "matters related to accreditation and to the eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education."<ref>{{cite web |author=NACIQI Staff |date=November 23, 2016 |title=Welcome |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Department of Education, National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) |url=https://sites.ed.gov/naciqi/ |access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref>

==List of secretaries==
Prior to the creation of the Department of Education in 1979, Education was a division of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

;Parties
{{legend2|{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

;Status
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes an ''[[acting (law)|Acting]] Secretary of Education''|border=black}}

===Health, Education, and Welfare===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!No.
!Portrait
!Name
!State of residence
!Took office
!Left office
!colspan=2 |[[President of the United States|President(s)]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|1}}
|[[File:Hobby-Oveta-Culp.jpg|75px]]
|[[Oveta Culp Hobby]]
|rowspan=1 | [[Texas]]
|April 11, 1953
|July 31, 1955 2-year in Office 
| rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan=3 |Dwight D. Eisenhower
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|2}}
|[[File:Folsom.jpg|75px]]
|[[Marion B. Folsom]]
|[[New York (state)|New York]]
|August 2, 1955
|July 31, 1958 4-year in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|3}}
|[[File:ArthurSFlemming.jpg|75px]]
|[[Arthur Sherwood Flemming|Arthur S. Flemming]]
|[[Ohio]]
|August 1, 1958
|January 19, 1961 4-years in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|4}}
|[[File:Ribicoff.jpg|75px]]
|[[Abraham A. Ribicoff]]
|[[Connecticut]]
|January 21, 1961
|July 13, 1962 1-year in office
| rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan="2" |[[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|5}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Celebrez.jpg|75px]]
| rowspan="2;" nowrap="" |[[Anthony J. Celebrezze]]
| rowspan="2" |Ohio
| rowspan="2" |July 31, 1962
| rowspan="2" |August 17, 1965 4-years in office 
|-
|rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=3 |Lyndon B. Johnson
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|6}}
|[[File:John W. Gardner, U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.jpg|75px]]
|[[John W. Gardner]]
|[[California]]
|August 18, 1965
|March 1, 1968 4-years in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|7}}
|[[File:Wilburportrait.jpg|75px]]
|[[Wilbur J. Cohen]]
|[[Michigan]]
|May 16, 1968
|January 20, 1969 1-year and 8 months in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|8}}
|[[File:Robert Finch, 1967.jpg|75px]]
|[[Robert Finch (American politician)|Robert H. Finch]]
|California
|January 21, 1969
|June 23, 1970 1-year in office 
| rowspan="3" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan="3" |[[Richard Nixon]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|9}}
|[[File:ElliotLeeRichardson.jpg|75px]]
|[[Elliot L. Richardson]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|June 24, 1970
|January 29, 1973 3-years in office 
|-
!rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|10}}
|rowspan=2 |[[File:Caspar Weinberger official photo.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Caspar Weinberger|Caspar W. Weinberger]]
|rowspan=2 |California
|rowspan=2 |February 12, 1973
|rowspan=2 |August 8, 1975 2-years in office 
|-
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[Gerald Ford]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Independent (politician)}};" |{{color|black|11}}
|[[File:F. David Mathews.jpg|75px]]
|[[F. David Mathews]]
|[[Alabama]]
|August 8, 1975
|January 20, 1977 2-years in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|12}}
|[[File:JAC AR 2007.jpg|75px]]
|[[Joseph A. Califano Jr.]]
|rowspan="2" | [[District of Columbia]]
|January 25, 1977
|August 3, 1979 2-years
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|13}}
|[[File:Patricia R. Harris.jpg|75px]]
|[[Patricia Roberts Harris]]
|August 3, 1979
|May 4, 1980 1-year <ref name="PatriciaHarris">Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.</ref>
|}

=== United States Secretary of Education ===
Source<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Education Secretaries Miguel Cardona Would Follow|url=https://www.ewa.org/blog-educated-reporter/education-secretaries-miguel-cardona-would-follow|access-date=2021-01-08|website=Education Writers Association|language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!No.
!Portrait
!Name
!State of residence
!Took office
!Left office
!colspan=2 |[[President of the United States|President]]
|- 
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|1}}
|[[File:United States Secretary of Education Shirley Hufstedler at Miami-Dade Community College 1980-02-07 (cropped 2).jpg|75px]]
|[[Shirley Hufstedler]]
|California
|November 30, 1979
|January 20, 1981 2-years in office 
|style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|2}}
|[[File:TerrelBell.jpg|75px]]
|[[Terrel Bell]]
|[[Utah]]
|January 22, 1981
|January 20, 1985 4-years in office 
|rowspan=4 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=4 |[[Ronald Reagan]]
|- 
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2|[[File:Bill Bennett by Gage Skidmore.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan=2|[[William Bennett]]
|rowspan=2|North Carolina
|rowspan=2|February 6, 1985
|rowspan=2|September 20, 1988 4-years in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|3}}
|- 
!rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|4}}
|rowspan=2 |[[File:Cavazos.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Lauro Cavazos]]
|rowspan=2 |Texas
|rowspan=2 |September 20, 1988
|rowspan=2 |December 12, 1990 2-years in office 
|-
|rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=3 |[[George H. W. Bush]]
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |–
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[File:Portrait gray.png|75px]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |Ted Sanders<br/>{{small|Acting}}
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[Illinois]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |December 12, 1990
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |March 22, 1991
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|5}}
|[[File:Lamar Alexander black and white photo.jpg|75px]]
|[[Lamar Alexander]]
|[[Tennessee]]
|March 22, 1991
|January 20, 1993 2-years in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|6}}
|[[File:Richard Riley Official Department of Education Photo.jpg|75px]]
|[[Richard Riley]]
|[[South Carolina]]
|January 21, 1993
|January 20, 2001 8-years in office 
|style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|[[Bill Clinton]]
|- 
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|7}}
|[[File:Rod Paige.jpg|75px]]
|[[Rod Paige]]
|rowspan="2" | Texas
|January 20, 2001
|January 20, 2005 4-years 
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[George W. Bush]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|8}}
|[[File:Margaret Spellings, official ed photo 3.jpg|75px]]
|[[Margaret Spellings]]
|January 20, 2005
|January 20, 2009 4-years in office 
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|9}}
|[[File:Arne Duncan official photo (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|[[Arne Duncan]]<ref name=DuncanKing_WP151002>{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|last2=Layton|first2=Lyndsey|last3=Brown |first3=Emma|date=October 2, 2015 |title=U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to step down at end of year |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/10/02/education-secretary-arne-duncan-reportedly-will-step-down-at-end-of-year/ |access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref>
|Illinois
|January 21, 2009
|January 1, 2016. 7-years in office 
|rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=3 |[[Barack Obama]]
|-
!rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|10}}
|rowspan=2 |[[File:John B. King official portrait (cropped2).jpg|75px]]
|rowspan=2 |[[John King Jr.]]<ref name=DuncanKing_WP151002/>
|rowspan=2 |New York
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 1, 2016
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |March 14, 2016
|-
|March 14, 2016
|January 20, 2017 10 months in office 
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |–
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[File:Phil Rosenfelt (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[Phil Rosenfelt]]<br/>{{small|Acting}}
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[Virginia]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |January 20, 2017
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |February 7, 2017 
| rowspan="3" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan="3" |[[Donald Trump]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|11}}
|[[File:Betsy DeVos official portrait (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|[[Betsy DeVos]]
|[[Michigan]]
|February 7, 2017
|January 8, 2021 4-years in office 
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |–
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[File:Mick Zais official photo (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[Mick Zais]]<br/>{{small|Acting}}
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[South Carolina]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |January 8, 2021
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |January 20, 2021
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |–
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[File:Phil Rosenfelt (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[Phil Rosenfelt]]<br/>{{small|Acting}}
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |[[Virginia]]
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |January 20, 2021
|bgcolor=#E6E6AA |March 2, 2021
|rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=3 |[[Joe Biden]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|12}}
| [[File:Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, official portrait (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| [[Miguel Cardona]]
| [[Connecticut]]
| March 2, 2021
| ''Incumbent''
|}

== See also ==

* [[Education in the United States|Education in the United states]]
* [[Special education in the United States|Special education in the U.S]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|United States|Education}}
*{{Official website}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Secretary Of Education}}
[[Category:1979 establishments in the United States|United States, Education]]
[[Category:Lists of members of the Cabinet of the United States|Education]]
[[Category:United States Department of Education|Secretary of Education]]
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