Organizational Structure of U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education is an agency set up by the federal government to establish policies and regulations for administrators, and coordinates many federal aids to education. It assists the president in executing his educational policies. The Department of Education purpose is to assist America’s student’s, and to make sure everyone has equal access to education.

When congress passed the public law in 1979 creating the Department of Education it also declared these purposes; to strengthen federal commitment to making sure everyone has equal access to education. To supplement the state and local school system. To encourage the public, parents and students to be involves in federal educational programs. To help with improvements in the school system by gathering data and sharing information with them. To improve with coordination of federal educational programs. To help improve the efficiency of educational programs, including the dispersal of funds. Also to increase the accountability of federal education programs to the president, congress, and the public.

The Department of Education is fairly new itself, but it dates back to 1867. The first Department of Education was created by President Andrew Johnson. Its main purpose was to collect information about America’s schools. Many people were afraid the Department of Education would have too much control over state and local schools, therefore it was eliminated. In 1868, the new Department of Education was an Office of Education. In the 1950’s, the Department of Education was in need of expansion in federal funding. Again in the 1960’s the Department of Education received and expansion in federal funding. President Johnson’s “War on Poverty” required the creation of many more programs to improve education, primarily for underprivileged youth from grade school through Post secondary schooling. The Department of Education continued to expand with the needs of racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, and non-English speaking students. In October 1979 Congress passed the U.S. Department of Education Organization Act.

The budget and workforce of the Department of Education has changed drastically over the past 150 years. In the 1860’s the budget was $15,000 and only had 4 employees, by the 1960’s the budget was $1.5 billion and had more than 2000 employees, and as of 2002, the Department of Education had a budget of $54.5 billion and almost 5,000 employees.

The Department of Education has four main duties. First the Department of Education establishes policies relating to financial aid, distributes said funds, and monitors their use. The second duty is to collect data and supervise research on America’s schools and relays information to the public. The third duty of the Department of Education is to identify major issues and problems in education and draws them to the attention of the public. The fourth and final main duty of the Department of Education is to enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in federally funded programs, and to ensure equal access to all.

How is the Department of Education organized? The secretary of education leads the Department of Education and publicizes the goals and objectives of the Department of Education. The secretary of education is a member of the presidents cabinet and is the main advisor to the president on anything to do with the Department of Education. The secretary of education is