View source for United States 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 mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{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         = Lyndon_Baines_Johnson_Building.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]]
| 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       = 4,200 (2025)<ref>{{cite web |title=An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education-- Pg 5 |url=https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/an-overview-of-the-us-department-of-education--pg-5 |website=www.ed.gov |publisher=US Department of Education |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref>
| budget          = $238.04 billion (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     = [[Linda McMahon]]
| chief1_position = [[United States Secretary of Education|Secretary]]
| chief2_name     = ''Vacant''
| 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       =
}}

The '''United States Department of Education''' is <!-- The department is still active until dissolved by the United States senate. Do not change this word yet --> a [[United States Cabinet|cabinet]]-level department of the [[federal government of the United States|United States government]], originating in 1980. The department 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> An earlier iteration was formed in 1867 but was quickly demoted to the '''[[United States Office of Education|Office of Education]]''' a year later.<ref>{{cite web | title=Thirty-ninth congress. Session II. Chapter 157, 158, 159. Year 1867. An Act to establish a Department of Education. | website=[[The Library of Congress]] | date=2024-07-06 | url=https://maint.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/39th-congress/session-2/c39s2ch158.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916000020/https://maint.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/39th-congress/session-2/c39s2ch158.pdf | archive-date=2024-09-16 | url-status=dead | access-date=2025-03-06}}</ref> Since its official renaming, the department's official abbreviation is '''ED''' ("DOE" refers to the [[United States Department of Energy]]) but is also abbreviated informally as "'''DoEd'''".<ref>{{Cite web |title=EdFacts Acronym List |url=https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/inits/ed/edfacts/eden/ess/acronym-list.pdf |access-date=March 20, 2025 |website=U.S. Department of Education}}</ref>

The Department of Education is administered by the [[United States Secretary of Education|United States secretary of education]]. In 2021 it had more than 4,000 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 $268 billion, up from $14 billion when it was established in 1979. In 2025, the department's budget was about four percent of the total US federal spending.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |title=What does the Department of Education do? |url=https://usafacts.org/explainers/what-does-the-us-government-do/agency/us-department-of-education/ |website=usafacts.org |publisher=USA Facts |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref>

During [[Second presidency of Donald Trump|Donald Trump's second term]], the [[Department of Government Efficiency]] announced it would shrink the Department of Education's workforce by half,<ref name=hill20250311/><ref name=DOE20250311/> and Trump signed an [[executive order]] on March 20 aimed at closing the department to the maximum extent allowed by law.<ref name=nyt20250320/><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref> There are limits to how much can be done by executive action as significant parts of it are statutorily defined by Congress and signed into law by previous presidents.<ref name=Bender/><ref name=ap20250319/> The presidential action was [[Stay_of_proceedings#United_States|held off]] by a US district court in Boston on May 22,<ref name=huffpost20250522/> which the Trump administration appealed, and a federal [[appeals court]] declined to lift the injunction in early June.<ref name=cnn20250714/> On July 14, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] overturned the lower courts allowing the layoffs to proceed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hurley |first=Lawrence |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-trump-administration-layoffs-education-department-rcna211450 |title=Supreme Court allows Trump administration to implement widespread Education Department layoffs |publisher=NBC News |date=14 July 2025 }}</ref>

==Purpose and functions==
The department identifies four key functions:<ref name="DOE-mission">{{Cite web |title=An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education: How Does ED Serve Students? {{!}} U.S. Department of Education |url=https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/an-overview-of-the-us-department-of-education--pg-2 |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=www.ed.gov |language=en}}</ref>

* 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 issues in education and making recommendations for education reform.
* 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|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.

== History ==
{{Education in the U.S.}}

===Early history===
In 1867, President [[Andrew Johnson]] signed legislation to create 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 [[United States Commissioner of Education]]. He 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"/> In 1920, 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.<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>

=== Promotion to department ===
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 [[Head Start (program)|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, others saw 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>

In 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 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</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 1988, 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>

===Late twentieth century===
The 1980 Republican Party platform 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=dead}}</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" />

In 1984, the GOP dropped the call for elimination from its platform. 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}}

In 1994, after the [[Newt Gingrich]]–led "revolution" took 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 its 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 seek 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>

===Twenty-first century===
The [[George W. Bush]] administration 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>[[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 installed 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>

In March 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 signed the [[Every Student Succeeds Act]], which reauthorized the Elementary Secondary Education Act, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 14, 2025 |title=Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) |url=https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/laws-preschool-grade-12-education/every-student-succeeds-act |access-date=March 24, 2025 |website=U.S. Department of Education}}</ref>

In 2022 extra costs, mostly from the Office of Federal Student Aid (total spending $540 billion compared with $170 bn in 2021) relating student loan forgiveness, (and, to a much lesser extent, pandemic costs) resulted in a nominal departmental expenditure of $639 bn.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Outlays by agency | url=https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/OUTLAYS_BY_AGENCY.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021193732/https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/OUTLAYS_BY_AGENCY.pdf | archive-date=2022-10-21}}</ref>  However the scheme never took place, as a result of a [[SCOTUS]] ruling (''[[Biden v. Nebraska]]''), and as no payments were actually made a balancing entry was introduced in the following years federal budget.<ref>{{Cite document|quote=If the actions concerning the Administration’s plan for student loan cancellations were excluded from both years, the deficit for 2022 would have been smaller and the deficit for 2023 would have been larger.  The [Federal] deficit for 2022 was $1.3 trillion, after removing the effects of timing shifts. Excluding the cost recorded in 2022 for the student loan cancellation plan, the deficit that year would have been $0.9 trillion| publisher= Congressional Budget Office| title= Monthly Budget Review: Summary for Fiscal Year 2023| date = 8 November 2023| page = 2}}</ref>

The department's 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.

==Second Trump administration==

In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed [[wikisource:Executive_Order_14242|an executive order]] which would begin the dismantling of the Department of Education, seeking to fulfill decades of conservative ambition to eliminate the agency, but raising new questions for public schools and parents. The White House earlier said the agency would continue to oversee "critical function" like student loans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liptak |first=Kevin |last2=Serfaty |first2=Sunlen |date=March 20, 2025 |title=Trump signs executive order to begin dismantling Education Department, raising questions for students and parents |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/20/politics/education-department-trump-executive-order/index.html |access-date=March 22, 2025 |website=CNN}}</ref> In April 2025, Linda McMahon announced that the Department of Education would resume garnishment of the wages of student debtors whose loans are in default.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blackburn |first=Piper Hudspeth |date=2025-04-21 |title=Education Department to resume collecting student loans in default {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/21/politics/education-department-resume-collecting-student-loans-default/index.html |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

Republican attempts to close the agency date back to the 1980s.<ref> Dan Bauman, and Brock Read, "A Brief History of GOP Attempts to Kill the Education Dept" ''Chronicle of Higher Education''  (June 21, 2018)</ref>  Partisanship over the department has been rife since the start, from progressive-leaning teachers' unions who organized against President George W. Bush's "[[No Child Left Behind]]" policies, to conservative Republican presidential candidates in 2016 who ran against the [[Common Core]] standards elevated by President Barack Obama's "[[Race to the Top]]" program.<ref name="Bender" /> Closing efforts gained critical momentum during the [[coronavirus pandemic]], after a [[parental rights movement]] grew out of a backlash to school shutdowns.<ref name="Bender" /> There was also opposition to progressive policies that promoted certain education standards and inclusive policies for LGBTQ students which, it was contended, undermined parental rights.<ref name="Bender" />

[[Project 2025]], a [[The Heritage Foundation|Heritage Foundation]] policy plan, deals heavily with the closure of the Department of Education,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/project-2025-and-education-a-lot-of-bad-ideas-some-more-actionable-than-others/|title=Project 2025 and education: A lot of bad ideas, some more actionable than others|website=Brookings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abc7chicago.com/post/trump-trying-to-distance-himself-from-project-2025/15046669/|title=Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025. Its architects helped shape his RNC platform|date=July 9, 2024|website=ABC7 Chicago}}</ref> mass [[privatization]] of public schools, and ending [[School meal programs in the United States|subsidized and free school lunches]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/house-republican-agendas-and-project-2025-would-increase-poverty-and|title=House Republican Agendas and Project 2025 Would Increase Poverty and Hardship, Drive Up the Uninsured Rate, and Disinvest From People, Communities, and the Economy &#124; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities|date=September 3, 2024|website=www.cbpp.org}}</ref> Project 2025 also seeks to create a [[right-wing|conservative]] school [[curriculum]] for all public schools.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-fafsa-student-loans-what-does-the-department-of-education-do/|title=Trump wants to dismantle the Department of Education. Here's what the agency does. - CBS News|date=March 12, 2025|website=www.cbsnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/how-project-2025-would-devastate-public-education|title=How Project 2025 Would Devastate Public Education &#124; NEA|first=Tim|last=Walker|website=www.nea.org}}</ref> The plan also includes provisions for the layoffs of millions of public employed teachers. Trump's second term policies have been compared to Project 2025.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hechingerreport.org/what-education-could-look-like-under-trump-and-vance/|title=What education could look like under Trump and Vance|first=Sarah Butrymowicz, Ariel Gilreath, Meredith Kolodner, Jackie Mader, Neal Morton, Caroline Preston, Javeria Salman, Christina A. Samuels, Olivia Sanchez, Nirvi|last=Shah|date=August 13, 2024|website=The Hechinger Report}}</ref>

Multiple polls in February and March 2025 showed that roughly two-thirds of Americans oppose the idea.<ref name="Bender" /> It is broadly opposed by educators who believe the federal government has historically played an important role in American education.<ref> [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/02/department-of-education-trump-abolish-eliminate.html “Back to the States” — Trump’s Department of Education plans go against our country’s long history of federal support for schools], in Slate</ref> The position of the [[National Education Association]] (NEA), representing 2.8 million American teachers, was that stripping the department of its resources and mission would negatively impact the millions of students in low-income communities who need educational services and support.

On March 3, 2025, [[Linda McMahon]] was sworn in as the nation's 13th Secretary of Education.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schermele |first=Zachary |title=Senate confirms Trump pick Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/03/03/linda-mcmahon-confirmed-as-trump-education-secretary/80513524007/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=USA Today|language=en-US}}</ref> Trump emphasized that McMahon's primary objective would be to close the Department of Education, stating, "I want her to put herself out of a job."<ref>{{cite web |date=5 February 2025 |title=Trump's Education Secretary's job is to 'end the job' |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-trump-abolish-department-of-education-trumps-education-secretarys-linda-mcmahon-job-is-to-end-the-job/articleshow/117945561.cms |publisher=The Economic Times}}</ref> McMahon echoed Trump's comments, stating that the department was not needed when asked directly if the United States needed the department.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bender |first=Michael C. |date=2025-03-07 |title=Asked if U.S. Needs Education Department, Its Head Says 'No' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/education-department-mcmahon-trump.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-03-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On March 11, 2025, seven weeks after [[Second presidency of Donald Trump|Donald Trump's second term]] began, the [[Department of Government Efficiency]] announced it would fire nearly half the Department of Education's workforce.<ref name=hill20250311>{{Cite news |last=Cochran |first=Lexi Lonas |date=2025-03-11 |title=Department of Education lays off nearly half of workforce |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5189588-department-of-education-lays-off-nearly-half-of-workforce/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250330104659/https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5189588-department-of-education-lays-off-nearly-half-of-workforce/ |archive-date=March 30, 2025 |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=The Hill |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=DOE20250311>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-11 |title=U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force |url=https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=U.S. Department of Education |language=en}}</ref> Trump signed an order on March 20 aimed at closing the department to the maximum extent allowed by law;<ref name=nyt20250320>{{cite web |last=Bender |first=Michael C. |title=Trump signs an order aimed at eliminating the education dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 20, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-20 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/20/us/trump-education-news}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> the department cannot be entirely closed without the approval of Congress, which created it.<ref name="Bender">{{cite web |last=Bender |first=Michael C. |title=Trump is said to sign an executive order on Thursday aimed at dismantling the Education Department |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 19, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-19 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/19/us/trump-news#trump-education-department}}</ref><ref name=ap20250319>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-19 |title=Trump orders a plan to dismantle the Education Department while keeping some core functions |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-department-shutdown-b1d25a2e1bdcd24cfde8ad8b655b9843 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>  U.S. district judge [[Myong J. Joun|Myong Joun]] in Boston blocked the mass layoff and the dismantle attempt on May 22, 2025.<ref name=huffpost20250522>{{Cite web |last=Raymond |first=Nate |date=2025-05-22 |title=Judge Blocks Trump Administration Plan To Gut Education Department |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-education-department_n_682f3bbce4b09130a58588b4 |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> Though the Trump administration appealed, a federal appeals court declined on June 4 to lift Joun's ruling.<ref name=cnn20250714>{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Devan |date=2025-06-04 |title=Federal appeals court refuses to lift ruling halting mass layoffs at Department of Education |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/politics/appeals-court-department-of-education-cuts |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> On July 14, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] allowed the mass layoffs to proceed in a 6-3 decision.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Supreme Court allows Trump to implement Education Department layoffs | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-trump-administration-layoffs-education-department-rcna211450 | access-date=2025-08-18 | website=www.nbcnews.com}}</ref>

=== 2025 workforce reduction and reorganization ===
{{Infobox court case
| name = McMahon v. New York
| court = [[District of Massachusetts]]
| judge = [[Myong J. Joun]]
| start date = March 13, 2025
| CourtSeal = District-Massachusetts.png
| appealed to = [[First Circuit]]
| subsequent_actions = district ruling stayed by Supreme Court via [[shadow docket]]<ref>{{cite web |title=ON APPLICATION FOR STAY |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1203_new_6j37.pdf |website=[[supremecourt.gov]] |date=July 14, 2025}}</ref>
| docket = [https://clearinghouse.net/case/46217/ 1:25-cv-10601] (D. Mass.) <br> 25-1495, 25-1500 (1st Cir.) <br> [http://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24A1203.html 24A1203] (SCOTUS)
|italic title=no
}}
On March 11, 2025, the Department of Education announced a major workforce reduction, eliminating nearly half of its employees—reducing staff from approximately 4,100 to about 2,100. The move, described by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon as part of a broad modernization effort, included a reorganization of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Remaining staff were placed on paid administrative leave beginning March 21, with separation or retirement packages scheduled by June 9. The Department stated the restructuring was necessary to streamline operations, reduce federal oversight in education, and shift key responsibilities to other federal agencies.<ref>U.S. Department of Education. "Department of Education Initiates Workforce Reduction as Part of Agency Reorganization." March 11, 2025. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force</ref><ref>U.S. Department of Education. "Department of Education Announces Paid Administrative Leave for Affected Employees." March 21, 2025. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-paid-leave-employees</ref>

On March 20, 2025, Trump signed [[wikisource:Executive_Order_14242|an executive order]]<ref name="wh-20mar2025"/> directing the secretary of education to "facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Leingang |first1=Rachel |last2=Lowell |first2=Hugo |date=2025-03-20 |title=Trump signs executive order to dismantle US Department of Education |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/trump-executive-order-education-department |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="wh-20mar2025">{{cite web |title=Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/ |website=[[The White House]] |access-date=March 20, 2025 |date=March 20, 2025}}</ref> However, the department cannot be closed without the approval of Congress, which created it.<ref name="Bender" /> [[NBC News]] said, "Given their narrow majority, Republicans would need Democratic support to do that, which would make it unlikely for such a bill to pass."<ref name="Trump-abolish-eo">{{Cite web |title=White House preparing executive order to abolish the Education Department |date=4 February 2025 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-preparing-executive-order-abolish-department-education-rcna190205 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=2025-02-04 |language=en}}</ref>

In November 2025, McMahon argued on social media that other federal agencies or state governments could take on the grantmaking and informational work that was currently performed by the Education Department.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Binkley |first=Collin |last2=Ma |first2=Annie |date=November 19, 2025 |title=Trump Is Dismantling The Education Department. Here’s What That Will Unleash. |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-education-department-explainer_n_691da83fe4b0b763ab8cc7a6 |access-date=November 19, 2025 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>

==== Layoffs ====
{{Further|2025 United States federal mass layoffs}}
In February 2025, US Department of Education offered its staff incentives to resign or retire early.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schermele |first1=Zachary |title=Ahead of layoffs, Education Department offers employees $25K to quit or retire by Monday |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/02/28/education-department-buyouts-25k/80903209007/ |website=www.usatoday.com |publisher=USA Today |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref> In March 2025, the department announced a plan to reduce its workforce by half.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Donnell Adam Edelman and Tyler Kingkade |first1=Kelly |last2=Edelman |first2=Adam |last3=Kingkade |first3=Tyler |title=Education Department prepares to lay off roughly half its staff |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/education-department-lay-off-roughly-half-workforce-linda-mcmahon-rcna195038 |website=www.nbcnews.com |publisher=NBC News |access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>

==== Impacts ====
Based on a preliminary review of the layoffs that were ordered, the majority of cuts were seen in the [[Federal Student Aid|Federal Student Aid office]] which oversees financial aid disbursement and student loans, and the [[Office for Civil Rights]], which protects students and teachers from discrimination. While current Education Secretary McMahon has claimed that congressionally appropriated monies such as financial aid will not be affected by the plan to downsize or close the department, staff turnover could create multiple problems for those receiving aid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schermele |first=Zachary |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Education Dept. cuts are here. What happens now to student loans, FAFSA and IEPs? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/12/education-department-cuts-student-loan-fafsa-iep-impact/82310137007/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Trump administration has promised that formula funding for schools, funding such as [[Title 1]] for high poverty schools, and the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) which are protected by law would be preserved. However, nearly all statisticians and data experts who work with the program would be affected by the layoffs and downsizing of the department, as the department was downsized from over 100 people to just three workers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mehta |first=Jonaki |date=March 21, 2025 |title=How the Education Department cuts could hurt low-income and rural schools |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-5330917/trump-schools-education-department-cuts-low-income |access-date=2025-03-21 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>

The department oversees the lending of tens of billions of dollars in [[Student loans in the United States|loans to students]] and parents and oversees the collections process of the roughly $1.6 trillion in outstanding loans for over 40 million borrowers as of March 2025. If the department were to be closed, it has been theorized by experts other federal entities such as the Treasury Department would take over the responsibilities of managing the loans.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lieber |first=Ron |date=2025-03-20 |title=What Happens to Student Loans if the Education Dept. Closes? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/business/student-loans-education-department.html |access-date=2025-03-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On March 21, 2025 it was announced by Trump that the management of the entire federal student loan portfolio and the other "special needs" programs overseen by the department would be moved to other departments. Trump specified that the [[Small Business Administration]] would take over responsibility for student loans and the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services office]] would take on the special needs and nutrition programs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Turner |first=Cory |date=21 March 2025 |title=Trump says Education Department will no longer oversee student loans, 'special needs' |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-5336330/trump-education-department-student-loans-special-education-fsa |access-date=2025-03-21 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunnicutt |first=Trevor |last2=Mason |first2=Jeff |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Trump says Education Dept. to transfer student loan, nutrition programs to other agencies |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-small-business-administration-will-handle-federal-student-loan-2025-03-21/ |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

==== Responses ====
In a joint letter, senators [[Elizabeth Warren]], [[Bernie Sanders]] and a group of Democratic senators spoke out against the mass layoffs that were seen in March 2025 and urged Education Secretary McMahon to reinstate employees that were laid off.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones III |first=Arthur |date=March 20, 2025 |title=Warren warns of 'dire consequences' of Education Department firings for student loans |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/warren-tells-mcmahon-firing-workers-means-dire-consequences/story?id=119954913 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> Representative [[Bobby Scott (politician)|Bobby Scott]], the ranking member on the [[United States House Committee on Education and Workforce|House Committee on Education and the Workforce]] raised claims that the dismantling of the department would "exacerbate existing disparities, reduce accountability and put low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, rural students and English as a Second Language students at risk".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Irwin |first=Lauren |date=March 20, 2025 |title=NAACP president: Trump 'deliberately dismantling the basic functions of our democracy' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5205959-naacp-president-trump-deliberately-dismantling-the-basic-functions-of-our-democracy/ |access-date=March 20, 2025 |website=The Hill}}</ref>

[[Derrick Johnson (activist)|Derrick Johnson]], the president and CEO of the [[NAACP]], criticized Trump's attempt to close the department while raising allegations that Trump was dismantling the basic functions of democracy.<ref name=":0" />

== Organization ==
[[File:US Department of Education organizational chart.gif|thumb|upright=1.35|The structure of the Department of Education]]
{| 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
|-
| [[U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General|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)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nagb.gov/ |title=The National Assessment Governing Board |publisher=NAGB }}</ref>
|-
| 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]]
|}

==Budget==
{| class="wikitable floatright" width="180"
|
{{#invoke:Chart|pie chart
| radius = 90
| slice 1 = 160.7 : [[Office of Federal Student Aid]] : : [[Pell Grant]]
| slice 2 = 83 : [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act#Title I|Title I]] grants : : [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act#Title I]]
| slice 3 = 20.7 : [[Special education in the United States|Special education]] : : [[Special education in the United States]]
| slice 4 = 8 : Other : lightgray
| units prefix = $
| units suffix = B
| percent = true
}}
|-
|Budget of the Department of Education for [[2024 United States federal budget|FY 2024]], showing its largest components<ref name="auto1"/>
|}
For 2024, the US Department of Education's budget was approximately $268 billion with $79,052,238 in discretionary spending.<ref>{{cite web |title=Department of Education Fiscal Year 2024 Congressional Action (in thousands of dollars) |url=https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/overview/budget/budget24/24action.pdf |website=www.ed.gov |publisher=US Department of Education |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref> The department currently holds and maintains approximately $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt.<ref>{{cite web |title=Student Loan Debt Statistics |url=https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics |website=Education Data Initiative |publisher=EducationData.org |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref>

==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]]
* [[Higher education in the United States]]
* [[National Diffusion Network]]
* [[National Endowment for the Humanities]]
* [[School Improvement Grant]]
* [[Student loans in the United States]]
* [[Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]

=== 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==
* Bauman, Dan, and Brock Read. "[https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-brief-history-of-gop-attempts-to-kill-the-education-dept/ A Brief History of GOP Attempts to Kill the Education Dept]" ''Chronicle of Higher Education''  (June 21, 2018)
* Berube, Maurice R. ''American Presidents and Education'' (1991) from Washington to GHW Bush
* Flanagan, Coral J., and Kenneth K. Wong. "The Administrative Presidency and PK‐12 Education Policy: Student Rights and Oversight During the Trump and Biden Era." ''Public Administration Review'' (2025)[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/puar.13939 online].
* Garhart, Margaret Anne. "Deep Cuts and Wishful Thinking": The Reagan Administration and the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, 1981-1988" (PhD Dissertation,  Case Western Reserve University, 2023) [https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=case1671043559546293&disposition=inline onlune].
* Graham, Hugh Davis. ''The Uncertain Triumph: Federal Education Policy in the Kennedy and Johnson Years'' (U of North Carolina Press, 1984). [https://archive.org/details/uncertaintriumph0000grah/page/n6/mode/1up online]; narrow focus on political maneuvering
* Gritter, Matthew. [https://doi.org/10.1080/07343469.2024.2311416 Passing a Bill "Nobody Especially Cared About": The Creation of the Department of Education] ''Congress & the Presidency'' 51#1 (2024).
* Heffernan, Robert V. ''Cabinetmakers: Story of the Three-Year Battle to Establish the U.S. Department of Education'' (2001), {{ISBN|978-0595158706}}
* Kursh, Harry. ''The United States Office of Education: a century of service'' (1965) [https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesoffi0000kurs/page/n6/mode/1up online], narrative history; emphasizing 1960s
* McAndrews, Lawrence J.  ''The Era of Education: The Presidents and the Schools, 1965–2001'' (University of Illinois Press, 2006)
* Mitchell, Shayla Lois Marie. "An historical analysis of the creation of a cabinet-level United States Department of Education" (PhD dissertation, Diss. Georgia State University;  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2008. 3323225).
* Munger,  Frank J., and Richard F. Fenno Jr. ''National Politics and Federal Aid to Education'' (Syracuse University Press, 1962). [https://archive.org/details/nationalpolitics0000fran online]
* Radin, Beryl A., and Willis D. Hawley (1988). ''Politics of Federal Reorganization: Creating the U.S. Department of Education'', {{ISBN|978-0080339771}}
* Rivlin, Alice M. ''The role of the Federal Government in financing higher education'' (Brookings 1961) [https://archive.org/details/roleoffederalgov0000rivl_a2w9/page/n6/mode/1up online]
* Salajan, Florin D., and Tavis D. Jules. "US Education in the Age of Trumpism, Project 2025, American Isolationism, and the Global Polycrisis: Charting a New Role for Comparative and International Education." ''Comparative Education Review'' 68.4 (2024): 519-537. [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/734036 onlinne]
* Seib, Shirley, Ed. ''Federal Role in Education'' (Congressional Quarterly, 1967)
* Smith, Darrell Hevenor. ''The Bureau of Education Its History Activities and Organization'' (1923) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.87944/page/n7/mode/1up online]
* Sniegoski, Stephen J. "A Bibliography of the Literature on the History of the US Department of Education and its Forerunners". (1988). [https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED304394.pdf online]
* Stallings, D. T. ''A brief history of the United States Department of Education, 1979–2002'' (Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, 2002). [https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=87890571d93e26c2a0c84bdb0a0e9a99774474f5 online]
* Warren, Donald R. ''To Enforce Education: A History of the Founding Years of the United States Office of Education'' (Wayne State University Press, 1974), a leading scholarly history; [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL20140858M/To_enforce_education online]
* Warren, Donald R.  "The U.S. Department of Education: A Reconstruction Promise to Black Americans". ''Journal of Negro Education'' 63:4 (February 1974), pp. 437–51. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2966702 online]

===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==
{{Sister project links |auto=yes}}
* {{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.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency?EntityId=8ghEuYRf8O8=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o Department of Education] | [[United States Government Manual]]
* [https://www.gao.gov/agencies/department-education Department of Education] reports and recommendations from the [[Government Accountability Office]]
* [https://openomb.org/agency/department-of-education Department of Education] [[apportionment (OMB)|apportionment]]s on OpenOMB
* [http://www.ericdigests.org/ ERIC Digests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416165920/http://www.ericdigests.org/ |date=16 April 2021 }} – Informational digests on educational topics produced by the U.S. Department of Education before 1983.

{{United States Department of Education}}
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[[Category:United States Department of Education| ]]
[[Category:1979 establishments in the United States|Department Of Education]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1979]]
[[Category:Ministries of education]]
[[Category:United States federal executive departments|Education]]