The department of Education was found on October 17,1979.
The Department of Education has shaped many people's lives by giving them an equal opportunity of gaining an education.
The primary functions of the Department of Education are to "establish policy for, administer and coordinate most federal assistance to education, collect data on US schools, and to enforce federal educational laws regarding privacy and civil rights
The Department's mission is: to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Aligned with this mission of ensuring equal access to education, the Department of Education is a member of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and works with federal partners to ensure proper education for homeless and runaway youth in the United States.
''Our mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access''
The Department of Education Organization Act divided the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department of Education is administered by the United States Secretary of Education. It has approximately 4,400 employees and an annual budget of $68 billion (2016).
“In a rapidly changing economy, it is imperative that we give our students the skills they need to succeed outside of the classroom. This starts by returning decision making powers back to state and local governments and giving them the flexibility they need to meet the unique challenges they face. When the federal government gets out of the way, we remove a major obstacle blocking states from implementing common sense reforms.' -Betsey Devos
“The best workforce is an educated workforce, and this Administration is committed to increasing access to career and technical education for college students and adults alike. By encouraging public-private partnerships, we can help connect students with prospective employers and provide those students with the necessary skills to find a good-paying job in their communities''
Unlike the systems of most other countries, education in the United States is highly decentralized, and the federal government and Department of Education are not heavily involved in determining curricula or educational standards (with the recent exception of the No Child Left Behind Act). This has been left to state and local school districts. The quality of educational institutions and their degrees is maintained through an informal private process known as accreditation, over which the Department of Education has no direct public jurisdictional control
