The Congress finds that—
(1) education is fundamental to the development of individual citizens and the progress of the Nation;
(2) there is a continuing need to ensure equal access for all Americans to educational opportunities of a high quality, and such educational opportunities should not be denied because of race, creed, color, national origin, or sex;
(3) parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children, and States, localities, and private institutions have the primary responsibility for supporting that parental role;
(4) in our Federal system, the primary public responsibility for education is reserved respectively to the States and the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States;
(5) the American people benefit from a diversity of educational settings, including public and private schools, libraries, museums and other institutions, the workplace, the community, and the home;
(6) the importance of education is increasing as new technologies and alternative approaches to traditional education are considered, as society becomes more complex, and as equal opportunities in education and employment are promoted;
(7) there is a need for improvement in the management and coordination of Federal education programs to support more effectively State, local, and private institutions, students, and parents in carrying out their educational responsibilities;
(8) the dispersion of education programs across a large number of Federal agencies has led to fragmented, duplicative, and often inconsistent Federal policies relating to education;
(9) Presidential and public consideration of issues relating to Federal education programs is hindered by the present organizational position of education programs in the executive branch of the Government; and
(10) there is no single, full-time, Federal education official directly accountable to the President, the Congress, and the people.
(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, §101, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 669.)
Section 601 of Pub. L. 96–88 provided that:
“(a) The provisions of this Act [see Short Title note below] shall take effect one hundred and eighty days after the first Secretary takes office, or on any earlier date on or after October 1, 1979, as the President may prescribe and publish in the Federal Register [prescribed as May 4, 1980, by Ex. Ord. No. 12212, formerly set out below], except that at any time on or after October 1, 1979—
“(1) any of the officers provided for in title II of this Act [subchapter II of this chapter] may be nominated and appointed, as provided in such title; and
“(2) the Secretary may promulgate regulations pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of this Act [section 3505(b)(2) of this title].
“(b) Funds available to any department or agency (or any official or component thereof), the functions or offices of which are transferred to the Secretary or the Department by this Act [see Short Title note below], may, with the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, be used to pay the compensation and expenses of any officer appointed pursuant to this title [this section and section 602 of Pub. L. 96–88 set out below] and other transitional and planning expenses associated with the establishment of the Department or transfer of functions or offices thereto until such time as funds for such purposes are otherwise available.”
Pub. L. 101–392, title VI, §601, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 840, provided that: “This title [enacting section 3423a of this title, amending section 3424 of this title, repealing sections 1131 and 3423 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 2403 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Office of Correctional Education Act of 1990’.”
Section 1 of Pub. L. 96–88 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 928, 929, 1102, 2390, 2711, and 3012 of this title, section 19 of Title 3, The President, sections 101, 5312, and 5314 to 5316 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, sections 2, 9, and 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, section 1004 of Title 21, Food and Drugs, and sections 761b, 794c, 821, 829, 873, 879, 882, 914, and 952 of Title 29, Labor, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 1102 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Department of Education Organization Act’.”
Section 602 of Pub. L. 96–88 provided that:
“(a) In the event that one or more officers required by this Act [see Short Title note above] to be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall not have entered upon office on the effective date of this Act [May 4, 1980] and notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the President may designate an officer in the executive branch to act in such office for one hundred and twenty days or until the office is filled as provided in this Act, whichever occurs first.
“(b) Any officer acting in an office in the Department pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) shall receive compensation at the rate prescribed for such office under this Act.”
Ex. Ord. No. 12212, May 2, 1980, 45 F.R. 29557, which established the effective date for the Department of Education Organization Act, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12553, Feb. 25, 1986, 51 F.R. 7237.
The Congress declares that the establishment of a Department of Education is in the public interest, will promote the general welfare of the United States, will help ensure that education issues receive proper treatment at the Federal level, and will enable the Federal Government to coordinate its education activities more effectively. Therefore, the purposes of this chapter are—
(1) to strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual;
(2) to supplement and complement the efforts of States, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States, the private sector, public and private educational institutions, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education;
(3) to encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in Federal education programs;
(4) to promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information;
(5) to improve the coordination of Federal education programs;
(6) to improve the management and efficiency of Federal education activities, especially with respect to the process, procedures, and administrative structures for the dispersal of Federal funds, as well as the reduction of unnecessary and duplicative burdens and constraints, including unnecessary paperwork, on the recipients of Federal funds; and
(7) to increase the accountability of Federal education programs to the President, the Congress, and the public.
(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, §102, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 670.)
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 96–88, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 668, known as the Department of Education Organization Act, which enacted this chapter, amended sections 928, 929, 1102, 2390, 2711, and 3012 of this title, section 19 of Title 3, The President, sections 101, 5312, and 5314 to 5316 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, sections 2, 9, and 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, section 1004 of Title 21, Food and Drugs, and sections 761b, 794c, 821, 829, 873, 879, 882, 914, and 952 of Title 29, Labor, and enacted provisions set out as notes under sections 1102 and 3401 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3401 of this title and Tables.
It is the intention of the Congress in the establishment of the Department to protect the rights of State and local governments and public and private educational institutions in the areas of educational policies and administration of programs and to strengthen and improve the control of such governments and institutions over their own educational programs and policies. The establishment of the Department of Education shall not increase the authority of the Federal Government over education or diminish the responsibility for education which is reserved to the States and the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States.
No provision of a program administered by the Secretary or by any other officer of the Department shall be construed to authorize the Secretary or any such officer to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution, school, or school system, over any accrediting agency or association, or over the selection or content of library resources, textbooks, or other instructional materials by any educational institution or school system, except to the extent authorized by law.
The Secretary shall not, during the period within eight months after May 4, 1980, take any action to withhold, suspend, or terminate funds under any program transferred by this chapter by reason of the failure of any State to comply with any applicable law requiring the administration of such a program through a single organizational unit.
(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, §103, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 670.)
In subsec. (c), “May 4, 1980” substituted for “the effective date of this chapter” pursuant to section 601 of Pub. L. 96–88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3401 of this title.
As used in this chapter, unless otherwise provided or indicated by the context—
(1) the term “Department” means the Department of Education or any component thereof;
(2) the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Education;
(3) the term “Deputy Secretary” means the Deputy Secretary of Education;
(4) the term “function” includes any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program;
(5) the term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands;
(6) the terms “private” and “private educational” refer to independent, nonpublic, and private institutions of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; and
(7) the term “office” includes any office, institute, council, unit, organizational entity, or component thereof.
(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, §104, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 671; Pub. L. 101–509, title V, §529 [title I, §112(a)(3)(A)], Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1454.)
1990—Par. (3). Pub. L. 101–509 substituted “Deputy Secretary” for “Under Secretary” in two places.
Section 529 [title I, §112(e)] of Pub. L. 101–509 provided that:
“(1) This section [amending this section, section 3412 of this title, sections 5313 and 5314 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, section 472a of Title 25, Indians, section 3533 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and section 1452 of Title 43, Public Lands and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 3501 of Title 42] shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period that begins on or after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 5, 1990].
“(2)(A) The incumbent in the position of Under Secretary of Health and Human Services on the day immediately preceding the date this section takes effect may serve as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services at the pleasure of the President after such day.
“(B) The incumbent in the position of Under Secretary of the Interior on the day immediately preceding the date this section takes effect may serve as Deputy Secretary of the Interior at the pleasure of the President after such day.
“(C) The incumbent in the position of Under Secretary of Education on the day immediately preceding the date this section takes effect may serve as Deputy Secretary of Education at the pleasure of the President after such day.
“(D) The incumbent in the position of Under Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on the day immediately preceding the date this section takes effect may serve as Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development at the pleasure of the President after such day.”
Section 529 [title I, §112(c)] of Pub. L. 101–509 provided that: “Any reference in any statute, reorganization plan, regulation, executive order, or any document issued pursuant thereto in force on the date this section takes effect [see Effective Date of 1990 Amendment; Continued Service by Incumbents note above] to the Under Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Under Secretary of the Interior, the Under Secretary of Education, or the Under Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall be deemed to be a reference to the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the Deputy Secretary of Education, or the Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, respectively.”
For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.