Department of Education

(noun)

The Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. 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. "

Related Terms

Examples of Department of Education in the following topics:

  • Education Policy

    • Education policy refers to the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems.
    • The federal department relating responsible for education oversight is the Department of Education .
    • The Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government.
    • 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. " However, the Department of Education does not establish schools or colleges.
    • 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.

  • A Typical Department Structure

    • There are 15 current executive departments, whose secretaries comprise the Cabinet: the Departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security.
    • The number of employees at each department varies widely, from about 4,500 in the Department of Education to about 3,000,000 at the Department of Defense.
    • Likewise, the departments' budgets range from 15.77 billion at the Department of Commerce to 879.2 billion at the Department of Health and Human Services.
    • At the top of each department is the secretary (in the Department of Justice, the highest office is called the "attorney general," but the role is the same as that of the secretary of state, defense, etc.).
    • The Department of Justice is typical of all executive departments in its hierarchical organization.

  • The Budgeting Process

    • The military budget of the United States during FY 2011 was approximately $740 billion in expenses for the Department of Defense (DoD), $141 billion for veteran expenses, and $48 billion in expenses for the Department of Homeland Security, for a total of $929 billion.
    • Treasury Department.
    • Major categories of FY 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($802B or 23% of spending), Social Security ($768B or 22%), Defense Department ($670B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($615B or 17%), other mandatory ($461B or 13%) and interest ($223B or 6%).
    • The military budget of the United States during FY 2011 was approximately $740 billion in expenses for the Department of Defense (DoD), $141 billion for veteran expenses, and $48 billion in expenses for the Department of Homeland Security, for a total of $929 billion.
    • Non-defense discretionary spending is used to fund the executive departments (e.g., the Department of Education) and independent agencies (e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency), although these do receive a smaller amount of mandatory funding as well.

  • Education Policy

    • Board of Education made the desegregation of elementary and high schools a national priority, while the Pell Grant program helped poor minorities gain access to college.
    • The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 made standardized testing a requirement, and in 1983, a commission was established to evaluate their results and propose a course of action.
    • Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: local, state, and federal, in that order.
    • At the college and university level student loan funding is split in half; half is managed by the Department of Education directly, called the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP).
    • The other half is managed by commercial entities such as banks, credit unions, and financial services firms such as Sallie Mae, under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

  • Cabinet Departments

    • The attorney general is an example of a cabinet member, and oversees the executive Department of Justice.
    • At the top of each department is the secretary (in the Department of Justice, the highest office is called the "attorney general," but the role is parallel to that of the secretary of state, defense, etc.).
    • The three oldest executive departments are the Department of State, the Department of War, and the Treasury, all of which were established in 1789.
    • The Department of War has since been subsumed by the Department of Defense, and many other executive departments have been formed.
    • The order of the departments, and the roles of the secretaries of each department, is as follows:

  • The Executive Departments

    • The executive departments are administrative organs in the executive branch of the federal government.
    • The State Department (formally known as the Department of State) is the highest ranking executive department and is headed by the Secretary of State.
    • The three oldest executive departments are the Department of State, Department of War, and the Treasury, all of which were established in 1789.
    • The Department of War has since been subsumed by the Department of Defense, and many other executive departments have been formed.
    • After the vice president, speaker of the house, and the president pro tempore of the Senate, the heads of the executive departments are ranked as follows:

  • The Bureaucracy

    • The United States Department of State (DoS), often referred to as the State Department, is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for the international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries.
    • The Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and is a member of the Cabinet.
    • As stated by the Department of State, its purpose includes:
    • The Department of Defense (also known as the Defense Department, USDOD, DOD, DoD or the Pentagon) is the executive department of the U.S. government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with national security and the U.S. armed forces.
    • The Department – headed by the Secretary of Defense – has three subordinate military departments: the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force.

  • Providing National Security

    • These organizations include the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the White House National Security Council.
    • There are a variety of governmental departments and agencies within the United States that are responsible for developing policies to ensure national security.
    • The Department of Defense is responsible for coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with the U.S.
    • The Department—headed by the Secretary of Defense—has three subordinate military departments: the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force.
    • The Central Intelligence Agency is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

  • Making Policy

    • The actual development and implementation of policies are under the purview of different bureaucratic institutions.
    • However, the actual development and implementation of policies are under the purview of different bureaucratic institutions mainly comprised cabinet departments, independent executive agencies, government corporations, and regulatory agencies.
    • Fifteen agencies are designated by law as cabinet departments, which are major administrative units responsible for specified areas of government operations.
    • Examples of cabinet departments include the Department of Defense, State, and Justice.
    • For instance, the Interior Department includes the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the U.S.

  • Maintaining a Strong Economy

    • Within the United States, there are numerous government departments and agencies responsible for maintaining a strong economy.
    • The Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the U.S. government concerned with promoting economic growth.
    • Organizations within the Department of Commerce include the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the International Trade Administration.
    • The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the U.S. government.
    • Differentiate between the various departments and agencies responsible for the health of the economy