United States Department of Education facts for kids
Seal of the United States Department of Education
|
|
Flag of the United States Department of Education
|
|
 Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, Department Headquarters |
|
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 17, 1979 |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, 400 Maryland Avenue, Southwest, Washington, D.C., U.S. 20202 |
| Employees | 4,200 (2025) |
| Annual budget | $238.04 billion (2024) |
| Department executives |
|
| Key document |
|
The United States Department of Education is a part of the U.S. government. It started working on May 4, 1980. This department was created when an older department, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, was split into two new ones.
President Jimmy Carter signed the law to create it in 1979. Before this, there was a similar office in 1867, but it became smaller a year later.
The Department of Education is led by the Secretary of Education. In 2021, it had over 4,000 employees. This makes it the smallest department in the President's Cabinet.
Its budget for 2024 was about $268 billion. This is much more than the $14 billion it started with in 1979. In 2025, its budget was about four percent of all U.S. federal spending.
The official short name for the department is ED. Sometimes, people also call it "DoEd."
In 2025, there were plans to change the department's size. An order was signed to reduce its operations as much as possible. However, the department cannot be completely closed without approval from Congress.
Contents
What Does the Department of Education Do?
In the United States, each of the fifty states manages its own schools. This is different from many other countries. The 10th Amendment says that the federal government should not control what is taught in schools. It also does not set up schools or colleges.
However, the Department of Education still has important jobs. For example, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) runs schools on U.S. military bases. Also, the Bureau of Indian Education helps schools for Native American tribes.
The quality of colleges and universities is checked by a private process. This process is called accreditation. The Department of Education does not directly control this.
The department has four main goals:
- It sets rules for federal money given to students for college. It also gives out and checks these funds.
- It gathers information about schools across America. It also shares research about education.
- It helps people focus on important issues in education. It also suggests ways to make education better.
- It works to stop unfair treatment. It makes sure everyone has an equal chance to get an education.
The Department of Education also helps homeless young people. It works with other government groups to make sure they get a good education.
How the Department of Education is Organized
The Department of Education has many different offices. Each office helps with a specific part of education. Here are some of the main parts:
| Program | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of Education | Office of Communications and Outreach |
| Office of the General Counsel | |
| Office of Inspector General | |
| Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs | |
| Office for Civil Rights | |
| Office of Educational Technology | |
Institute of Education Sciences
|
|
| 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 | |
| Risk Management Service | |
| Deputy Secretary of Education | Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
|
| Office of English Language Acquisition | |
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
|
|
| Office of Innovation and Improvement | |
| 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 | |
How the Department of Education Spends Money
|
| Budget of the Department of Education for FY 2024, showing its largest components |
For 2024, the U.S. Department of Education had a budget of about $268 billion. A large part of this money is used for student loans and grants. The department also manages about $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt. This is money that students have borrowed for their education.
Important Education Laws
Many laws have been passed to help guide education in the United States. Here are some important ones:
- 1965: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
- 1965: Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA)
- 1974: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- 1975: Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)
- 1979: Department of Education Organization Act
- 1990: The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act)
- 2001: No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
- 2004: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- 2015: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
See also
- Council for Higher Education Accreditation
- Educational attainment in the United States
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid
- Federal Student Aid
- National Diffusion Network
- School Improvement Grant
- Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations
- National Endowment for the Humanities
