United States Secretary of Education facts for kids

United States; Secretary of Education
	Official Seal
	Incumbent; John King, Jr.; since January 1, 2016
Formation	November 30, 1979
First holder	Shirley Hufstedler
Succession	Sixteenth
Website	www.ed.gov

The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession. The United States Secretary of Education deals with Education.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter established the Department of Education as a cabinet-level agency. Previously, Education had been handled by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, henceforth known as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The current Secretary of Education is John King, Jr..

Chronological list

No.	Name	Term of Office	President(s) served under
1	Shirley Hufstedler	November 30, 1979 - January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
2	Terrel Bell	January 22, 1981 - January 20, 1985	Ronald Reagan
3	William J. Bennett	February 6, 1985 - 1988	Ronald Reagan
4	Lauro Cavazos	September 20, 1988 - December 12, 1990	Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush
5	Lamar Alexander	March 22, 1991 - January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
6	Richard Riley	January 21, 1993 - January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton
7	Roderick Paige	January 20, 2001 - January 20, 2005	George W. Bush
8	Margaret Spellings	January 20, 2005 - January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
9	Arne Duncan	January 20, 2009 - January 1, 2016	Barack Obama
10	John King, Jr.	January 1, 2016 - present	Barack Obama