États-Unis. Dept. of Education

A Department of Education, headed by a Commissioner, was established by an act of March 2, 1867. It was abolished as an independent agency on July 20, 1868, and reestablished as the Office of Education in the Department of Interior. The original statutory function of both the Department and the Office was to collect and desseminate information on education in the United States and abroad and to promote better education throughout the country. Later legislation and Executive orders have added functions, including responsibility for Federal financial assistance to education and special studies and programs. Among the programs is the vocational education program initiated under the Federa Board for Vocational Education in 1917 and transferred to the Office of Education on October 3, 1933. In 1931 the functions and records of the Alaska Division were transferred to the Office (now Bureau) of Indian Affairs. In 1939 the Office of Education was transferred to the Federal Security Agency, which became in 1953 the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The Department of Education is the Cabinet-level department that establishes policy for, administers, and coordinates most Federal assistance to education. The Department of Education was created by the Department of Education Organization Act (93 Stat. 668; 20 U.S.C. 3401), approved October 17, 1979, with the first Secretary of Education sworn in on December 6, 1979.

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