USC Subchapter I

in effect

20 U.S.C. § 3401 Congressional findings

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.

20 U.S.C. § 3402 Congressional declaration of purpose

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.

20 U.S.C. § 3403 Relationship with States

(a) Rights of local governments and educational institutionsIt 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. (b) Curriculum, administration, and personnel; library resourcesNo 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. (c) Funding under pre-existing programsThe 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.

20 U.S.C. § 3404 Definitions

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.