UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The U.S. Department of Education was established on May 4, 1980 by Congress in the Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96-88 of October 1979). The Department's mission is to:

Strengthen the Federal commitment to assuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual;

Supplement and complement the efforts of states, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the states, the private sector, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education;

Encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in Federal education programs;

Promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through Federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information;

Improve the coordination of Federal education programs;

Improve the management of Federal education activities; and

Increase the accountability of Federal education programs to the President, the Congress, and the public.

The responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Education generally fall into six important areas:

(1) Providing national leadership and partnerships to address critical issues in American education;

(2) Serving as a national clearinghouse of good ideas;

(3) Helping families pay for college;

(4) Helping local communities and schools meet the most pressing needs of their students;

(5) Preparing students for employment in a changing economy;

(6) Ensuring nondiscrimination by recipients of federal education funds.

The Department is headquartered, and has most operations, in Washington, DC where the staff of approximately 3600 occupies parts of several buildings including Regional Office Building 3 (ROB3), Federal Office Building 6 (FOB6), the Mary E. Switzer Building (MES), Capitol Place, and at L'Enfant Plaza. The Secretary's office is normally in Federal Office Building 6 at 400 Maryland Avenue. Due to renovation of the FOB6 building, the headquarters staff formerly located there has been temporarily relocated to FOB10 (600 Independence Avenue).

Additionally, there are over 1400 staff members who work in the Department's ten Regional Offices, each of which is headed by a Secretary's Regional Representative. These regional representatives serve as liaisons to state, local, and private education organizations and as advocates for the administration's policies.

To learn more about the United States Department of Education, visit their website at www.ed.gov.