US secretary of education helps set national priorities in a system primarily funded and guided by local governments

President Jimmy Carter gets a round of applause in 1979 after signing legislation establishing a Department of Education. AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi by Dustin Hornbeck, University of Memphis The Department of Education has been a source of political controversy since its creation in 1980 during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. President Ronald Reagan, who was first elected that year, called for it to be disbanded. As a scholar of educational policy and the balance of federal and state roles in American education, I believe that understanding the department and its leader’s responsibilities is especially important today. Every child in the United States is required to attend school in some capacity, and what happens at the federal level can have real-world impacts on students ranging from preschool to grad school. In addition, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to dismantle the department. The secretary of education The secretary of education belongs to the president’s cabinet, leads the Department of Education and advises the president about educational policy issues. They oversee a department with a US$228 billion budget that enforces many civil rights laws and ensures compliance with federal laws such as the Every Student Succeeds Act. Some of the Education Department’s key responsibilities include administering...