The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the

executive department The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

of the state charged with publicly funded preschool,

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and

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

al budgeting, management and guidelines. As the

state education agency A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

, its activities are directed by the governor appointed

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

's Secretary of Education. The agency is headquartered at 333 Market Street in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

. The Pennsylvania Department of Education oversees 500 public school districts of Pennsylvania, over 170 public charter schools (2019), Career and Technology Centers/Vocational Technical schools, 29

Intermediate Unit {{short description, School service agencies in Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, intermediate units are regional educational service agencies, established by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Intermediate units are public entities and serve a given g ...

s, the education of youth in State Juvenile Correctional Institutions, and publicly funded preschools (Head Start and PreK Counts Keystone Stars). In 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Education employs approximately 500 persons. The agency maintains a database of all education institutions in the Commonwealth with associated data. EdN

These entities include school districts and their schools, intermediate units, area vocational technical schools, charter schools, nonpublic and private schools, higher education institutions and more.

History

Following passage and signing of the Free School Law on April 1, 1834, the Secretary of the Commonwealth acted as head of the Common School System until 1837. In that year a separate Department of Schools was created with a Superintendent of Common Schools as its chief officer. In 1873, the title was changed to Superintendent of Public Instruction, and greater responsibilities were assigned to that official and to the Department. In 1969, the name of the Department of Public Instruction was changed to the Department of Education, with the title of Superintendent of Public Instruction changed to the Secretary of Education. It previously ran the

Pennsylvania State Board of Censors The Pennsylvania State Board of Censors was an organization under the Pennsylvania Department of Education responsible for approving, redacting, or banning motion pictures that it considered "sacrilegious, obscene, indecent, or immoral" or might ...

Purpose

The Department has broad discretionary powers in both the development and administration of educational policies which enhance the educational experience and quality in Pennsylvania. The Department also works as an ongoing study of the educational process within the state, conducting studies and programs designed to evaluate specific needs or qualities of the system. In doing so, the Pennsylvania Department of Education will recommend changes and improvements to the Governor, the Board of Education, and the General Assembly. The Pennsylvania Department of Education also oversees policies of public libraries, academic libraries, and the

State Library of Pennsylvania The State Library of Pennsylvania is one of the largest research libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Until 1971 it was known as the Pennsylvania State Library The Office of Commonwealth Libraries, within the Pennsylvania Department of ...

located in

. It provides policy of equal opportunity in the educational system, with special regard to nonpublic education and state policy of education. It is within the Pennsylvania Department of Education's mission to collaborate with other state educational departments in an effort to create a cohesive and dynamic learning environment.

Offices and sub groups

The Pennsylvania Department of Education operates several offices and participates in many state related agencies/Boards. *Office of Elementary and Secondary Education *Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education *Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) in association with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services *Office of Commonwealth Libraries *State Board of Educatio

*Professional Standards and Practices Commission *Office of Food and Nutrition Program

*Special Education Advisory Panel *State Boards of Private Schools

Power Library

''Power Library'' is the online portal to Pennsylvania libraries, a service of the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Secretaries of Education

''Source:'' * Noe Ortega (2020–present) * Pedro Rivera (2015-2020) * Carolyn C. Dumaresq (Confirmed August 2013) * Ronald Tomalis (Confirmed April 2011) * Joe Torsella (Confirmed August 2008) * Gerald L. Zahorchak (Confirmed February 2006) * Francis V. Barnes (Confirmed November 2004/Resigned June 2005) * Vicki L. Phillips (Confirmed March 2003/Resigned April 2004) * Charles B. Zogby (Confirmed June 2001/Resigned January 2003) * Eugene W. Hickok (Confirmed May 1995/Resigned March 2001) * Jane Carroll (acting) 1995 * Donald M. Carroll Jr. 1989-1995 * Carl S. (Terry) Dellmuth 1989 * Thomas K. Gilhool 1987-1989 * William Logan 1987 * D. Kay Wright 1986-1987 * Margaret A. Smith 1984-1986 * Robert C. Wilburn 1983-1984 * Robert G. Scanlon 1979-1983 * Caryl M. Kline 1977-1979 * Robert N. Hendershot 1977 *

John Pittenger John C. Pittenger (May 23, 1930 – December 6, 2009) was an American lawyer, academic and former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving two non-consecutive terms in the State House. He was appointed the Secr ...

1972-1976 *

David Kurtzman David Harold Kurtzman (January 11, 1904 – February 22, 1977) was the fourteenth Chancellor (1966–1967) of the University of Pittsburgh, and the last Superintendent of Public Instruction and first Secretary of Education (1967–1971) of the C ...

1969-1971

References

External links

Pennsylvania Department of Education
** {{authority control Education, Department of

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

State departments of education of the United States Educational administration State agencies of Pennsylvania Government agencies established in 1837 1837 establishments in Pennsylvania