The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities related to all education in the United States. As a member of the

Cabinet of the United States The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch The executive (short for executive ...

, the secretary is fifteenth in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals entitled to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona A persona (plural personae ...

to the

presidency A presidency is an Administration (government), administration or the Executive (government), executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of President (government title), president of a state or nati ...

. The current secretary of education is

Miguel Cardona Miguel Angel Cardona (born July 11, 1975) is an American educator serving as the 12th United States Secretary of Education under President of the United States, President Joe Biden since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...

, who was confirmed by the Senate on March 1, 2021.

Function

The United States secretary of education is a member of the

president's

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

and is the fifteenth in the

United States presidential line of succession The United States presidential line of succession is the order Order or ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Orderliness Orderliness is associated with other qualities such as cleanliness Cleanliness is both the abstract state of being clean an ...

. This secretary deals with federal influence over

education policy Education policy consists of the principles and policy decisions that influence the field of education Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, value (ethics), values, morals, beliefs, hab ...

, and heads the United States Department of Education. The secretary is advised by the

National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and IntegrityThe National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI, pronounced nah-SEEK-eeh) is an advisory body that makes recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Education "on matters related to accreditation and to the eligibility and ...

, an advisory committee, on "matters related to accreditation and to the eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education."

List of secretaries

Prior to the creation of the Department of Education in 1979, Education was part of the ambit of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. ;Parties ;Status

Health, Education, and Welfare

Education

Source

Living former secretaries

As of , there are nine living former secretaries of education (with all secretaries that have served since 1985 still living), the oldest being

Lauro Cavazos Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. (born January 4, 1927) is an American educator and politician A politician is a person active in party politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or ot ...

(served 1988–1990, born 1927). The most recent secretary of education to die was Shirley Hufstedler (served 1979–1981, born 1925) on March 30, 2016. The most recently serving secretary to die was

Terrel Bell Terrel Howard Bell (November 11, 1921June 22, 1996) was the Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the ...

(served 1981–1985, born 1921) on June 22, 1996.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Secretary Of Education United States, Education

Education Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, value (ethics), values, morals, beliefs, habits, and personal development. Educational methods include teaching, training, storytelling, discussion ...

Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities rela ...