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.
Effective Date
Pub. L. 96–88, title VI, §601, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 696, provided that:
"(a) The provisions of this Act [see Short Title note below] shall take effect one hundred and eighty days after the first Secretary takes office, or on any earlier date on or after October 1, 1979, as the President may prescribe and publish in the Federal Register [prescribed as May 4, 1980, by Ex. Ord. No. 12212, formerly set out below], except that at any time on or after October 1, 1979—
"(1) any of the officers provided for in title II of this Act [subchapter II of this chapter] may be nominated and appointed, as provided in such title; and
"(2) the Secretary may promulgate regulations pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of this Act [section 3505(b)(2) of this title].
"(b) Funds available to any department or agency (or any official or component thereof), the functions or offices of which are transferred to the Secretary or the Department by this Act [see Short Title note below], may, with the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, be used to pay the compensation and expenses of any officer appointed pursuant to this title [this section and section 602 of Pub. L. 96–88 set out below] and other transitional and planning expenses associated with the establishment of the Department or transfer of functions or offices thereto until such time as funds for such purposes are otherwise available."
Short Title of 1990 Amendment
Pub. L. 101–392, title VI, §601, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 840, provided that: "This title [enacting section 3423a of this title, amending section 3424 of this title, repealing sections 1131 and 3423 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 2403 of this title] may be cited as the 'Office of Correctional Education Act of 1990'."
Short Title
Pub. L. 96–88, §1, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 668, provided in part: "This Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 928, 929, 1102, 2390, 2711, and 3012 of this title, section 19 of Title 3, The President, sections 101, 5312, and 5314 to 5316 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, sections 2, 9, and 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, section 1004 of Title 21, Food and Drugs, and sections 761b, 794c, 821, 829, 873, 879, 882, 914, and 952 of Title 29, Labor, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 1102 of this title] may be cited as the 'Department of Education Organization Act'."
Emergency Funding for Education
Pub. L. 116–136, div. B, title VIII, §§18001–18008, Mar. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 564–569, provided that:
"education stabilization fund
"
"(1) not more than 1/2 of 1 percent to the outlying areas on the basis of their respective needs, as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior;
"(2) one-half of 1 percent for the Secretary of Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, for programs operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education; and
"(3) 1 percent for grants to States with the highest coronavirus burden to support activities under this heading in this Act, for which the Secretary shall issue a notice inviting applications not later than 30 days of enactment of this Act [Mar. 27, 2020] and approve or deny applications not later than 30 days after receipt.
"(b)
"(1) 9.8 percent to carry out section 18002 of this title.
"(2) 43.9 percent to carry out section 18003 of this title.
"(3) 46.3 percent to carry out section 18004 of this title.
"governor's emergency education relief fund
"
"(b)
"(1) 60 percent on the basis of their relative population of individuals aged 5 through 24.
"(2) 40 percent on the basis of their relative number of children counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6333(c)] (referred to under this heading as 'ESEA').
"(c)
"(1) provide emergency support through grants to local educational agencies that the State educational agency deems have been most significantly impacted by coronavirus to support the ability of such local educational agencies to continue to provide educational services to their students and to support the on-going functionality of the local educational agency;
"(2) provide emergency support through grants to institutions of higher education serving students within the State that the Governor determines have been most significantly impacted by coronavirus to support the ability of such institutions to continue to provide educational services and support the on-going functionality of the institution; and
"(3) provide support to any other institution of higher education, local educational agency, or education related entity within the State that the Governor deems essential for carrying out emergency educational services to students for authorized activities described in section 18003(d)(1) of this title or the Higher Education Act [of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.], the provision of child care and early childhood education, social and emotional support, and the protection of education-related jobs.
"(d)
"elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund
"
"(b)
"(c)
"(d)
"(1) Any activity authorized by the ESEA of 1965, including the Native Hawaiian Education Act [20 U.S.C. 7511 et seq.] and the Alaska Native Educational Equity, Support, and Assistance Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) [20 U.S.C. 7541 et seq.], the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) ('IDEA'), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) [29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.], the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) ('the Perkins Act'), or subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.).
"(2) Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies with State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
"(3) Providing principals and others school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools.
"(4) Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population.
"(5) Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies.
"(6) Training and professional development for staff of the local educational agency on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
"(7) Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a local educational agency, including buildings operated by such agency.
"(8) Planning for and coordinating during long-term closures, including for how to provide meals to eligible students, how to provide technology for online learning to all students, how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 [1400] et seq.) and how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements.
"(9) Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the local educational agency that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.
"(10) Providing mental health services and supports.
"(11) Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
"(12) Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in local educational agencies and continuing to employ existing staff of the local educational agency.
"(e)
"(f)
"higher education emergency relief fund
"
"(1) 90 percent to each institution of higher education to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, by apportioning it—
"(A) 75 percent according to the relative share of full-time equivalent enrollment of Federal Pell Grant recipients who are not exclusively enrolled in distance education courses prior to the coronavirus emergency; and
"(B) 25 percent according to the relative share of full-time equivalent enrollment of students who were not Federal Pell Grant recipients who are not exclusively enrolled in distance education courses prior to the coronavirus emergency.
"(2) 7.5 percent for additional awards under parts A and B of title III [20 U.S.C. 1057 et seq., 1060 et seq.], parts A and B of title V [20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., 1102 et seq.], and subpart 4 of part A of title VII [20 U.S.C. 1136a et seq.] of the Higher Education Act [of 1965] to address needs directly related to coronavirus, that shall be in addition to awards made in section 18004(a)(1) of this title, and allocated by the Secretary proportionally to such programs based on the relative share of funding appropriated to such programs in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–94 [see Tables for classification]) and which may be used to defray expenses (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, payroll) incurred by institutions of higher education and for grants to students for any component of the student's cost of attendance (as defined under section 472 of the Higher Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1087ll]), including food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care.
"(3) 2.5 percent for part B of title VII of the Higher Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1138 et seq.] for institutions of higher education that the Secretary determines have the greatest unmet needs related to coronavirus, which may be used to defray expenses (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, payroll) incurred by institutions of higher education and for grants to students for any component of the student's cost of attendance (as defined under section 472 of the Higher Education Act), including food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care.
"(b)
"(c)
"(d)
"(2) A Historically Black College and University or a Minority Serving Institution may use prior awards provided under titles III, V, and VII of the Higher Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., 1101 et seq., and 1133 et seq.] to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
"(e)
"assistance to non-public schools
"
"(b)
"continued payment to employees
"
"definitions
"
"(1) the terms 'elementary education' and 'secondary education' have the meaning given such terms under State law;
"(2) the term 'institution of higher education' has the meaning given such term in title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.);
"(3) the term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Education;
"(4) the term 'State' means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
"(5) the term 'cost of attendance' has the meaning given such term in section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 1087ll].
"(6) the term 'Non-public school' means a non-public elementary and secondary school that (A) is accredited, licensed, or otherwise operates in accordance with State law; and (B) was in existence prior to the date of the qualifying emergency for which grants are awarded under this section;
"(7) the term 'public school' means a public elementary or secondary school; and
"(8) any other term used that is defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) shall have the meaning given the term in such section.
"maintenance of effort
"
"(b) The secretary may waive the requirement in subsection (a) for the purpose of relieving fiscal burdens on States that have experienced a precipitous decline in financial resources."
[For definition of "coronavirus" as used in sections 18001–18008 of Pub. L. 116–136, set out above, see section 23005 of Pub. L. 116–136, set out as a note under section 162b of Title 2, The Congress.]
Interim Appointments
Pub. L. 96–88, title VI, §602, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 696, provided that:
"(a) In the event that one or more officers required by this Act [see Short Title note above] to be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall not have entered upon office on the effective date of this Act [May 4, 1980] and notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the President may designate an officer in the executive branch to act in such office for one hundred and twenty days or until the office is filled as provided in this Act, whichever occurs first.
"(b) Any officer acting in an office in the Department pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) shall receive compensation at the rate prescribed for such office under this Act."
Executive Order No. 12212
Ex. Ord. No. 12212, May 2, 1980, 45 F.R. 29557, which established the effective date for the Department of Education Organization Act, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12553, Feb. 25, 1986, 51 F.R. 7237.
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