At a glance
The United States Department of Education (DoED) is responsible for administering and coordinating most federal assistance to education, collect data on US schools, and enforces federal educational laws regarding privacy and civil rights.
The DoED is the smallest cabinet-level department with 5,000 employees.
The vast amount of waste and sheer stupidity in government - from the Pentagon to the Food and Drug Administration - could fill committee agendas for years. - Tom Coburn
A Path Forward
Education still serves as the primary antidote to poverty in America. The Department of Education was created to facilitate student achievement in education by way of offering assistance to both individuals and schools. However, although the federal government has invested heavily in education, up almost 400% since 1970, test scores in America have remained flat. It is important Congress not equate spending more with caring more. Whether states should handle the majority of education decisions is up for debate, however one thing is clear, spending more will not automatically produce better students nor better citizens.
76.98 Billion Annual Budget
Betsy DeVos Secretary
Budget Growth 2012 - 2016
Annual budget for the federal government
Percentage of Federal Budget
Oversight Reports
Committee on STEM Education Not Meeting Responsibilities, Reviewing Program’s Performance
Bureau of Indian Education Not Ensuring Background Checks in Educational Facilities
GAO’s Department of Education Report Card
GAO: Discretionary Grants: Education Needs to Improve Its Oversight of Grants Monitoring
ED OIG: U.S. Department of Education’s Compliance With Improper Payment Reporting Requirements for Fiscal Year 2015
ED OIG: Audit of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Regulations and Operating Procedures
ED OIG: FY 2016 Management Challenges October 2015 The Department of Education reports challenges within the department. Challenges include improper payments, IT security, oversight, and data quality and reporting. Report.
ED OIG: FY 2015 Management Challenges
ED OIG: Insufficient Controls for the Puerto Rico Department of Education’s Use of Education Funds for Personal Services Contracts
GAO: Energy Policy: Information on Federal and Other Factors Influencing U.S. Energy Production and Consumption from 2000 through 2013
GAO: Improved Tax Information Could Help Families Pay for College
GAO: Borrower Interest Rates Cannot Be Set in Advance to Precisely and Consistently Balance Federal Revenues and Costs
GAO: Actions Needed to Address ATM Access, Student Choice, and Transparency
GAO: Impact of Loan Limit Increases on College Prices Is Difficult to Discern
GAO: Better Oversight Could Improve Defaulted Loan Rehabilitation
GAO: State Funding Trends and Policies on Affordability
GAO: Better Management of Federal Grant and Loan Forgiveness Programs for Teachers Needed to Improve Participant Outcomes
GAO: Education Could Do More to Help Ensure Borrowers Are Aware of Repayment and Forgiveness Options
GAO: Education Should Address Oversight and Communication Gaps in Its Monitoring of the Financial Condition of Schools
GAO: Agencies Have Helped Address Fragmentation and Overlap through Improved Coordination
GAO: K-12 Education: Better Use of Information Could Help Agencies Identify Disparities and Address Racial Discrimination
GAO: K-12 Education: Better Use of Information Could Help Agencies Identify Disparities and Address Racial Discrimination
GAO: Bureau of Indian Education Needs to Improve Oversight of School Spending
ED OIG: Federal Student Aid’s Oversight of Foreign Medical School Pass Rates
ED OIG: Federal Student Aid Paid Private Collection Agencies Based on Estimates
ED OIG: Audit of the Followup Process for External Audits in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
ED OIG: Department’s Implementation of the Teacher Incentive Fund Grant Program
Can you believe the US Government spends more money on it’s cable bill than on disaster relief?