20 USC 3402 - Congressional declaration of purpose

Collapse to view only § 3402. Congressional declaration of purpose

§ 3401. Congressional findings
§ 3402. Congressional declaration of purpose
§ 3403. Relationship with States
§ 3404. Definitions

§ 3401. Congressional findings

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.

(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, § 101, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 669.)

§ 3402. Congressional declaration of purpose

The Congress declares that the establishment of a Department of Education is in the public interest, will promote the general welfare of the United States, will help ensure that education issues receive proper treatment at the Federal level, and will enable the Federal Government to coordinate its education activities more effectively. Therefore, the purposes of this chapter are—

(1) to strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual;

(2) to supplement and complement the efforts of States, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States, the private sector, public and private educational institutions, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education;

(3) to encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in Federal education programs;

(4) to promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information;

(5) to improve the coordination of Federal education programs;

(6) to improve the management and efficiency of Federal education activities, especially with respect to the process, procedures, and administrative structures for the dispersal of Federal funds, as well as the reduction of unnecessary and duplicative burdens and constraints, including unnecessary paperwork, on the recipients of Federal funds; and

(7) to increase the accountability of Federal education programs to the President, the Congress, and the public.

(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, § 102, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 670.)

§ 3403. Relationship with States

(a) Rights of local governments and educational institutions

(b) Curriculum, administration, and personnel; library resources

(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, § 103, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 670.)

§ 3404. Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless otherwise provided or indicated by the context—

(1) the term “Department” means the Department of Education or any component thereof;

(2) the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Education;

(3) the term “Deputy Secretary” means the Deputy Secretary of Education;

(4) the term “function” includes any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program;

(5) the term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands;

(6) the terms “private” and “private educational” refer to independent, nonpublic, and private institutions of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; and

(7) the term “office” includes any office, institute, council, unit, organizational entity, or component thereof.

(Pub. L. 96–88, title I, § 104, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 671; Pub. L. 101–509, title V, § 529 [title I, § 112(a)(3)(A)], Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1454.)