Education Department

The secretary of education advises the president of the United States on federal education plans, policies, and programs. The secretary directs department officials in carrying out these programs and activities and serves as the chief spokesperson for public affairs, promoting public understanding of the DOE's goals, objectives, and programs.

The secretary also performs certain federal responsibilities for four federally aided corporations. The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky, distributes Braille books, talking books, and other educational aids without cost to educational institutions for blind people. Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C., provides a liberal arts education for deaf persons. Howard University, also in Washington, D.C., is a comprehensive university that offers instruction in seventeen schools and colleges, and was established primarily to support African-American students. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a division of the Rochester Institute of Technology, located in Rochester, New York, provides educational programs that focus on careers and are geared towards helping hearing-impaired individuals obtain marketable skills in a society that increasingly relies on technology.

The deputy secretary serves as the principal policy adviser to the secretary on all major program and management issues and is responsible for the department's internal management and daily operations. The deputy oversees the Executive Management Committee and the Reinvention Coordination Council, coordinates federal-state relations, and serves as acting secretary in the secretary's absence.

The undersecretary advises the secretary on matters relating to program plans and budget.

Through the Planning and Evaluation Service and the Budget Service, this officer directs, coordinates, and recommends policy and administers analytical studies on the economic, social, and institutional effect of existing and proposed policies, legislative proposals, and program operations.