United States Secretary of Education

United States Secretary of Education
Official Seal
Incumbent Arne Duncan since January 21, 2009
Formation	November 30, 1979
First holder	Shirley Hufstedler
Succession	16th
Website	www.ed.gov

The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession. The United States Secretary of Education deals with Education policy.

The Secretary is advised by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, an advisory committee, on "matters related to accreditation and to the eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education."^[1]

The current Secretary of Education is Arne Duncan.

List of Secretaries of Education

No.	Name	State of Residence	Took Office	Left Office
1	Shirley Hufstedler	California	November 30, 1979	January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
2	Terrel Bell	Utah	January 22, 1981	January 20, 1985	Ronald Reagan
3	William J. Bennett	New York	February 6, 1985	September 20, 1988
4	Lauro Cavazos	Texas	September 20, 1988	December 12, 1990
4	Lauro Cavazos	Texas	September 20, 1988	December 12, 1990	George H. W. Bush
5	Lamar Alexander	Tennessee	March 22, 1991	January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
6	Richard Riley	South Carolina	January 21, 1993	January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton
7	Roderick Paige	Mississippi	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2005	George W. Bush
8	Margaret Spellings	Texas	January 20, 2005	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
9	Arne Duncan	Illinois	January 21, 2009	Incumbent	Barack Obama

	Government of the United States portal
	Education portal

"ED Staff Organization: Management Offices". U.S. Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/or/index.html. Retrieved April 11, 2007. - Includes the Secretary of Education

United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by Secretary of Energy	16th in line	Succeeded by Secretary of Veterans Affairs

United States Secretaries of Education

Hufstedler • Bell • Bennett • Cavazos • Alexander • Riley • Paige • Spellings • Duncan

Agencies under the United States Department of Education

Secretary of Education	Office for Civil Rights · Institute of Education Sciences

Deputy Secretary of Education	Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools · Office of Innovation and Improvement · Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services · Office of English Language Acquisition · Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Under Secretary of Education	Office of Federal Student Aid · Office of Vocational and Adult Education · Office of Postsecondary Education · White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Programs	National Center for Education Statistics · National Library of Education · National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research · Office of Migrant Education • Education Resources Information Center · National Assessment of Educational Progress

Independent Organizations	Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance · National Institute for Literacy · National Assessment Governing Board · National Board for Education Sciences · White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities · White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics

Leaders of the United States federal executive departments

Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Education • Energy • Health and Human Services • Homeland Security • Housing and Urban Development • Interior • Justice • Labor • State • Transportation • Treasury • Veterans Affairs Past department leaders: Commerce and Labor • Health, Education, and Welfare • Navy • Post Office • War