Commissioner of Education

The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the National Bureau of Education, a former unit within the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March 2, 1867 when an Act to establish a department of education took effect.

The Commissioner was responsible for:

• Formulating educational policy
• Administering the various functions of the Office of Education
• Coordinating educational activities at the national level

The Commissioner also served as an ex officio member of the District of Columbia Commission on Licensure, the Board of Foreign Scholarships and served as the governmental representative on the US National Commission for UNESCO.

In 1972, Public Law 92-318 provided the repeal of a part of the law which had created the office of Commissioner of Education. The repeal took effect on July 1, 1972. The Office of Education ceased to exist. The Commissioner of Education continued to exist in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare until 1980, when the post was phased out due to the creation of the Cabinet-level Department of Education and the Commissioner was supplanted by the Secretary of Education.

List of Commissioners of Education

References

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