Secretary of Education
Executive orders directing the Secretary of Education · 22 in Trump 45 · 181 all terms.
Related departments
Orders
22 shown · Trump 45
Establishing the President's Advisory 1776 Commission
This executive order creates a 20-member advisory commission to promote patriotic education about America's 1776 founding, requiring a report within one year and prioritizing federal grants toward civics programs. It also directs agencies to monitor Constitution Day compliance in federally funded schools and affirms federal non-interference in local curriculum control.
Establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council
This executive order creates the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, to coordinate federal efforts supporting the World Economic Forum's global initiative to grow and conserve one trillion trees by 2030. The Council is tasked with developing tracking methodologies, identifying legal barriers, finding funding opportunities, and requiring member agencies to report regularly on tree-related activities.
Modernizing America's Water Resource Management and Water Infrastructure
This executive order establishes a Water Subcabinet co-chaired by the Interior Secretary and EPA Administrator to coordinate federal water resource management across agencies. It mandates reports and recommendations to reduce duplication among hundreds of federal water working groups, improve water storage and quality, modernize infrastructure planning, and address workforce shortages in the water sector through fiscal year 2025 milestones.
Saving Lives Through Increased Support for Mental- and Behavioral-Health Needs
This executive order establishes a Coronavirus Mental Health Working Group to coordinate federal response to pandemic-exacerbated mental and behavioral health issues, including suicide prevention and substance abuse. It directs agencies to encourage grantees to adopt policies supporting safe in-person and telehealth mental health services, and requires a coordinated plan within 45 days.
Continued Student Loan Payment Relief During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This memorandum directs the Secretary of Education to extend temporary student loan payment relief—suspending payments and setting interest rates to 0%—through December 31, 2020, building on earlier COVID-19 relief measures scheduled to expire September 30, 2020. Borrowers may still make voluntary payments during this period.
White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative
This executive order establishes the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative within the Department of Education and creates a 20-member presidential advisory commission to improve Hispanic Americans' access to educational and economic opportunities. The Initiative and Commission are tasked with promoting workforce development, strengthening Hispanic-Serving Institutions, fostering public-private partnerships, and advising the President on policies affecting Hispanic American prosperity.
Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States
This executive order establishes combating human trafficking and online child exploitation as an executive branch priority, creating a dedicated Domestic Policy Council position, directing improved prevalence estimates, enhancing interagency coordination for prosecution, and mandating proposals to overcome information-sharing barriers for detecting child sexual abuse material online. It also directs victim protection efforts including housing strategies and prevention education partnerships with schools.
Discharging the Federal Student Loan Debt of Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans
This memorandum directs the Secretaries of Education and Veterans Affairs to streamline the process for discharging federal student loan debt for totally and permanently disabled veterans. It addresses the problem that only about half of the roughly 50,000 eligible veterans had successfully navigated the burdensome application process, and instructs agencies to use VA disability determinations to minimize veteran burden.
America's Cybersecurity Workforce
This executive order establishes programs to grow and strengthen the federal and national cybersecurity workforce through rotational assignments, skills assessments, competitions, and education awards. It mandates adoption of the NICE Framework for cybersecurity skills standards across government contracts and encourages its voluntary use in private-sector and academic training. The order also creates reporting mechanisms and deadlines for multiple agencies to assess workforce gaps and implement workforce development initiatives.
Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities
This executive order directs federal agencies to tie higher education grant funding to campus free speech protections and mandates new transparency tools for student borrowers. It requires the Education Department to launch a loan information website by January 1, 2020, expand the College Scorecard with program-level earnings and debt data, and report on risk-sharing options for student loans.
National Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End Suicide
This executive order establishes a presidential task force to create a comprehensive national roadmap (PREVENTS) aimed at ending veteran suicide through improved coordination between federal, state, local, tribal, and private-sector partners. It mandates development of a community integration proposal, a national research strategy, and an implementation plan within one year, with the task force continuing for two years afterward to monitor progress.
Establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council
This executive order establishes the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, chaired by the Secretary of HUD, to coordinate across federal agencies to promote investment in economically distressed communities and qualified opportunity zones created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Council is tasked with assessing agency actions, streamlining regulations, and producing multiple reports with recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes.
Establishing the President's National Council for the American Worker
This executive order creates the President's National Council for the American Worker, co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and an economic advisor, to develop a national workforce development strategy. It also establishes a 25-member private-sector American Workforce Policy Advisory Board to advise the Council, with both bodies tasked to address skills gaps, promote apprenticeships, and align education with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Establishment of the Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud
This executive order establishes a Department of Justice Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud to coordinate investigation and prosecution of fraud against the government and public, replacing a similar Obama-era task force. It brings together senior DOJ officials and invites participation from numerous federal agencies to address financial crimes, cyber-fraud, and consumer protection.
Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility
This executive order directs federal agencies to review welfare programs and regulations to promote work requirements, reduce bureaucracy, and increase state flexibility in administering public assistance. It establishes nine 'Principles of Economic Mobility' and mandates specific agency reviews and reports within 90 days.
Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry
This executive order establishes a Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry, co-chaired by the Attorney General, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and a White House innovation advisor. The Council is tasked with developing evidence-based recommendations to reduce crime, lower recidivism, and improve reentry outcomes through coordination across 11 federal agencies, with initial and full reports due within 90 days and one year respectively. The order revokes a 2016 Obama memorandum on reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals and automatically terminates after three years.
Increasing Access to High-Quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
This memorandum directs the Secretary of Education to prioritize STEM education, particularly Computer Science, by establishing it as a Department priority for grant awards starting in fiscal year 2018, setting a goal of $200 million annually in STEM-focused grant funds, exploring administrative actions to expand Computer Science programs, and requiring annual reports to OMB. It highlights significant gaps in access to Computer Science education, especially for minorities, rural students, and girls.
Expanding Apprenticeships in America
This executive order promotes apprenticeships as an alternative to traditional higher education by establishing industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, creating a federal task force, and requiring agencies to evaluate and potentially eliminate ineffective workforce development programs. It directs multiple cabinet departments to expand apprenticeship access for students, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, and workers in critical sectors like manufacturing and cybersecurity.
Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure
This executive order mandates federal agencies to adopt the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and modernize IT infrastructure, while directing multiple cabinet departments to assess and report on cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure, deterrence strategies, international cooperation, and workforce development. It establishes accountability for agency heads in managing cybersecurity risk and requires extensive reports on federal IT modernization, botnet resilience, electricity grid vulnerabilities, and defense industrial base risks.
Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education
This executive order directs the Secretary of Education to review all Department of Education regulations and guidance documents related to statutes that prohibit federal control over education. The Secretary must identify and rescind or revise any that improperly direct, supervise, or control state and local decisions on curriculum, school administration, personnel, and instructional materials, with proposed actions due within 300 days.
Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America
This executive order establishes an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture with 21+ agency heads as members. The Task Force must identify and recommend legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to promote agriculture, economic development, and quality of life in rural America, submitting a report within 180 days. It also revokes the Obama-era White House Rural Council (EO 13575).
White House Initiative To Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
This executive order establishes a White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) housed in the Executive Office of the President, along with a President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs in the Department of Education. It requires federal agencies interacting with HBCUs to prepare annual plans for strengthening HBCU participation in federal programs and revokes the previous Obama-era executive order on the same topic.