Department of Education Act

Department of Education Act - Cites the importance of education to the interests of the Nation; and states that the United States is the only major Nation which does not have a Cabinet level department of education.

Establishes a Department of Education. Creates the office of Secretary, Under Secretary, six Assistant Secretaries, and a General Counsel.

States that the function of the Department is to promote the cause and advancement of education throughout the United States, to advise the President respecting the programs of education, to develop policies and programs to foster the orderly growth and development of educational resources and facilities, to coordinate Federal activities affecting education, to conduct surveys, collect and analyze data, and disseminate information, to provide information and assistance to aid in the maintenance of school, college, and university systems, to encourage long-range planning by State and local government, and to facilitate the continuing renewal of the American educational system.

Transfers to the Department of Education all the officers, employees, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, and records of the following agencies and organizations: the Office of Education, the Office of Child Development, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for Education, and any advisory committees in HEW concerning education.

Transfers the following functions to the Department: those of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare respecting educational television broadcasting facilities and of the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 relating to institutional manpower training.

Transfers the following programs and activities to the Department: Head Start; Follow Through; Job Corps; Department of Defense dependents' school; schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Graduate School operated by the Department of Agriculture; and the National School Lunch Act.

Transfers to the Department the provisions, under the Housing Act of 1950, for college housing; and transfers the functions of the Secretary of Labor under Title III of the Manpower Development and Training Act which relate to institutional manpower training and the functions of the National Science Foundation relating to curriculum development, computer innovations in education, and teacher retraining.

Redesignates the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as the Department of Health and Welfare.

Establishes a National Institute of Education within the Department of Education headed by a Director and Deputy Director. Establishes a National Advisory Council on Educational Research and Development.

Authorizes the Institute to seek to improve education by conducting research and related activities to identify and resolve problems in education and to achieve the objectives of education, to advance the practice of education, to strengthen the scientific and technological foundations of education, and to build an effective research and development system. Directs the Institute to collect and disseminate findings, train researchers, grant and contract for research, promote the coordination of research, and provide for facilities and equipment.

Requires the Advisory Council to advise the Secretary and the Director on the policies, priorities and management of the Institute and the status of educational research in the United States, and to present an annual report to the President on these matters.

Authorizes $400,000,000 in the aggregate through the period ending June 30, 1975, to carry out the functions of the Institute.

Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Education to study and make recommendations to assure effective coordination of Federal education programs. Appoints the Secretary chairman and provides for appropriate representatives from the Departments of State, Defense, Agriculture, Labor, and Health and Welfare, and the National Science Foundation, Atomic Energy Commission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities.

Establishes a National Advisory Commission on Education to: review the operation of Federal education programs, advise the Secretary on educational needs, goals, and renewal, conduct objective evaluations of education programs and projects, make recommendations for the improvement of Federal programs, consult with Federal, State and local agencies respecting the improvement of the quality of education, and conduct conferences on the assessment, improvement, and renewal of education.

Authorizes the Commission to assist the Secretary in establishing a rational and well-integrated advisory structure for the Department.

Defines powers and duties of the Secretary. Requires an annual report containing objective data on education including the results and outcomes of education, five-year budget projections, progress toward the renewal of education in the Nation, a report on the advisory structure of the Department, and a complete analysis of major educational policy issues.

Makes provisions for all transferred personnel insuring no loss of rank, grade, seniority, or rate of compensation because of transfer.

Revises the Communications Act of 1934 by making the Secretary of Education an ex officio member of the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Requires the Secretary to submit within two years of enactment a proposed codification of all laws which contain functions transferred to the Secretary by this Act.

Prohibits Federal control of education with respect to any State or local educational agency. Defines education to include not only concern for preschool, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education but also concern for the educational functions of other agencies and institutions such as the home and family, the military, industry, and the mass media.

Establishes the effective date of the Act as 90 days after enactment.