The US Department of Education (USDOE) is the federal agency that oversees education. Despite its name, it’s far more than just a department. The Secretary of Education is Miguel Cardona. The Department of Education was created by Congress in 1980. The First Morill Act established support for land-grant colleges. Plessy v. Ferguson legalized segregation in “separate but equal” schools, and the Smith-Hughes Act extended federal aid to vocational education. Other landmark education laws include the GI Bill, which authorized aid for veterans to attend postsecondary school. Georgia-Barden Act established industrial and agricultural classes. In addition, Brown v. Board of Education made segregation unconstitutional in public schools.
