Department of Education (Alexandria-Prussia)

Alexandria-Prussia Department of Education

Agency overview
Formed	October 17, 1980 (1980-10-17)
Preceding agency	Department of Public Welfare and Education
Jurisdiction	Government of Alexandria-Prussia
Headquarters	James E. Austin Education and Tourism Building, Kingston, AP
Employees	4,017
Annual budget	$66.5 billion (2020)
Agency executive	Dr. Connie R. Kindler, Secretary of Education
Website	http://www.education.ap.gov

The Alexandria-Prussia Department of Education (ED or DoED) is a cabinet level department in charge of providing maintenance and support a thorough and efficient system of education. The Department has broad discretionary powers in both the development and administration of the educational policies which enhance the educational experience and quality in Alexandria-Prussia. It also works as an ongoing study of the educational process, conducting studies and programs designed to evaluate specific needs or qualities of the system. In doing so, the Department of Education will recommend changes and improvements to HM the King, the Minister-President and Parliament. The Department of Education is the smallest cabinet-level department within HM Government.

History

The Department's origin goes back to 1870, when Minister-President James Austin signed legislation creating the first Department of Education. Its main purpose was to collect information and statistics about the nation's schools. However, due to concern that the Department would exercise too much control over local schools, the new Department was demoted to an Office of Education in 1872.

Over the years, the office remained relatively small, operating under different titles and housed in various agencies until June 10, 1953 when it was merged into the newly created Department of Public Welfare and Education .

In 1979, Minister-President Roosevelt advocated for creating a cabinet-level Department of Education. Roosevelt's plan was to transfer most of the Department Public Welfare and Education's education-related functions to the Department of Education. Roosevelt also planned to transfer the education-related functions of the departments of Defense, Justice, Community and Housing Development, and Agriculture, as well as a few other central entities. The bill passed in 1980 after being receiving the support from HM the King and the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords. However the bill was still opposed by the Unionist Party in both House of Representatives and House of Lords. The Unionist saw the department as unconstitutional, arguing that the Constitution doesn't mention education, and deemed it an unnecessary and illegal central bureaucratic intrusion into local affairs.

Prior to 1980, the Office of Education had 3,000 employees and an annual budget of $12 billion. Parliament appropriated to the Department of Education an annual budget of $14 billion and 17,000 employees when establishing it.

In 2016 All Student Succeeds Act law authorizes central funding for K-12 schools, represents the nation’s commitment to equal educational opportunity for all students and has influenced the education of millions of children. The act provided the Secretary of Education to start researching the centralizing of education in Alexandria-Prussia. However as of 2020, the Unionist Party has blocked any legislative to centralize the education system.

A photo of the James E. Austin Education and Tourism Building

New Headquarters Building

In 2010 it was announced that Department of Education would seek to vacate the Health, Welfare, & Education Building as the building was suffering from deterioration and overcrowding between the Education Department, Department of Health and the Department of Human Services. The Department of General Services (DGS) began a search for a new headquarters replacement within Kingston. However the search stop in 2011 due to lack of adequate funding from the current administration. However in 2013 the search resumed and after months of looking and numerous discussions, DGS purchased the old Capital Times Buildings for AP$159 million in 2014. The old Capital Building along with surrounding building were demolished and the new building would consist of two linked 14-story towers. Construction began in late 2014 and last through the spring of 2018. The Education Department is taking the entire west building. While remaining east building would be used to house the new headquarters for the Department of Culture and Tourism on floors 3-14 and Office of Open Records on floors 1-2. Prior to moving into the building all the agencies moving into the building had employees their scattered in numerous building located throughout Kingston. The agencies started moving into the building in early summer 2018 through the fall of 2018.

Organization Structure

• Secretary of Education
  • Executive Deputy Secretary
    • Office of Civil Rights
    • Office of Communications and Outreach
    • Office of Legislative Affairs and Policy
  • Office of General Counsel †
    • Deputy Secretary for Administration
      • Bureau of Finance and Operations
      • Health and Human Services Delivery Center †
      • Center for Data Quality
      • Office of Risk Management
    • Deputy Secretary for Libraries and Special Education
      • Bureau of English Language Acquisition
      • Bureau of Library Development
      • Bureau of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
    • Deputy Secretary for Early, Elementary and Secondary Education
      • Bureau for Elementary and Secondary Education
      • Bureau for Safe and Healthy Students
      • Bureau of Early Learning Education and Intervention Services
      • Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction
        • School Leadership and Teacher Quality Program
        • Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs
    • Deputy Secretary for Education Technology, Innovation and Science
      • Institute of Education Sciences
      • Office of Educational Technology
      • Office of Innovation and Improvement
    • Deputy Secretary for Postsecondary Education and Financial Aid
      • Bureau of Career, Technical, and Adult Education
      • Bureau of Postsecondary Education
      • Central Student Financial Aid Agency

† Health and Human Services Delivery Center provides HR and IT services to groups of agencies.
† Office of General Counsel is an independent office that helps guide and interpret laws as well as providing legal services to the departments or offices of HM Government.