<Li> Department of Education Organization Act </Li> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.ed.gov </Td> </Tr> <P> The United States Department of Education (ED or DoED), also referred to as the ED for (the) Education Department, is a Cabinet - level department of the United States government . Recreated by the Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96 - 88) and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 17, 1979, it began operating on May 4, 1980 . </P> <P> The Department of Education Organization Act divided the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services . The Department of Education is administered by the United States Secretary of Education . It has approximately 4,400 employees and an annual budget of $68 billion (2016). </P>

When was the us department of education established