Role of the Federal Government

There is no national education framework law or series of laws in the United States. National law does not control things like the establishment of institutions, the recognition of degrees and qualifications, recognition of professions, prescribed curricula or academic requirements, institutional governance, or the status of students and faculty. The only direct control exercised by the federal government over educational providers is in the limited case of education and training services operated by federal agencies, such as the armed services academies, other government training institutions, and public schools operated at U.S. overseas facilities to provide primary and secondary education to the children of personnel stationed there.

The Federal Role in Education explains the role that the U.S. federal government plays in our national education system.

General Federal Government Information

FirstGov - The Federal Web Locator is a searchable database of federal government web sites.

>Fed World is a federal government web portal and search engine provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service (NTIS).

Government Information X Change (GIX) is a web portal maintained by the General Services Administration that provides an online database of FAQs, topical links, and government telephone numbers.

WWW Virtual Library: U.S. Government Information Sources provides topical directories of federal agencies and information services.

Federal Laws and Regulations

Federal law consists of statutes, which are legislative bills passed by the Congress and signed by the President; judicial decisions of the federal courts; and regulations and binding policy directives issued by the federal agencies and the Executive of the President (White House).

Federal Legislation and Statutes

FedLaw is an access portal to online databases, search engines, and guidance concerning federal laws, regulations, and other official documents.

THOMAS is the Library of Congress' online database of historical information on recent bills introduced, debated, and passed by the Congress.

United States Code is a searchable database, with links to other sources, of the entire U.S. Code, the official compilation of federal laws.

Federal Judicial Decisions

>Federal Judiciary is FedLaw's guide to the federal court system, including links to searchable databases of federal judicial decisions by jurisdiction, court, citation, and date.

FindLaw is a comprehensive searchable database for locating U.S. court decisions and case information by jurisdiction, court, year, citation, and government level.

Federal Agency Regulations

Federal Regulations: General is a searchable database of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the official compilation of all federal administrative regulations and agency rules, provided by the General Services Administration.

NARA: Code of Federal Regulations is the National Archives and Records Administration guide to current and past editions of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Executive Orders and Circulars

NARA: Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is the National Archive and Records Administration's searchable database of Presidential documents, including Executive Orders issued prior to the current Administration that may still be in effect.

>OMB Circulars is a searchable database of all policy directives, called Circulars, issued by the Office of Management and Budget and binding on the agencies of the Executive Branch.

White House Electronic Publications provides a search engine for locating Executive Orders issued by the current President, which have the force of law and are binding on federal agencies until rescinded or superseded.

Federal Legal Announcements and Publications

CBDNet is the online version of The Commerce Business Daily, a federally sponsored newspaper which by law contains advertisements of every federal procurement program in all agencies. Site provides a searchable archive.

Federal Register Online is the online version of the Federal Register, a weekly periodical that by law contains copies of every federal grant competition announcement, notices of regulatory changes, public advisory committee meetings, and other announcements. Site provides a searchable archive.

GPO Access is a portal to all official federal documents and publications maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

The Congress

Congress is the Legislative Branch of the U.S. government and is composed of two chambers, the Senate (upper house) and House of Representatives (lower house). Both chambers operate via committees that have oversight jurisdiction over designated areas of federal activity, such as education, and that draft pertinent legislation. In addition, the Legislative Branch consists of various agencies performing work designated by the Congress.

United States Senate is the web site of the U.S. Senate, containing a member directory, committee and office links, and extensive news and information.

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is the Senate oversight committee responsible for educational affairs.

U.S. House of Representatives is the web site of the U.S. House of Representatives, containing a member directory, committee and office links, and extensive news and information.

House Committee on Education and the Workforce is the House of Representatives oversight committee responsible for educational affairs.

General Accounting Office (GAO) is the investigative agency created by Congress to evaluate Executive Branch agencies and activities. Site contains a searchable database of GAO reports by topic and date.

Library of Congress is the reference and research center of the Congress and the largest government library in the world. The Library catalogs may be accessed online as well as some collections, but library materials do not circulate.

The Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President is the head agency of the Executive Branch of the federal government. Through this office the President presides over government administration and makes federal policy.

The White House is the web site for the President, the Vice President, and the agencies making up the Executive Office of the President.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the White House office that coordinates the development and spending of the federal budget and oversees the management and efficiency of Executive Branch agencies.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is the White House office responsible for international trade negotiations, including the WTO and GATS. Trade in educational services is one of the issues addressed by USTR.

The U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education (ED) is the lead federal agency with responsibility in the field of education. The web site provides links to the entire array of Department initiatives and services as well as to many other resources pertaining to the federal role in education.

The National Library of Education (NLE) is the central federal library and reference center for education information, and provides links to the Department's publication and product distribution service (ED Pubs) as well as USNEI (you are here!) and the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database.

Other Federal Agencies