The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the executive department of the state charged with K-12

K-12

K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...

 and adult education

Adult education

Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...

al budgeting, management and guidelines. As the state education agency

State education agency

A state education agency , or state department of education, is a formal governmental label for the state-level government agencies within each U.S...

, its activities are directed by Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

's Secretary of Education, Gerald L. Zahorchak. The agency is headquartered at 333 Market Street in Harrisburg

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

.

History

Following passage and signing of the Free School Law on April 1, 1834, the Secretary of the Commonwealth acted as head of the Common School System until 1837. In that year a separate Department of Schools was created with a Superintendent of Common Schools as its chief officer. In 1873, the title was changed to Superintendent of Public Instruction, and greater responsibilities were assigned to that official and to the Department. In 1969, the name of the Department of Public Instruction was changed to the Department of Education, with the title of Superintendent of Public Instruction changed to the Secretary of Education. It previously ran the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors

Pennsylvania State Board of Censors

The Pennsylvania State Board of Censors was an organization under the Pennsylvania Department of Education responsible for approving, redacting, or banning motion pictures which it considered "sacrilegious, obscene, indecent, or immoral", or which might pervert morals.- Organization :The board was...

.

Past Secretaries of Education

• Gerald L. Zahorchak (Confirmed February 2006)
• Francis V. Barnes
  Francis V. Barnes
  Francis V. Barnes was the Secretary of Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education from 2004 to 2005.-Career:He was appointed in July, 2004 by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell...
  
   (Confirmed November 2004/Resigned June 2005)
• Vicki L. Phillips (Confirmed March 2003/Resigned April 2004)
• Charles B. Zogby (Confirmed June 2001/Resigned January 2003)
• Eugene W. Hickok
  Eugene W. Hickok
  Dr. Eugene W. Hickok is a leading advocate for public education reform and an expert in constitutional law....
  
   (Confirmed May 1995/Resigned March 2001)
• Jane Carroll (acting) 1995
• Donald M. Carroll Jr. 1989-1995
• Carl S. (Terry) Dellmuth 1989
• Thomas K. Gilhool 1987-1989
• William Logan 1987
• D. Kay Wright 1986-1987
• Margaret A. Smith 1984-1986
• Robert C. Wilburn 1983-1984
• Robert G. Scanlon 1979-1983
• Caryl M. Kline 1977-1979
• Robert N. Hendershot 1977
• John Pittenger
  John Pittenger
  John C. Pittenger was an American lawyer, academic and former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving two non-consecutive terms in the State House...
  
   1972-1976
• David H. Kurtzman 1969-1971

Purpose

The mission statement of the Pennsylvania Department of Education is "to assist the General Assembly

Pennsylvania General Assembly

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...

, the Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

, the Secretary of Education and Pennsylvania educators in providing for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of education." The Department has broad discretionary powers in both the development and administration of educational policies which enhance the educational experience and quality in Pennsylvania. The Department also works as an ongoing study of the educational process within the state, conducting studies and programs designed to evaluate specific needs or qualities of the system. In doing so, the Pennsylvania Department of Education will recommend changes and improvements to the Governor, the Board of Education, and the General Assembly.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education also oversees policies of public libraries, academic libraries, and the State Library of Pennsylvania

State Library of Pennsylvania

The State Library of Pennsylvania is one of the largest research libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Office of Commonwealth Libraries, within the Pennsylvania Department of Education, has holdings in almost every area of human concern...

 located in Harrisburg

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

. It provides policy of equal opportunity in the educational system, with special regard to nonpublic education and state policy of education. It is within the Pennsylvania Department of Education's mission to collaborate with other state educational departments in an effort to create a cohesive and dynamic learning environment.