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Title 20 — EducationRelease 119-73not60

§3415 Office of Postsecondary Education

Title 20 › Chapter 48— DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › Subchapter II— ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT › § 3415

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Department must have an Office of Postsecondary Education. It is run by the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, who carries out the postsecondary education duties the Secretary gives them and advises the Secretary on postsecondary education matters. The Assistant Secretary must hire a Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education. That deputy must have strong experience in international and foreign language education, lead efforts to promote learning foreign languages and other countries’ cultures at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels in the United States, and work with similar programs in other federal agencies.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §3415

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There shall be in the Department an Office of Postsecondary Education, to be administered by the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education appointed under section 3412(b) of this title. The Assistant Secretary shall administer such functions affecting postsecondary education, both public and private, as the Secretary shall delegate, and shall serve as the principal adviser to the Secretary on matters affecting postsecondary education.
(b)The Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education shall appoint a Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education to perform such functions affecting postsecondary, international, and foreign language education as the Secretary may prescribe. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education shall—
(1)be an individual with extensive background and experience in international and foreign language education;
(2)have responsibility for encouraging and promoting the study of foreign languages and the study of the cultures of other countries at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels in the United States; and
(3)coordinate with related international and foreign language education programs of other Federal agencies.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–315 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “There shall be in the Department an Office of Postsecondary Education, to be administered by the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education appointed under section 3412(b) of this title. The Assistant Secretary shall administer such functions affecting postsecondary education, both public and private, as the Secretary shall delegate, and shall serve as the principal adviser to the Secretary on matters affecting public and private postsecondary education.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 3415

Title 20 — Education

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60