The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development (OPEPD) serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary on all matters relating to policy development, implementation, evaluation, and review, budget proposals and processes, data strategy and governance, and student privacy. The Assistant Secretary is specifically responsible for:
- Coordinating with offices across the Department to ensure that policy development and implementation is in line with the Secretary's priorities and guidance;
- Overseeing policy development and analyzing current and proposed education policy and directing the development of policy options for the Secretary;
- Developing and reviewing Department budget proposals, regulations, grants, program performance measures, and the Department's learning agenda to ensure consistency with the Secretary's and the Administration's goals;
- Managing budget programs, processes, and proposals;
- Providing technical expertise in formula development, modeling, forecasting, and trends analysis, and conducting analyses of cost/benefit and institutional effects of regulations;
- In cooperation with other offices, directing the Department's legislative development process, especially as it relates to budget and related legislative policy proposals;
- Working with the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and other Department Offices to develop and implement evidence-based practices;
- Managing a repository of evidence, data, and policies necessary to formulate, develop, validate, and recommend policy positions including for legislative proposals and program reauthorizations to the Secretary;
- Developing and enforcing the Department's data strategy and governance policies; improving the Department's ability to leverage data as a strategic asset; overseeing information collections approval and associated OMB clearance process; and overseeing lifecycle data management;
- Developing and maintaining a technological and analytical infrastructure to be responsive to the strategic data needs of the Department; and exploiting traditional and emerging methods to improve decision making, optimize of programs for desired outcomes, and generate efficiencies.
- Clarifying and enforcing the following laws related to student privacy: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and the Armed Forces Recruiter Access to students and Student Recruiting Information provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA);
- Overseeing the Department's privacy program;
- Advancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the Department, across federal agencies, and with external partners; and
Organization
OPEPD is under the supervision of the Assistant Secretary, who reports directly to the Secretary of Education. Six entities report to the Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary:
- the Executive Office;
- Budget Service
- the Grants Policy Office;
- the Office of the Chief Data Officer;
- the Student Privacy Policy Office;
Order of Succession
In the event that the Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office and the office is thereby deemed to be vacant, as defined by the Vacancies Act, and the President has not designated in writing another individual to act as the Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, as the designated “first assistant" under the Vacancies Act, shall perform the functions and duties of the office in an acting capacity. If both the offices of the Assistant Secretary and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary are vacant, or the time period during which the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary may serve in acting capacity has expired, the individuals listed below the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, in the order shown, are authorized to perform the functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary, except for any functions and duties that are required by law to be performed only by the Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development or by someone officially acting in such capacity.
In instances where the office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development is filled, but the Assistant Secretary is absent, unavailable, otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the position, or there is a disruption in the normal channels of direction and communication, and there is no person officially serving in an acting capacity, and unless the Assistant Secretary or the Secretary, in writing, designates another individual to perform the functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary, the following officials, in the order shown, are delegated the authority to perform the functions and duties of the office of the Assistant Secretary except for any functions and duties that are required by law to be performed only by the Assistant Secretary or by someone officially acting in such capacity:
- Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
- Deputy Assistant Secretary for P-12 Policy Development
- Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education and Student Financial Aid Policy Development
- Chief of Staff
- Director, Budget Service