The position was created on March 2, 1867, when an act to establish the Office of Education took effect under the influence of the more Radical Republican Party.
[1] Ultimately, the head of the federal government's nationwide educational efforts was reorganized with the separation and division of old H.E.W.
The commissioner was responsible for:[2] The commissioner also served as an ex officio member of the District of Columbia Commission on Licensure, the Board of Foreign Scholarships and served as the governmental representative on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
The office (also known later as the Bureau of Education) was included in the Interior Department's Federal Security Agency when it was established on July 1, 1939.
[1] The office was moved into the new U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in April 1953, after Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, accomplished shortly after the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower In 1972, Public Law 92-318 provided the repeal of a part of the law which had created the office of Commissioner of Education.