The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for (the) Education Department, is a Cabinet

United States Cabinet

The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...

-level department of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 government. Recreated by the Department of Education Organization Act

Department of Education Organization Act

The Department of Education Organization Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1980.-Purpose:Congress established the United States Department of Education on May 4, 1980, in the Department of Education Organization Act...

 (Public Law 96-88) and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 on October 17, 1979, it began operating on May 16, 1980.

The Department of Education Organization Act divided the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.