What is Obama's position in the Education system?

Answer 1

K-12 education in America is almost exclusively local. A school board is elected by local voters or in some instances appointed by local authorities. These boards make all decisions on the operation of the local schools, however, they must comply with state mandates.

All fifty states, have minimum standards that K-12 schools must meet. These standards are determined by the legislature or by a state school supervision body of some type.

The is a Department of Education of the Federal government, the Secretary of Education is appointed by the President and a member of the President's cabinet. The Department of Education has no inherent power to regulate local schools, however, Congress and/or the Department can require that schools meet certain standards or perform certain activities on the threat to reduce or eliminate Federal grants and other funds.

The President has no formal position in the hierarchy of the American Education system. However, he can have as much or as little involvement in school policy as he has the time, effort and interest to take. Theoretically, a U.S. president could serve a four year term without taking a single action involving the eduction system, conversely through Congress and the Department of Education, he could spend his entire four years doing nothing else.