State education agency

A state education agency (SEA), or state department of education, is a formal governmental label for the state-level government agencies within each U.S. state responsible for providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educational matters to schools and residents.

The chief state school officer, either a Secretary of Education, State Superintendent of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Education or Director of Education, is a constitutional or a statutory officer in several states of the United States. The position is the chief executive official for the state's state education agency (or equivalent), chief administrative officer for the state's Board of Education, State Board of Education President, State School Board Administrator, State School Business Administrator, (or equivalent), or both. In some states, such as Washington, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction serves as the SEA. Wyoming has a popularly elected superintendent of education, but responsibility for the state department of education lies with a director appointed by the governor.

State education agencies (SEAs)

The following are state education agencies as identified by the Council of Chief State School Officers.

State	SEA	Chief state school officer	Elected	Name
Alabama	Alabama Department of Education	Alabama Superintendent of Education	No	Dr. Tommy Bice
Alaska	Alaska Department of Education & Early Development	Alaska Commissioner of Education & Early Development	No	Larry LeDoux
Arizona	Arizona Department of Education	Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Diane Douglas
Arkansas	Arkansas Department of Education	Arkansas Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Thomas Kimbrell
California	California Department of Education	California Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Tom Torlakson
Colorado	Colorado Department of Education	Colorado Commissioner of Education	No	Dwight D. Jones
Connecticut	Connecticut Department of Education	Connecticut Commissioner of Education	No	Stefan Pryor
Delaware	Delaware Department of Education	Delaware Secretary of Education	No	Mark Murphy
District of Columbia	Office of the State Superintendent of Education	State Superintendent of Education	No	Hosanna Mahaley
Florida	Florida Department of Education	Florida Commissioner of Education	No	Pam Stewart
Georgia	Georgia Department of Education	State Superintendent of Schools	Yes	Dr. John D. Barge
Hawaii	Hawaii Department of Education	Hawaii Superintendent of Education	No	Kathryn Matayoshi
Idaho	Idaho State Department of Education	Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Tom Luna
Illinois	Illinois State Board of Education	Illinois Superintendent of Education	No	Dr. Christopher Koch
Indiana	Indiana Department of Education	Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Glenda Ritz
Iowa	Iowa Department of Education	Iowa Director of Education	No	Dr. Brad Buck
Kansas	Kansas State Department of Education	Kansas Interim Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Diane DeBacker
Kentucky	Kentucky Department of Education	Kentucky Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Terry Holliday
Louisiana	Louisiana Department of Education	Louisiana Superintendent of Education	No	John White
Maine	Maine Department of Education	Maine Commissioner of Education	No	Susan A. Gendron
Maryland	Maryland State Department of Education	Maryland State Superintendent of Schools	No	Jack R. Smith
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education	Massachusetts Secretary of Education	No	Matthew H. Malone
Michigan	Michigan Department of Education	Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction	No	Brian J. Whiston
Minnesota	Minnesota Department of Education	Minnesota Commissioner of Education	No	Brenda Cassellius
Mississippi	Mississippi Department of Education	Mississippi Superintendent of Education	No	Dr. Tom Burnham
Missouri	Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education	Missouri Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Chris L. Nicastro
Montana	Montana Office of Public Instruction	Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Denise Juneau
Nebraska	Nebraska Department of Education	Nebraska Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Matthew Blomstedt
Nevada	Nevada Department of Education	Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction	No	Dr. Keith Rheault
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Department of Education	New Hampshire Commissioner of Education	No	Virginia Barry
New Jersey	New Jersey Department of Education	New Jersey Commissioner of Education	No	David C. Hespe
New Mexico	New Mexico Public Education Department	New Mexico Secretary of Education	No	Hanna Scandera-Sec. designate
New York	New York State Education Department	New York Commissioner of Education	No	MaryEllen Elia
North Carolina	North Carolina Department of Public Instruction	North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	June St. Clair Atkinson
North Dakota	North Dakota Department of Public Instruction	North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Kirsten Kay Baesler
Ohio	Ohio State Board of Education	Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction	No	Stan W. Heffner
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Department of Education	Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Joy Hofmeister
Oregon	Oregon Department of Education	Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Susan Castillo
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Department of Education	Pennsylvania Secretary of Education	No	Pedro Rivera
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education	Rhode Island Commissioner of Education	No	Deborah A. Gist
South Carolina	South Carolina Department of Education	South Carolina Superintendent of Education	Yes	Molly Spearman
South Dakota	South Dakota Department of Education	South Dakota Secretary of Education	No	Thomas J. Oster
Tennessee	Tennessee Department of Education	Tennessee Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Timothy K. Webb
Texas	Texas Education Agency	Texas Commissioner of Education	No	Robert Scott
Utah	Utah State Office of Education	Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction	No	Brad C. Smith
Vermont	Vermont Department of Education	Vermont Secretary of Education	No	Armando Vilaseca
Virginia	Virginia Department of Education	Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction	No	Dr. Steven R. Staples
Washington	Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction	Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Randy Dorn
West Virginia	West Virginia Department of Education	West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools	No	Dr. Steven L. Paine
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction	Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Dr. Tony Evers
Wyoming	Wyoming Department of Education	Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction	Yes	Jillian Balow
American Samoa	American Samoa Department of Education	American Samoa Director of Education	N/A	Dr. Claire Tuia Poumele
Guam	Guam Department of Education	Guam Superintendent of Education	N/A	Dr. Nerissa Bretania-Underwood
Puerto Rico	Puerto Rico Department of Education	Puerto Rico Secretary of Education	N/A	Carlos A. Chardón
U.S. Virgin Islands	U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Education	U.S. Virgin Islands Commissioner of Education	No	Dr. Laverne Terry

See also

• National Association of State Boards of Education, United States
• No Child Left Behind, United States law
• School district
• Standardized test

External links

• Education Governance Models

Updated and Revised by Mary Fulton

• State Education Agencies - Contact information for every SEA in the country.