Spellings Puts Her Stamp on Department

Reorganization Shifts Some Lines of Authority, Adds Two New Offices

The Department of Education is revamping its structure in a move that some say reflects a more logical division of duties and the new management style of its leader.

The reorganization will create two new offices headed by assistant secretaries, including one for communications, and gathers most K-12 programs under the deputy secretary while putting postsecondary and vocational programs in the undersecretary’s hands.

The changes, announced in a March 4 memo and slated to unfold over the next several weeks, mean that the heads of eight major departmental offices, plus the deputy secretary and the undersecretary, will report directly to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who was confirmed in January. Previously, only five major offices had a direct...