Executive Order 13445: Strengthening Adult Education
President: George W. Bush
Formed an Education-led group to coordinate adult literacy, English and employment education.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13445 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13445 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13445 do?
The Education Secretary was to convene an interagency working group, review programs and recommend ways to improve their coordination and effectiveness. A July 2008 working-group report, Bridges to Opportunity, addressed alignment of adult education with postsecondary and employment routes.
Before and after
Before the order
Federal programs serving adults were spread across agencies and addressed literacy, credentials and workforce preparation.
After the order
The Education Secretary was to convene an interagency working group, review programs and recommend ways to improve their coordination and effectiveness.
A July 2008 working-group report, Bridges to Opportunity, addressed alignment of adult education with postsecondary and employment routes.
What did the signed order change?
Federal programs serving adults were spread across agencies and addressed literacy, credentials and workforce preparation. The Education Secretary was to convene an interagency working group, review programs and recommend ways to improve their coordination and effectiveness.
What happened later?
ERIC — interagency working-group report discussion: A July 2008 working-group report, Bridges to Opportunity, addressed alignment of adult education with postsecondary and employment routes.
What does that evidence establish?
The order coordinated existing programs and did not itself create an entitlement, appropriation or new credential. A recommendation does not establish adoption by every agency. The signed order states the original requirements.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of Education / Department of Education | Establish the Interagency Adult Education Working Group; chair its meetings, set its agenda, direct its work and establish subgroups as appropriate. Provide funding and administrative support as the chair determines necessary, to the extent permitted by law. | Upon implementation; chair specifies report formats and timing; first working-group report within nine months of September 27, 2007. |
| Interagency Adult Education Working Group | Identify relevant adult education programs; review them as appropriate and recommend improvements to agency heads. Identify research gaps and promising dissemination practices, obtain individual advice, and promptly advise on agency proposals when requested unless the chair declines. Report its work and recommendation implementation to the President through the domestic policy assistant. | First report within nine months; later reports when the chair specifies; requested proposal reviews promptly. |
| Heads of federal agencies | Provide appropriate assistance and information requested by the working-group chair. | When requested; no fixed deadline. |
What happened next
EO 13445 signed.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order coordinated existing programs and did not itself create an entitlement, appropriation or new credential.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- GovInfo — official executive-order record (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 26, 2026. How we research →