U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today released the following statement on the Department's Regulatory Reform Task Force's first progress report as required by President Donald Trump's Executive Order 13777:

"The Regulatory Reform Task Force has been hard at work over the last few months cataloguing over 150 regulations and more than 1,700 pieces of policy guidance on the books at the Department of Education. As their work continues, they have been tasked with providing recommendations on which regulations to repeal, modify or keep in an effort to ensure those that remain adequately protect students while giving states, institutions, teachers, parents and students the flexibility needed to improve student achievement."

"To ensure an open and transparent process, the Task Force's progress report will be published on the Department of Education's website. I look forward to the Task Force's continued work and to hearing from the public as we work to prioritize the needs of students over unnecessary and burdensome requirements."

The Regulatory Reform Task Force is comprised of both political appointees and career civil servants at the Department of Education, and the public can read its progress report here.

The Department has also published a Federal Register notice to provide members of the public the opportunity to submit comments concerning regulations and policy guidance they recommend the Department review, modify or repeal. Comments are due by August 21, 2017.