DEED restructures to create Office of Education Advocacy; officials say reorganization uses existing staff, not new funds

Deputy Commissioner Karen Morrison and DEED staff told the House Finance Education Subcommittee that the department is creating an Office of Education Advocacy to centralize responses for families, educators and legislators.

Morrison said the office will function as "a central hub for information and resources, advocacy, and assistance in navigating the state's education system," and that the change came from reallocation and reorganization within the commissioner’s office rather than a personnel budget increase.

DEED said many incoming calls to the agency relate to teacher certification and special education, and the department aims to shorten response times by centralizing intake and tracking. The new frontline role is advertised at a project coordinator salary grade and is being recruited; the department said the function is included in the commissioner’s personnel budget rather than submitted as a new appropriation request.

Committee members asked for a job description and duties for the advertised role so they could assess whether the reorganization is the highest priority use of limited personnel resources. DEED agreed to provide the duties and staffing follow‑up to the committee.

Why this matters: Centralizing stakeholder services could reduce delays and ease navigation for families, educators and district staff. Several committee members pressed for evidence of need and metrics showing current response delays; DEED said it had received stakeholder feedback reporting slow responses and that the reorganization is intended to address that concern.