UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

MEMORANDUM

TO: Executive Officer

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

FROM: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education

SUBJECT: Delegation of Travel Authority 

I. DELEGATION

Under the authority from the Chief Information Officer vested in me by delegation 

EI/GEN/15, certified December 5, 2008, I hereby delegate to you, and to anyone serving 

for you in an acting capacity, the authorities described below. These authorities must be 

exercised in accordance with 41 CFR Chapters 300-304, commonly known as the Federal 

Travel Regulation (FTR). This delegation covers travel for the Office of Elementary and

Secondary Education.

A. The authority to approve travel within the Continental United States (CONUS) and 

non-foreign travel areas. The term “non-foreign travel areas” as used in this 

delegation refers to the States of Alaska and Hawaii, the Commonwealths of 

Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories and 

possessions of the United States such as American Samoa and the Virgin Islands, 

and excludes the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands.

B. The authority to certify travel authorizations and travel vouchers for temporary 

duty including: 

1. Authority to approve use of non-contract carriers between defined city pairs. 

2. Authority to approve the use of public transportation between defined 

locations. 

3. Authority to approve the use of privately owned conveyances by employees 

when advantageous to the Government.

4. Authority to approve rental automobile and miscellaneous travel expenses.

C. The authority to certify travel authorizations and travel vouchers for permanent 

changes of station. 

D. The authority to approve direct flights as indicated by the FTR. 
Page 2 – Delegation of Authority

Unless otherwise noted in future delegations of authority, amendments to the authority 

cited herein are included within the scope of this delegation.

II. RESERVATIONS

A. The authority to approve international travel is reserved to the Secretary or his or 

her delegatee. International travel is travel outside the CONUS and non-foreign 

travel areas. 

B. The authority to approve premium class travel accommodations, cash travel 

advances, and actual subsistence expenses over the total allowable per diem rate for 

each trip in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation is reserved to the 

Director, Financial Systems Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, or 

his or her delegatee.

C. The authority to certify one’s own travel and voucher expenses is reserved to the 

Principal Officer.

III. REDELEGATION

No further redelegation is authorized. 

IV. CERTIFICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE

The delegation is effective upon certification by the Department’s Principal Delegations 

Control Officer and supersedes delegation ES/ES1/75. I hereby ratify actions within the 

scope of this delegation taken by addressee prior to the date of certification.

_______________/s/______________ 

Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, Ph.D. 

Certified Date: 10/26/2010

Departmental Delegations Control Officer: /s/ Naty G. Beetle

Control Number; ES/ES1/83