The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students and adult learners. Approximately 700,000 individuals were enrolled in CES programs in 143 countries in 2011. CES courses of study are separate and distinct from religious instruction provided through wards (local congregations). Clark G. Gilbert, a general authority seventy, has been the CES Commissioner since August 1, 2021. Background The University of Deseret was established in 1850 to supervise other public schools in the territory. Public taxation instituted in 1851 supported these schools, which were organized by wards, with their teacher employed by the local bishop. These early public schools were often used church meetinghouses as their schoolroom. While Utah's colonization was started by members of the LDS Church (also called Mormons), twenty percent of the territory's residents were not Mormon by 1880. This non-Mormon minority wished for a state government that was less Mormon, including for public schools that were independent from the LDS Church. Non-Mormon schools petitioned for and received federal aid, and the first Protestant missionary school opened in Salt Lake City in 1867. From 1869–1890, there were 90 non-Mormon schools from other Christian denominations. Over half of their students were Mormon. The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 prohibited use of "sectarian" or religious books in the classroom, and changed the district superintendent position to one that was appointed instead of elected. The Free School Act of 1890 established that public schools would be "free from sectarian control." This legislation separated the LDS Church from the public schools. Wilford Woodruff disliked the new public schools, calling them a "great evil," and created the academies system and an after-school program of religious classes for children. The first Church Board of Education was formed in 1888 to supervise the academies. The board consisted of Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Karl G. Maeser, Horace S. Eldredge, Willard Young, George W. Thatcher, Anthon H. Lund, and Amos Howe. Thirty academies were formed between 1888 and 1895, but many families could not afford the tuition of the private academies. A few academies became junior colleges and trained teachers, and some continued as private Church-sponsored high schools. Most academies closed within the decade due to the depressions of 1893 and 1896. Some of the