Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Smith Vernon C.	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 5/10/2019	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC [APEI]
(Last)        (First)        (Middle) 111 WEST CONGRESS STREET	4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director                            _____ 10% Owner ___ X ___ Officer (give title below)          _____ Other (specify below) Provost, APUS /
(Street) CHARLES TOWN, WV 25414        (City)              (State)              (Zip)	5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) _ X _ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock, par value $.01	12521   (1)	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

(1)

Includes: (i) 5,667 shares subject to deferred stock unit awards, consisting of 799 shares that vest on January 30, 2020, 2,115 shares that vest in two equal installments on January 15, 2020 and January 15, 2021, and 2,753 shares that vest in three equal annual installments beginning on January 21, 2020; and (ii) 3,515 shares subject to performance-based deferred stock unit awards consisting of 407 shares that vest on January 30, 2020 and 3,108 shares that vest in two equal installments on January 15, 2020 and January 15, 2021.

Remarks: Remarks: Exhibit List Exhibit 24 -- Power of Attorney

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Smith Vernon C. 111 WEST CONGRESS STREET CHARLES TOWN, WV 25414			Provost, APUS

Signatures
/s/ Richard W. Sunderland, Jr., Attorney-in-Fact		5/20/2019
** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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