Suit Against Ed. Dept. FOIA Delays Expected

After months of waiting for documents related to the federal Reading First program, the Success for All Foundation was set to file a complaint in federal court last week against the Department of Education for its failure to fulfill numerous requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Baltimore-based foundation, which has complained to federal investigators over what it sees as mismanagement of the Reading First program, planned to file suit in U.S. District Court in Washington “seeking to compel … the U.S. Department of Education to disclose and release records that have been withheld.” Withholding the requested documents, the complaint contends, is “unjustified under the law.”

The foundation filed nearly a dozen FOIA requests with the Education Department last year, and some of the requests have been pending since last May. A Savannah, Ga.-based publisher, the Reading Recovery Council of North America, and Education Week have also tried to secure documents from the agency related to...