Federal Audit Cites Problems With Georgia's 'Reading First' Program

Georgia education officials mismanaged several aspects of the federal Reading First program, a failing that resulted in confusion over policies and procedures, the hiring of underqualified grant reviewers, inconsistencies in how local grant proposals were reviewed, and the unfair treatment of some vendors, says a report released today by the inspector general's office of the U.S. Department of Education.

Georgia has received more than $90 million from the $1 billion-a-year federal initiative, authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act to improve reading instruction in low-performing schools. But unlike in two previous reviews of state implementation of the program, in Wisconsin and New York, the inspector general did not recommend any penalties for Georgia or call for the return of any federal money.

The report, the fourth in a series of audits of Reading First conducted by the inspector general, confirms many of the complaints made by a Georgia publisher over the past several years, which were a catalyst for the federal...