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Former ‘Reading First’ Adviser to Leave Federal Post

Edward J. Kame’enui, one of the subjects of a highly critical congressional report that questioned whether he had gained financially by promoting certain commercial products as a federal adviser to the Reading First program, will leave his current position at the Department of Education at the end of a two-year term next month, the agency announced last week.

While critics of the department’s handling of Reading First called the move an appropriate response to recent revelations about Mr. Kame’enui’s ties to publishers, and the real or perceived conflicts of interest in his promotion of his reading products, some expressed disappointment that his term would not be cut short, but would be allowed to expire.

“Why is Edward Kame’enui still working for taxpayers?” a headline on an education blog by Marc Dean Millot asked earlier this month. Mr. Millot is the founder of a consulting firm that provides research and analysis on...