The Government Accountability Office released a report this afternoon that criticizes the lack of written guidelines for carrying out Reading First, a $900-million-a-year program that offers states grants to improve reading instruction for children in the primary grades.

The new report echoes issues raised both in a series of audits and investigations by the U.S. Department of Education’s inspector general and in The Chronicle’s own investigation into the program. Scholars and lawmakers have accused Reading First of being poorly managed and tolerating conflicts of interest, especially among researchers who had developed reading-instruction products that would profit from the program’s bounty. The critics believe that a lack of specific regulations has allowed malfeasance and mismanagement to creep into the program.

The GAO’s report, which is based on a survey of state practices, found that “states reported changes as well as improvements in reading instruction” as a result of Reading First. But the report points out that the Education Department “developed no written or other formal guidance outlining policies and procedures to guide the behavior of Education officials or contractors in providing Reading First guidance and assistance to the states.”

The report recommends that the department develop such procedures to ensure compliance with the law and to assure adequate monitoring of Reading First. According to the report, the department has agreed with the recommendation.

But that has not stopped lawmakers from blasting the program. In a hearing this month, Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, complained to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings about accusations of favoritism and conflict of interest.

Today, both Rep. George Miller of California and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, chairman of the education committees in the House and Senate, respectively, used the release of the report to condemn how the program had been carried out. “The GAO report highlights, once again, the mismanagement of the multibillion-dollar Reading First program,” said Mr. Miller in a written statement. —Richard Byrne