• States award subgrants to eligible local school districts on the basis of a competitive process.
• Reading First provides assistance to States and districts to establish research-based reading programs for students in kindergarten through grade three. Reading First also provides funds to train teachers, including special education teachers, in the essential components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension) and to select and administer assessments to identify those children who may be at risk of reading failure.
• States may reserve up to 20% of their funds for professional development, technical assistance, and planning, administrative and reporting activities.
• States must submit an annual report showing a) districts and schools making the greatest gains in reading achievement; and b) their progress in reducing the number of children in grades 1-3 who are reading below grade level and in increasing the percentage of children in disaggregated groups who are reading at grade level and above.

NOTE: This application is closed -- information is for historical purposes only.

• Reading First Application Package CFDA Number 84.357
  MS WORD | PDF

• Federal Register Notice indicating the deadline date for submitting the annual performance report to apply for a Targeted Assistance Grant is July 30, 2005. (June 29, 2005).
• Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2002 (April 2, 2002)