U.S. Congress Passes the READ Act

The United States Congress passed the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development or READ Act into law, strengthening oversight and coordination of U.S. Government resources and activities promoting international basic education.

The READ Act is an authorizing bill that will be in effect for the next five years. It calls for: 

• Development of a comprehensive U.S. Government Strategy for International Basic Education. This will include what USAID and other U.S. agencies are doing in basic education.
• Appointing a Senior Coordinator for Basic Education Assistance at USAID. The coordinator will have primary oversight and coordination of all resources and activities of the U.S. Government for international basic education.
• Yearly reporting to Congress. This report will focus on implementation of the strategy, how each country meets the criteria for funding, and how we are meeting the progress, goals, objectives, benchmarks, and time frames that will be specified in the strategy.