CREW: Watchdog asks: Why is Bush's kid brother, NEIL BUSH, getting federal $$$$$$ for COWs?

[L. Coyote]

Watchdog asks: Why is Bush's kid brother getting federal bucks?
Source: Nick Juliano // Rawstory.com

* CREW REQUESTS DEPT. OF ED. AUDIT OF NCLB FUNDS SPENT ON NEIL BUSH’S IGNITE! LEARNING PRODUCTS // 12 Sep 2007
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/30105

12 Sep 2007 // An independent watchdog agency has asked the Department of Education to investigate why President Bush's younger brother, Neil, has received money earmarked for the president's signature education initiative to sell a curriculum program that has not been subjected to the rigorous evaluation it deserves.

Neil Bush, 52, who has no background in education, founded Ignite! Learning in 1999 with donations from his parents and a slate of international business interests. The company produces "Curriculum on Wheels" devices -- computer/projectors that are pre-loaded with software aimed at preparing students for standardized tests that are the central tenet of the president's No Child Left Behind law.

The "COWs" are sold to school districts at a cost of $3,800 to $4,200, although they have not been subjected to peer-reviewed scientific studies, according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW says nearly $1 million has been spent on the systems in 16 school districts, mostly in Texas, where George W. Bush served as governor before his election in 2000, and Florida, where brother Jeb Bush is governor.

The watchdog group is requesting an investigation from the Education Department's inspector general, alleging that the Ignite! systems do not meet the standards laid out by Congress dictating how NCLB funds can be spent. ..........