The reading requirements (reading technical documents, in lieu of classical literature) have me conflicted....while I think that a lot of the crap students were made to read, dissect, agonize over were painful wastes of time, in later years I think that it was, over all, a good thing I read "Lord of the Rings", "Catcher in the Rye" and "The Old Man and the Sea", among others. Not that I'd read them again, ever.
However, I wonder about either the hidden agenda, or inevitable unintended consequences of these changes. I can think of no better way to dissuade kids from learning to love reading than by making them read the absolute <expletive deleted> that passes for technical documentation these days, especially from the Government. Hundreds and thousands of words telling you things like you should wear clothing when its cold out, or fire is dangerous........without conveying any real information or knowledge.
And considering how the Obamabots have made a habit of insinuating Dear Leaders name and history into all sorts of official documents (for example, bios of past, long dead Presidents), is this going to result in the students indoctrination into the cult of Dear Leader?