Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696590683018.pdf (United States)
G:\M\17\HOULPA\HOULPA_092.XML AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO H.R.

4134 OFFERED BY MS. HOULAHAN OF PENNSYLVANIA Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1.

SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping Girls in School Act’’.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec.

1.

Short title; table of contents.

Sec.

2.

Definitions.

Sec.

3.


Sense of Congress.

Sec.

4.

Secondary education for adolescent girls.

Sec.

5.

Global strategy requirement.

Sec.

6.

Transparency and reporting to Congress.

SEC.

2.

DEFINITIONS.

In this Act: (1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means— (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(2) The term ‘‘gender parity in secondary edu- cation’’ means that girls and boys have equal access to quality secondary education, in accordance with the definition of ‘‘gender parity in basic education’’ in section 2 of the Reinforcing Education Account- ability in Development Act (22 U.S.C.
2151c note).

(3) The term ‘‘USAID’’ means the United States Agency for International Development.

SEC.

3.

SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that— (1) every child, regardless of gender or place of birth, deserves an equal opportunity to access qual- ity education; (2) education is a key investment in the future, well-being, and prosperity of girls, as well as the sta- bility and productivity of their communities; (3) the United States has been a global leader in efforts to expand and improve access to quality basic education for all, particularly marginalized and vulnerable populations, including women and girls; (4) gains with respect to girls’ secondary edu- cation and empowerment have been proven to cor- relate strongly with efforts to advance women’s rights and gender equality, a stated priority of United States foreign policy and national security; and (5) achieving equal access to and quality of educational opportunity for girls contributes signifi- cantly to economic growth and development, thereby lowering the risk for violence and instability.
SEC.

4.

SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS.

(a) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall seek to enter into agreements to support adolescent girls’ access to quality secondary education, particularly in countries where adolescent girls are significantly more likely to drop out of school than boys.
Activities under such agreements 14 shall— (1) be informed by a context-specific, evidence- based analysis of the challenges that girls face in successfully transitioning to, remaining enrolled in, and completing secondary school; (2) improve safe, inclusive, and quality edu- cational opportunities for girls and advance girls’ empowerment so that girls can successfully transi- tion to, remain enrolled in, and complete secondary school, achieve positive life and learning outcomes, and make healthy transitions into adulthood; and (3) seek to use United States Government strategies and frameworks relevant to international basic education, women’s and girls’ empowerment, and gender equality to integrate multi-sectoral, evi- denced-based approaches to adolescent girls’ edu- cation and well-being.
(b) ACCEPTANCE OF SOLICITATIONS FOR AWARDS.— The Administrator of the USAID shall seek to accept so- licitations for awards, pursuant to the authority in sub- section (a), to conduct activities carried out agreements pursuant to subsection (a) beginning not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—The Adminis- trator of the USAID shall seek to ensure that activities carried out under agreements pursuant to subsection 16 (a)— (1) employ rigorous monitoring and evaluation methodologies to ensure that such activities demon- strably improve adolescent girls’ access to secondary education, close the gap in gender parity for sec- ondary education, and improve the quality of girls’ education; (2) disaggregate data collected and reported by age, gender, marital and motherhood status, dis- ability, and geographic location, to the extent prac- ticable and appropriate; and (3) use, to the extent possible, indicators and methodologies identified by the Interagency Working Group for the Strategy on International Basic Edu- cation.
(d) COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Develop- ment, in coordination with the USAID Coordinator for International Basic Education Assistance, the USAID Youth Coordinator, and the most senior USAID and Department of State officials on ad- vancing women’s rights and gender equality, shall be responsible for the oversight and coordination of all activities of the United States Government carried out under this section, as appropriate.
(2) DEVELOPMENT OF AGREEMENTS.—In the development of agreements described in subsection (a), the Administrator of the USAID, in coordina- tion with the other officials described in paragraph (1), shall consult with representatives across Federal departments and agencies who are implementing the global strategy described in section 5. (3) COORDINATION WITH OTHER STRATE- GIES.—Activities carried out under this section shall also be carried out in coordination with— (A) the United States global strategy to empower adolescent girls described in section 5; and (B) the United States Government Strat- egy on International Basic Education, including its objective to expand access to quality basic education for all, particularly marginalized and vulnerable populations.
SEC.

5.

GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the USAID, in coordination with the USAID Coordinator for International Basic Education Assistance, the USAID Youth Coordinator, and the most senior USAID and De- partment of State officials on advancing women’s rights 19 and gender equality, shall— (1) review and update a United States global strategy to empower adolescent girls, which includes a focus on girls’ access to quality, inclusive sec- ondary education and subsequent agency implemen- tation plans; and (2) submit the updated strategy to the appro- priate congressional committees.
(b) 5-YEAR UPDATE OF STRATEGY.—Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the USAID, in coordination with the other officials described in subsection (a), shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a further update and revision of the strategy and implementation plans de- scribed in such subsection.
(c) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In reviewing and updating the strategy and implementation plans described in subsections (a), the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in coordination with the other officials described in such subsection, shall consult with and provide meaningful opportunity for re- 16 view to— (1) the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies (or their designees); (2) the appropriate congressional committees; and (3) representatives of United States and inter- national civil society and multilateral organizations with demonstrated experience and expertise in em- powering adolescent girls and promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality, including local civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, and, where possible, program participants.
SEC.

6.

TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the submission of the first strategy required by section 5, and biennially thereafter for 4 years, the Administrator of the USAID, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re- port describing— (1) the activities initiated under agreements under the authorities provided by this Act; and (2) the manner and extent to which such activi- ties are monitored and evaluated, in accordance with section 4(d).
(b) AVAILABILITY.—The reports required by sub- section (a) shall be made available on a text-based, search- able, and publicly available website of the USAID.

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