114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4481 

AN ACT 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide 

assistance for developing countries to promote quality 

basic education and to establish the goal of all children 

in school and learning as an objective of the United 

States foreign assistance policy, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Education for All Act of 2016’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Assistance to promote sustainable, quality basic education. 

Sec. 4. Comprehensive integrated United States strategy to promote basic education. 

Sec. 5. Improving coordination and oversight. 

Sec. 6. Monitoring and evaluation of programs. 

Sec. 7. Transparency and reporting to Congress. 

Sec. 8. Definitions. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) education lays the foundation for increased 

9 civic participation, democratic governance, sustained 

10 economic growth, and healthier, more stable soci11 eties; 

12 (2) it is in the national interest of the United 

13 States to promote access to sustainable, quality uni14 versal basic education in developing countries; 

15 (3) United States resources and leadership 

16 should be utilized in a manner that best ensures a 

17 successful international effort to provide children in 

18 developing countries with a quality basic education 

19 in order to achieve the goal of quality universal basic 

20 education; and 
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1 (4) promoting gender parity in basic education 

2 from childhood through adolescence serves United 

3 States diplomatic, economic, and security interests 

4 worldwide. 

5 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE, QUALITY 

6 BASIC EDUCATION. 

7 Section 105 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

8 (22 U.S.C. 2151c) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE, QUAL11 ITY BASIC EDUCATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) POLICY.—In carrying out this section, it 

13 shall be the policy of the United States to work with 

14 partner countries, other donors, multilateral institu15 tions, the private sector, and nongovernmental and 

16 civil society organizations, including faith-based or17 ganizations and organizations that represent teach18 ers, students, and parents, to promote sustainable, 

19 quality basic education through programs and activi20 ties that, consistent with Article 26 of the Universal 

21 Declaration of Human Rights— 

22 ‘‘(A) align with and respond to the needs, 

23 capacities, and commitment of developing coun24 tries to strengthen educational systems, expand 

25 access to safe learning environments, ensure 
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1 continuity of education, measurably improve 

2 teacher skills and learning outcomes, and sup3 port the engagement of parents in the edu4 cation of their children, so that all children, in5 cluding marginalized children and other vulner6 able groups, may have access to and benefit 

7 from quality basic education; and 

8 ‘‘(B) promote education as a foundation 

9 for sustained economic growth and development 

10 within a holistic assistance strategy that places 

11 partner countries on a trajectory toward grad12 uation from assistance provided under this sec13 tion and contributes to improved— 

14 ‘‘(i) early childhood development; 

15 ‘‘(ii) life skills and workforce develop16 ment; 

17 ‘‘(iii) economic opportunity; 

18 ‘‘(iv) gender parity; 

19 ‘‘(v) food and nutrition security; 

20 ‘‘(vi) water, sanitation, and hygiene; 

21 ‘‘(vii) health and disease prevention 

22 and treatment; 

23 ‘‘(viii) disaster preparedness; 

24 ‘‘(ix) conflict and violence reduction, 

25 mitigation, and prevention; and 
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1 ‘‘(x) democracy and governance; and 

2 ‘‘(C) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 

3 and quality of basic education programs. 

4 ‘‘(2) PRINCIPLES.—In carrying out the policy 

5 referred to in paragraph (1), the United States shall 

6 be guided by the following principles of aid effective7 ness: 

8 ‘‘(A) ALIGNMENT.—Assistance provided 

9 under this section to support programs and ac10 tivities under this subsection shall be aligned 

11 with and advance United States diplomatic, de12 velopment, and national security interests. 

13 ‘‘(B) COUNTRY OWNERSHIP.—To the 

14 greatest extent practicable, assistance provided 

15 under this section to support programs and ac16 tivities under this subsection should be aligned 

17 with and support the national education plans 

18 and country development strategies of partner 

19 countries, including activities that are appro20 priate for and meet the needs of local and in21 digenous cultures. 

22 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Assistance pro24 vided under this section to support pro25 grams and activities under this subsection 
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1 should be coordinated with and leverage 

2 the unique capabilities and resources of 

3 local and national governments in partner 

4 countries, other donors, multilateral insti5 tutions, the private sector, and nongovern6 mental and civil society organizations, in7 cluding faith-based organizations and orga8 nizations that represent teachers, students, 

9 and parents. 

10 ‘‘(ii) MULTILATERAL PROGRAMS AND

11 INITIATIVES.—Assistance provided under 

12 this section to support programs and ac13 tivities under this subsection should be co14 ordinated with and support proven multi15 lateral education programs and financing 

16 mechanisms, which may include the Global 

17 Partnership for Education, that dem18 onstrate commitment to efficiency, effec19 tiveness, transparency, and accountability. 

20 ‘‘(D) EFFICIENCY.—The President shall 

21 seek to improve the efficiency and effectiveness 

22 of assistance provided under this section to sup23 port programs and activities under this sub24 section by coordinating the related efforts of 

25 relevant Executive branch agencies and offi-
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1 cials, including efforts to increase gender parity 

2 and to provide a continuity of basic education 

3 activities in humanitarian responses and other 

4 emergency settings. 

5 ‘‘(E) EFFECTIVENESS.—Programs and ac6 tivities supported under this subsection shall be 

7 designed to achieve specific, measurable goals 

8 and objectives and shall include appropriate tar9 gets, metrics and indicators that can be applied 

10 with reasonable consistency across such pro11 grams and activities to measure progress and 

12 outcomes. 

13 ‘‘(F) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNT14 ABILITY.—Programs and activities supported 

15 under this subsection shall be subject to rig16 orous monitoring and evaluation, which may in17 clude impact evaluations, the results of which 

18 shall be made publically available in a fully 

19 searchable, electronic format. 

20 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 The President shall ensure that assistance provided 

22 under this section to support programs and activities 

23 under this subsection is aligned with the diplomatic, 

24 economic, and national security interests of the 
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1 United States and that priority is given to devel2 oping countries in which— 

3 ‘‘(A) there is the greatest need and oppor4 tunity to expand access to basic education and 

5 to improve learning outcomes, including for 

6 marginalized and vulnerable groups, particu7 larly women and girls, or populations affected 

8 by conflict or crisis; and 

9 ‘‘(B) such assistance can produce a sub10 stantial, measurable impact on children and 

11 educational systems. 

12 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) BASIC EDUCATION.—The term ‘basic 

14 education’ includes— 

15 ‘‘(i) all program and policy efforts 

16 aimed at improving early childhood, 

17 preprimary education, primary education, 

18 and secondary education, which can be de19 livered in formal and nonformal education 

20 settings, and in programs promoting learn21 ing for out-of-school youth and adults; 

22 ‘‘(ii) capacity building for teachers, 

23 administrators, counselors, and youth 

24 workers; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) literacy, numeracy, and other 

2 basic skills development that prepare an 

3 individual to be an active, productive mem4 ber of society and the workforce; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) workforce development, voca6 tional training, and digital literacy that is 

7 informed by real market needs and oppor8 tunities. 

9 ‘‘(B) PARTNER COUNTRY.—The term 

10 ‘partner country’ means a developing country 

11 that participates in or benefits from basic edu12 cation programs under this subsection pursuant 

13 to the prioritization criteria described in para14 graph (3), including level of need, opportunity 

15 for impact, and the availability of resources. 

16 ‘‘(C) RELEVANT EXECUTIVE BRANCH

17 AGENCIES AND OFFICIALS.—The term ‘relevant 

18 Executive branch agencies and officials’ 

19 means— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Department of State, the 

21 United States Agency for International 

22 Development, the Department of the 

23 Treasury, the Department of Labor, the 

24 Department of Education, the Department 

25 of Health and Human Services, the De-
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1 partment of Agriculture, and the Depart2 ment of Defense; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Chief Executive Officer of 

4 the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the 

5 Coordinator of United States Government 

6 Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally, 

7 the National Security Advisor, the Director 

8 of the Peace Corps, and the National Eco9 nomic Advisor; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) any other department, agency, 

11 or official of the United States Govern12 ment that participates in activities to pro13 mote quality basic education pursuant to 

14 the authorities of such department, agency, 

15 or official or pursuant to this Act. 

16 ‘‘(D) NATIONAL EDUCATION PLAN.—The 

17 term ‘national education plan’ means a com18 prehensive national education plan developed by 

19 partner country governments in consultation 

20 with other stakeholders as a means for wide21 scale improvement of the country’s education 

22 system, including explicit, credible strategies in23 formed by effective practices and standards to 

24 achieve quality universal basic education. 
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1 ‘‘(E) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘HIV/AIDS’ 

2 has the meaning given that term in section 

3 104A(h). 

4 ‘‘(F) MARGINALIZED CHILDREN AND VUL5 NERABLE GROUPS.—The term ‘marginalized 

6 children and vulnerable groups’ includes girls, 

7 children affected by or emerging from armed 

8 conflict or humanitarian crises, children with 

9 disabilities, children in remote or rural areas 

10 (including those who lack access to safe water 

11 and sanitation), religious or ethnic minorities, 

12 indigenous peoples, orphans and children af13 fected by HIV/AIDS, child laborers, married 

14 adolescents, and victims of trafficking. 

15 ‘‘(G) GENDER PARITY IN BASIC EDU16 CATION.—The term ‘gender parity in basic edu17 cation’ means that girls and boys have equal ac18 cess to quality basic education. 

19 ‘‘(H) NONFORMAL EDUCATION.—The term 

20 ‘nonformal education’— 

21 ‘‘(i) means organized educational ac22 tivities outside the established formal sys23 tem, whether operating separately or as an 

24 important feature of a broader activity, 

25 that are intended to serve identifiable 
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1 learning clienteles and learning objectives; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) includes youth programs and 

4 community training offered by community 

5 groups and organizations. 

6 ‘‘(I) SUSTAINABILITY.—The term ‘sustain7 ability’ means, with respect to any basic edu8 cation program that receives funding pursuant 

9 to this section, the ability of a service delivery 

10 system, community, partner, or beneficiary to 

11 maintain, over time, such basic education pro12 gram.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED UNITED STATES 

14 STRATEGY TO PROMOTE BASIC EDUCATION. 

15 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than October 

16 1, 2016, October 1, 2021, and October 1, 2026, the Presi17 dent shall submit to the appropriate congressional com18 mittees a comprehensive United States strategy to pro19 mote quality basic education in partner countries by— 

20 (1) seeking to equitably expand access to basic 

21 education for all children, particularly marginalized 

22 children and vulnerable groups; and 

23 (2) measurably improving the quality of basic 

24 education and learning outcomes. 
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1 (b) REQUIREMENT TO CONSULT.—In developing the 

2 strategy required by subsection (a), the President shall 

3 consult with— 

4 (1) the appropriate congressional committees; 

5 (2) relevant Executive branch agencies and offi6 cials; 

7 (3) partner country governments; and 

8 (4) local and international nongovernmental or9 ganizations, including faith-based organizations and 

10 organizations representing students, teachers, and 

11 parents, and other development partners engaged in 

12 basic education assistance programs in developing 

13 countries. 

14 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The President shall provide 

15 an opportunity for public comment on the strategy re16 quired by subsection (a). 

17 (d) INITIAL STRATEGY.—For the purposes of this 

18 section, the strategy entitled ‘‘USAID education strat19 egy’’, as in effect on the day before the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, shall be deemed to fulfill the initial re21 quirements of subsection (a) for 2016. 

22 (e) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

23 (a) shall be developed and implemented consistent with the 

24 principles set forth in subsection (c) of section 105 of the 
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1 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 

2 of this Act) and shall seek to— 

3 (1) build the capacity of relevant actors in part4 ner countries, including in government and in civil 

5 society, to develop and implement national education 

6 plans that are aligned with and advance country de7 velopment strategies; 

8 (2) identify and replicate successful interven9 tions that improve access to and quality of edu10 cation; 

11 (3) project general levels of resources needed to 

12 achieve stated program objectives; 

13 (4) leverage United States capabilities, includ14 ing through technical assistance, training and re15 search; and 

16 (5) improve coordination and reduce duplication 

17 among relevant Executive branch agencies and offi18 cials, other donors, multilateral institutions, non19 governmental organizations, and governments in 

20 partner countries. 

21 (f) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Assistance provided 

22 under section 105 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

23 (as amended by section 3 of this Act) should advance the 

24 strategy required by subsection (a), including through ef25 forts to— 
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1 (1) ensure an adequate supply and continued 

2 support for trained, effective teachers; 

3 (2) design and deliver relevant curricula, uphold 

4 quality standards, and supply appropriate teaching 

5 and learning materials; 

6 (3) build the capacity of basic education sys7 tems in partner countries by improving management 

8 practices and supporting their ability to collect rel9 evant data and monitor, evaluate, and report on the 

10 status and quality of education services, financing, 

11 and student-learning outcomes; 

12 (4) help mobilize domestic resources to elimi13 nate or offset fees for educational services, including 

14 fees for tuition, uniforms, and materials; 

15 (5) support education on human rights and 

16 conflict-resolution while ensuring that schools are 

17 not incubators for violent extremism; 

18 (6) work with communities to help girls over19 come relevant barriers to their receiving a safe, qual20 ity basic education, including by improving girls’ 

21 safety in education settings, helping girls to obtain 

22 the skills needed to find safe and legal employment 

23 upon conclusion of their education, and countering 

24 harmful practices such as child, early, and forced 

25 marriage and gender-based violence; 
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1 (7) ensure access to education for the most 

2 marginalized children and vulnerable groups, includ3 ing through the provision of appropriate infrastruc4 ture, flexible learning opportunities, accelerated and 

5 second-chance classes, and opportunities that sup6 port leadership development; 

7 (8) make schools safe and secure learning envi8 ronments without threat of physical, psychological, 

9 and sexual violence, including by supporting safe 

10 passage to and from schools and constructing sepa11 rate latrines for boys and girls; and 

12 (9) support a communities-of-learning approach 

13 that utilizes schools as centers of learning and devel14 opment for an entire community, to leverage and 

15 maximize the impact of other development efforts, 

16 and reduce duplication and waste. 

17 (g) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED FOR COUN18 TRIES AFFECTED BY CONFLICT AND CRISES.—In addi19 tion to the activities supported under subsection (f), as20 sistance provided under section 105 of the Foreign Assist21 ance Act of 1961 (as amended by section 3 of this Act) 

22 to foreign countries or those parts of the territories of for23 eign countries that are affected by or emerging from 

24 armed conflict, humanitarian crises, or other emergency 

25 situations may be used to support efforts to— 
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1 (1) ensure a continuity of basic education for 

2 all children through appropriate formal and non3 formal education programs and services; 

4 (2) ensure that basic education assistance of 

5 the United States to countries in emergency settings 

6 shall be informed by the Minimum Standards of the 

7 Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies 

8 (‘‘INEE Minimum Standards’’); 

9 (3) coordinate basic education programs with 

10 complementary services to protect children from 

11 physical harm, psychological and social distress, re12 cruitment into armed groups, family separation, and 

13 abuses related to their displacement; 

14 (4) support, train, and provide professional de15 velopment for educators working in emergency set16 tings; 

17 (5) help build national capacity to coordinate 

18 and manage basic education during emergency re19 sponse and through recovery; 

20 (6) promote the reintegration of teachers and 

21 students affected by conflict, whether refugees or in22 ternally displaced, into educational systems; and 

23 (7) ensure the safety of children in school, in24 cluding through support for— 
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1 (A) the provision of safe learning environ2 ments with appropriate facilities, especially for 

3 girls; 

4 (B) safe passage to and from school, in5 cluding landmine awareness, the designation of 

6 schools as conflict-free zones, the adoption and 

7 support of community-owned protective meas8 ures to reduce the incidence of attacks on edu9 cational facilities and personnel by local actors, 

10 armed groups, and armed forces; 

11 (C) out-of-school and flexible-hour edu12 cation programs in areas where security condi13 tions are prohibitive; 

14 (D) safety plans in case of emergency with 

15 clearly defined roles for school personnel; and 

16 (E) appropriate infrastructure, including 

17 emergency communication systems and access 

18 to mobile telecommunications with local police 

19 and security personnel. 

20 SEC. 5. IMPROVING COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT. 

21 (a) SENIOR COORDINATOR OF UNITED STATES

22 INTERNATIONAL BASIC EDUCATION ASSISTANCE.—There 

23 is established within the United States Agency for Inter24 national Development a Senior Coordinator of United 

25 States International Basic Education Assistance (referred 
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1 to in this Act as the ‘‘Senior Coordinator’’), who shall be 

2 appointed by the President. 

3 (b) DUTIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator 

5 shall have primary responsibility for the oversight 

6 and coordination of all resources and activities of the 

7 United States Government relating to the promotion 

8 of international basic education programs and activi9 ties. 

10 (2) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Senior Coordinator 

11 shall— 

12 (A) facilitate program and policy coordina13 tion of international basic education programs 

14 and activities among relevant Executive branch 

15 agencies and officials, partner governments, 

16 multilateral institutions, the private sector, and 

17 nongovernmental and civil society organizations; 

18 (B) develop and revise the strategy re19 quired under section 4; 

20 (C) monitor, evaluate, and report on activi21 ties undertaken pursuant to the strategy re22 quired under section 4; and 

23 (D) establish due diligence criteria for all 

24 recipients of funds provided by the United 
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1 States to carry out activities under this Act and 

2 the amendments made by this Act. 

3 (c) OFFSET.—To offset any costs incurred by the 

4 United States Agency for International Development to 

5 carry out the establishment and appointment of a Senior 

6 Coordinator of United States International Basic Edu7 cation Assistance in accordance with subsection (a), the 

8 President shall eliminate such positions within the United 

9 States Agency for International Development, unless oth10 erwise authorized or required by law, as the President de11 termines to be necessary to fully offset such costs. 

12 SEC. 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. 

13 The President shall seek to ensure that programs car14 ried out under the strategy required under section 4 

15 shall— 

16 (1) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation 

17 methodologies to focus on learning and account18 ability; 

19 (2) include methodological guidance in the im20 plementation plan and support systemic data collec21 tion using internationally comparable indicators, 

22 norms, and methodologies, to the extent practicable 

23 and appropriate; 
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1 (3) disaggregate all data collected and reported 

2 by age, gender, marital status, disability, and loca3 tion, to the extent practicable and appropriate; 

4 (4) be planned and budgeted to include funding 

5 for both short- and long-term monitoring and eval6 uation to enable assessment of the sustainability and 

7 scalability of assistance programs; and 

8 (5) support the increased use and public avail9 ability of education data for improved decision mak10 ing, program effectiveness, and monitoring of global 

11 progress. 

12 SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

14 STRATEGY.—Not later than March 31 of each year 

15 through 2031, the President shall submit to the appro16 priate congressional committees a report on the implemen17 tation of the strategy developed pursuant to section 4 and 

18 make the report available to the public. 

19 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re20 quired under subsection (a) shall include— 

21 (1) a description of the efforts made by relevant 

22 Executive branch agencies and officials to implement 

23 the strategy developed pursuant to section 4 with a 

24 particular focus on the activities carried out; 
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1 (2) a description of the extent to which each 

2 partner country selected to receive assistance for 

3 basic education meets the priority criteria specified 

4 in subsection (c) of section 105 of the Foreign As5 sistance Act (as added by section 3 of this Act); and 

6 (3) a description of the progress achieved over 

7 the reporting period toward meeting the goals, objec8 tives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the 

9 strategy developed pursuant to section 4 at the pro10 gram level, as developed pursuant to monitoring and 

11 evaluation specified in section 6. 

12 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

13 (a) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

14 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit15 tees’’ means— 

16 (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

17 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 

18 (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

19 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep20 resentatives. 

21 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the terms 

22 ‘‘basic education’’, ‘‘partner country’’, ‘‘relevant Executive 

23 branch agencies and officials’’, ‘‘national education plan’’, 

24 ‘‘marginalized children and vulnerable groups’’, and ‘‘gen25 der parity in basic education’’ have the meanings given 
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1 such terms in subsection (c) of section 105 of the Foreign 

2 Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act). 

Passed the House of Representatives September 7, 

2016. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4481 

AN ACT 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to 

ance policy, and for other purposes. an objective of the United States foreign assistthe goal of all children in school and learning as promote quality basic education and to establish provide assistance for developing countries to