II 

Calendar No. 712 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4481 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 

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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 

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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). 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Education for All Act of 2016’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

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. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 (a) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—In 

10 this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 

11 means— 

12 (1) the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen13 ate; 

14 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

15 Senate; 

16 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

17 House of Representatives; and 

18 (4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

19 House of Representatives. 

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

21 ‘‘basic education’’, ‘‘marginalized children and vulnerable 


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1 groups’’, ‘‘national education plan’’, ‘‘partner country’’, 

2 and ‘‘relevant Executive branch agencies and officials’’ have 

3 the meanings given such terms in section 105(c) of the For4 eign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3. 

5 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE, QUALITY 

6 BASIC EDUCATION. 

7 Section 105 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

8 U.S.C. 2151c) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

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

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

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

14 education’ includes— 

15 ‘‘(i) measurable improvements in lit16 eracy, numeracy, and other basic skills de17 velopment that prepare an individual to be 

18 an active, productive member of society and 

19 the workforce; 

20 ‘‘(ii) workforce development, vocational 

21 training, and digital literacy informed by 

22 real market needs and opportunities and 

23 that results in measurable improvements in 

24 employment; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) programs and activities designed 

2 to demonstrably improve— 

3 ‘‘(I) early childhood, preprimary 

4 education, primary education, and sec5 ondary education, which can be deliv6 ered in formal or nonformal education 

7 settings; and 

8 ‘‘(II) learning for out-of-school 

9 youth and adults; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) capacity building for teachers, 

11 administrators, counselors, and youth work12 ers that results in measurable improvements 

13 in student literacy, numeracy, or employ14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITIES OF LEARNING.—The 

16 term ‘communities of learning’ means a holistic 

17 approach to education and community engage18 ment in which schools act as the primary re19 source center for delivery of a service to the com20 munity at large, leveraging and maximizing the 

21 impact of other development efforts and reducing 

22 duplication and waste. 

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1 cation’ means that girls and boys have equal ac2 cess to quality basic education. 

3 ‘‘(D) MARGINALIZED CHILDREN AND VUL4 NERABLE GROUPS.—The term ‘marginalized 

5 children and vulnerable groups’ includes girls, 

6 children affected by or emerging from armed con7 flict or humanitarian crises, children with dis8 abilities, children in remote or rural areas (in9 cluding those who lack access to safe water and 

10 sanitation), religious or ethnic minorities, indig11 enous peoples, orphans and children affected by 

12 HIV/AIDS, child laborers, married adolescents, 

13 and victims of trafficking. 

14 ‘‘(E) NATIONAL EDUCATION PLAN.—The 

15 term ‘national education plan’ means a com16 prehensive national education plan developed by 

17 partner country governments in consultation 

18 with other stakeholders as a means for wide-scale 

19 improvement of the country’s education system, 

20 including explicit, credible strategies informed by 

21 effective practices and standards to achieve qual22 ity universal basic education. 

23 ‘‘(F) NONFORMAL EDUCATION.—The term 

24 ‘nonformal education’ means organized edu25 cational activities outside the established formal 


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1 system, whether operating separately or as an 

2 important feature of a broader activity, that are 

3 intended to provide students with measurable 

4 improvements in literacy, numeracy, and other 

5 basic skills development that prepare an indi6 vidual to be an active, productive member of so7 ciety and the workforce. 

8 ‘‘(G) PARTNER COUNTRY.—The term ‘part9 ner country’ means a developing country that 

10 participates in or benefits from basic education 

11 programs under this subsection pursuant to the 

12 prioritization criteria described in paragraph 

13 (4), including level of need, opportunity for im14 pact, and the availability of resources. 

15 ‘‘(H) RELEVANT EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGEN16 CIES AND OFFICIALS.—The term ‘relevant Execu17 tive branch agencies and officials’ means the De18 partment of State, the United States Agency for 

19 International Development, the Department of 

20 the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the De21 partment of Education, the Department of Agri22 culture, and the Department of Defense, the Chief 

23 Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge 

24 Corporation, the National Security Advisor, and 

25 the Director of the Peace Corps. 


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1 ‘‘(I) SUSTAINABILITY.—The term ‘sustain2 ability’ means, with respect to any basic edu3 cation program that receives funding pursuant 

4 to this section, the ability of a service delivery 

5 system, community, partner, or beneficiary to 

6 maintain, over time, such basic education pro7 gram without the use of foreign assistance. 

8 ‘‘(2) POLICY.—In carrying out this section, it 

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

10 partner countries, as appropriate, other donors, mul11 tilateral institutions, the private sector, and non12 governmental and civil society organizations, includ13 ing faith-based organizations and organizations that 

14 represent teachers, students, and parents, to promote 

15 sustainable, quality basic education through programs 

16 and activities that— 

17 ‘‘(A) take into consideration and help re18 spond to the needs, capacities, and commitment 

19 of developing countries to achieve measurable im20 provements in literacy, numeracy, and other 

21 basic skills development that prepare an indi22 vidual to be an active, productive member of so23 ciety and the workforce; 

24 ‘‘(B) strengthen educational systems, pro25 mote communities of learning, as appropriate, 


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1 expand access to safe learning environments, in2 cluding by breaking down the specific barriers to 

3 basic education for women and girls, ensure con4 tinuity of education, including in conflict set5 tings, measurably improve teacher skills and 

6 learning outcomes, and support the engagement 

7 of parents in the education of their children to 

8 help partner countries ensure that all children, 

9 including marginalized children and other vul10 nerable groups, have access to and benefit from 

11 quality basic education; and 

12 ‘‘(C) promote education as a foundation for 

13 sustained economic growth and development 

14 within a comprehensive assistance strategy that 

15 places partner countries on a trajectory toward 

16 graduation from assistance provided under this 

17 section with clearly defined benchmarks of suc18 cess that are used as requirements for related 

19 procurement vehicles, such as grants, contracts, 

20 and cooperative agreements; and 

21 ‘‘(D) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 

22 and quality of basic education programs in part23 ner countries. 

24 ‘‘(3) PRINCIPLES.—In carrying out the policy 

25 referred to in paragraph (2), the United States shall 


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1 be guided by the following principles of aid effective2 ness: 

3 ‘‘(A) ALIGNMENT.—Assistance provided 

4 under this section to support programs and ac5 tivities under this subsection shall be aligned 

6 with and advance United States foreign policy 

7 and economic interests. 

8 ‘‘(B) COUNTRY OWNERSHIP.—To the great9 est extent practicable, assistance provided under 

10 this section to support programs and activities 

11 under this subsection should be aligned with and 

12 support the national education plans and coun13 try development strategies of partner countries, 

14 including activities that are appropriate for and 

15 meet the needs of local and indigenous cultures. 

16 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Assistance provided 

18 under this section to support programs and 

19 activities under this subsection should be co20 ordinated with and leverage the unique ca21 pabilities and resources of local and na22 tional governments in partner countries, 

23 other donors, multilateral institutions, the 

24 private sector, and nongovernmental and 

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1 based organizations and organizations that 

2 represent teachers, students, and parents. 

3 ‘‘(ii) MULTILATERAL PROGRAMS AND

4 INITIATIVES.—Assistance provided under 

5 this section to support programs and activi6 ties under this subsection should be coordi7 nated with and support proven multilateral 

8 education programs and financing mecha9 nisms, which may include the Global Part10 nership for Education, that demonstrate 

11 commitment to efficiency, effectiveness, 

12 transparency, and accountability. 

13 ‘‘(D) EFFICIENCY.—The President shall seek 

14 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of as15 sistance provided under this section to support 

16 programs and activities under this subsection by 

17 coordinating the related efforts of relevant Execu18 tive branch agencies and officials. 

19 ‘‘(E) EFFECTIVENESS.—Programs and ac20 tivities supported under this subsection— 

21 ‘‘(i) shall be consistent with the policies 

22 and principles set forth in this subsection; 

23 ‘‘(ii) shall be designed to achieve spe24 cific, measurable goals and objectives that 


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1 are directly related to the provision of basic 

2 education (as defined in this section); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) shall include appropriate targets, 

4 metrics, and indicators that— 

5 ‘‘(I) move a country along the 

6 path to graduation from assistance 

7 provided under this subsection; and 

8 ‘‘(II) can be applied with reason9 able consistency across such programs 

10 and activities to measure progress and 

11 outcomes. 

12 ‘‘(F) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNT13 ABILITY.—Programs and activities supported 

14 under this subsection shall be subject to rigorous 

15 monitoring and evaluation, which may include 

16 impact evaluations, the results of which shall be 

17 made publically available in a fully searchable, 

18 electronic format. 

19 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 The President shall ensure that assistance provided 

21 under this section to support programs and activities 

22 under this subsection is aligned with the foreign pol23 icy and economic interests of the United States and, 

24 subject to such alignment, priority is given to devel25 oping countries in which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) there is the greatest need and oppor2 tunity to expand access to basic education and 

3 to improve learning outcomes, including for 

4 marginalized and vulnerable groups, particu5 larly women and girls to ensure gender parity in 

6 basic education, or populations affected by con7 flict or crisis; and 

8 ‘‘(B) such assistance can produce a substan9 tial, measurable impact on children and edu10 cational systems.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED UNITED STATES 

12 STRATEGY TO PROMOTE BASIC EDUCATION. 

13 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than October 1, 

14 2017, the President shall submit to the appropriate congres15 sional committees a comprehensive United States strategy 

16 to be carried out during fiscal years 2018 through 2022 to 

17 promote quality basic education in partner countries by— 

18 (1) seeking to equitably expand access to basic 

19 education for all children, particularly marginalized 

20 children and vulnerable groups; and 

21 (2) measurably improving the quality of basic 

22 education and learning outcomes. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT TO CONSULT.—In developing the 

24 strategy required under subsection (a), the President shall 

25 consult with— 


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1 (1) the appropriate congressional committees; 

2 (2) relevant Executive branch agencies and offi3 cials; 

4 (3) partner country governments; and 

5 (4) local and international nongovernmental or6 ganizations, including faith-based organizations and 

7 organizations representing students, teachers, and 

8 parents, and other development partners engaged in 

9 basic education assistance programs in developing 

10 countries. 

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

12 an opportunity for public comment on the strategy required 

13 under subsection (a). 

14 (d) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub15 section (a)— 

16 (1) shall be developed and implemented con17 sistent with the principles set forth in section 105(c) 

18 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by 

19 section 3; and 

20 (2) shall seek— 

21 (A) to prioritize assistance provided under 

22 this subsection to countries that are partners of 

23 the United States and whose populations are 

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1 termined by indicators such as literacy and 

2 numeracy rates; 

3 (B) to build the capacity of relevant actors 

4 in partner countries, including in government 

5 and in civil society, to develop and implement 

6 national education plans that measurably im7 prove basic education; 

8 (C) to identify and replicate successful 

9 interventions that improve access to and quality 

10 of basic education in conflict settings and in 

11 partner countries; 

12 (D) to project general levels of resources 

13 needed to achieve stated program objectives; 

14 (E) to develop means to track implementa15 tion in partner countries and ensure that such 

16 countries are expending appropriate domestic re17 sources and instituting any relevant legal, regu18 latory, or institutional reforms needed to achieve 

19 stated program objectives; 

20 (F) to leverage United States capabilities, 

21 including through technical assistance, training, 

22 and research; and 

23 (G) to improve coordination and reduce du24 plication among relevant Executive branch agen25 cies and officials, other donors, multilateral inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4481.RS H4481

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1 stitutions, nongovernmental organizations, and 

2 governments in partner countries. 

3 SEC. 5. IMPROVING COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT. 

4 (a) SENIOR COORDINATOR OF UNITED STATES INTER5 NATIONAL BASIC EDUCATION ASSISTANCE.—There is estab6 lished within the United States Agency for International 

7 Development a Senior Coordinator of United States Inter8 national Basic Education Assistance (referred to in this sec9 tion as the ‘‘Senior Coordinator’’). The Senior Coordinator 

10 shall be appointed by the President, shall be a current 

11 USAID employee serving in a career or noncareer position 

12 in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy 

13 Assistant Administrator or higher, and shall serve concur14 rently as the Senior Coordinator. 

15 (b) DUTIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator shall 

17 have primary responsibility for the oversight and co18 ordination of all resources and activities of the 

19 United States Government relating to the promotion 

20 of international basic education programs and activi21 ties. 

22 (2) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Senior Coordinator 

23 shall— 

24 (A) facilitate program and policy coordina25 tion of international basic education programs 


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1 and activities among relevant Executive branch 

2 agencies and officials, partner governments, mul3 tilateral institutions, the private sector, and non4 governmental and civil society organizations; 

5 (B) develop and revise the strategy required 

6 under section 4; 

7 (C) monitor, evaluate, and report on activi8 ties undertaken pursuant to the strategy required 

9 under section 4; and 

10 (D) establish due diligence criteria for all 

11 recipients of funds provided by the United States 

12 to carry out activities under this Act and the 

13 amendments made by this Act. 

14 (c) OFFSET.—In order to eliminate duplication of ef15 fort and activities and to offset any costs incurred by the 

16 United States Agency for International Development in ap17 pointing the Senior Coordinator under subsection (a), the 

18 President shall eliminate any positions within the United 

19 States Agency for International Development (unless other20 wise authorized or required by law) that the President de21 termines to be necessary to fully offset such costs and elimi22 nate duplication. 

23 SEC. 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. 

24 The President shall seek to ensure that programs car25 ried out under the strategy required under section 4 shall— 


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1 (1) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation 

2 methodologies to determine if programs and activities 

3 provided under this subsection accomplish measurable 

4 improvements in literacy, numeracy, or other basic 

5 skills development that prepare an individual to be 

6 an active, productive member of society and the work7 force; 

8 (2) include methodological guidance in the im9 plementation plan and support systemic data collec10 tion using internationally comparable indicators, 

11 norms, and methodologies, to the extent practicable 

12 and appropriate; 

13 (3) disaggregate all data collected and reported 

14 by age, gender, marital status, disability, and loca15 tion, to the extent practicable and appropriate; 

16 (4) include funding for both short- and long-term 

17 monitoring and evaluation to enable assessment of the 

18 sustainability and scalability of assistance programs; 

19 and 

20 (5) support the increased use and public avail21 ability of education data for improved decision mak22 ing, program effectiveness, and monitoring of global 

23 progress. 


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1 SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS. 

2 (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

3 STRATEGY.—Not later than each March 31 immediately fol4 lowing a fiscal year during which the strategy developed 

5 pursuant to section 4(a) was carried out, the President 

6 shall— 

7 (1) submit a report to the appropriate congres8 sional committees that describes the implementation 

9 of such strategy; and 

10 (2) make the report described in paragraph (1) 

11 available to the public. 

12 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report required 

13 under subsection (a) shall include— 

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

15 Executive branch agencies and officials to implement 

16 the strategy developed pursuant to section 4, with a 

17 particular focus on the activities carried out under 

18 the strategy; 

19 (2) a description of the extent to which each 

20 partner country selected to receive assistance for basic 

21 education meets the priority criteria specified in sec22 tion 105(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, as added by 

23 section 3; and 

24 (3) a description of the progress achieved over 

25 the reporting period toward meeting the goals, objec26 tives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the 


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1 strategy developed pursuant to section 4 at the pro2 gram level, as developed pursuant to monitoring and 

3 evaluation specified in section 6, with particular em4 phasis on whether there are demonstrable student im5 provements in literacy, numeracy, or other basic skills 

6 development that prepare an individual to be an ac7 tive, productive member of society and the workforce. 


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Calendar No. 712 

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 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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