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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Education for All Act of 2016’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
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 edu-
cation. 
Sec. 5. Improving coordination and oversight. 
Sec. 6. Monitoring and evaluation of programs. 
Sec. 7. Transparency and reporting to Congress. 
Sec. 8. Definitions. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) education lays the foundation for increased 
civic participation, democratic governance, sustained 
economic growth, and healthier, more stable soci-
eties; 
(2) it is in the national interest of the United 
States to promote access to sustainable, quality uni-
versal basic education in developing countries; 
(3) United States resources and leadership 
should be utilized in a manner that best ensures a 
successful international effort to provide children in 
developing countries with a quality basic education 
in order to achieve the goal of quality universal basic 
education; and
(4) promoting gender parity in basic education 
from childhood through adolescence serves United 
States diplomatic, economic, and security interests 
worldwide. 
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE, QUALITY 
BASIC EDUCATION. 
Section 105 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(22 U.S.C. 2151c) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE, QUAL-
ITY BASIC EDUCATION.— 
‘‘(1) POLICY.—In carrying out this section, it 
shall be the policy of the United States to work with 
partner countries, other donors, multilateral institu-
tions, the private sector, and nongovernmental and 
civil society organizations, including faith-based or-
ganizations and organizations that represent teach-
ers, students, and parents, to promote sustainable, 
quality basic education through programs and activi-
ties that, consistent with Article 26 of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights— 
‘‘(A) align with and respond to the needs, 
capacities, and commitment of developing coun-
tries to strengthen educational systems, expand 
access to safe learning environments, ensure
continuity of education, measurably improve 
teacher skills and learning outcomes, and sup-
port the engagement of parents in the edu-
cation of their children, so that all children, in-
cluding marginalized children and other vulner-
able groups, may have access to and benefit 
from quality basic education; and 
‘‘(B) promote education as a foundation 
for sustained economic growth and development 
within a holistic assistance strategy that places 
partner countries on a trajectory toward grad-
uation from assistance provided under this sec-
tion and contributes to improved— 
‘‘(i) early childhood development; 
‘‘(ii) life skills and workforce develop-
ment; 
‘‘(iii) economic opportunity; 
‘‘(iv) gender parity; 
‘‘(v) food and nutrition security; 
‘‘(vi) water, sanitation, and hygiene; 
‘‘(vii) health and disease prevention 
and treatment; 
‘‘(viii) disaster preparedness; 
‘‘(ix) conflict and violence reduction, 
mitigation, and prevention; and
‘‘(x) democracy and governance; and 
‘‘(C) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 
and quality of basic education programs. 
‘‘(2) PRINCIPLES.—In carrying out the policy 
referred to in paragraph (1), the United States shall 
be guided by the following principles of aid effective-
ness: 
‘‘(A) ALIGNMENT.—Assistance provided 
under this section to support programs and ac-
tivities under this subsection shall be aligned 
with and advance United States diplomatic, de-
velopment, and national security interests. 
‘‘(B) 
COUNTRY
OWNERSHIP.—To 
the 
greatest extent practicable, assistance provided 
under this section to support programs and ac-
tivities under this subsection should be aligned 
with and support the national education plans 
and country development strategies of partner 
countries, including activities that are appro-
priate for and meet the needs of local and in-
digenous cultures. 
‘‘(C) COORDINATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Assistance pro-
vided under this section to support pro-
grams and activities under this subsection
should be coordinated with and leverage 
the unique capabilities and resources of 
local and national governments in partner 
countries, other donors, multilateral insti-
tutions, the private sector, and nongovern-
mental and civil society organizations, in-
cluding faith-based organizations and orga-
nizations that represent teachers, students, 
and parents. 
‘‘(ii) MULTILATERAL PROGRAMS AND 
INITIATIVES.—Assistance provided under 
this section to support programs and ac-
tivities under this subsection should be co-
ordinated with and support proven multi-
lateral education programs and financing 
mechanisms, which may include the Global 
Partnership for Education, that dem-
onstrate commitment to efficiency, effec-
tiveness, transparency, and accountability. 
‘‘(D) EFFICIENCY.—The President shall 
seek to improve the efficiency and effectiveness 
of assistance provided under this section to sup-
port programs and activities under this sub-
section by coordinating the related efforts of 
relevant Executive branch agencies and offi-
cials, including efforts to increase gender parity 
and to provide a continuity of basic education 
activities in humanitarian responses and other 
emergency settings. 
‘‘(E) EFFECTIVENESS.—Programs and ac-
tivities supported under this subsection shall be 
designed to achieve specific, measurable goals 
and objectives and shall include appropriate tar-
gets, metrics and indicators that can be applied 
with reasonable consistency across such pro-
grams and activities to measure progress and 
outcomes. 
‘‘(F) 
TRANSPARENCY
AND
ACCOUNT-
ABILITY.—Programs and activities supported 
under this subsection shall be subject to rig-
orous monitoring and evaluation, which may in-
clude impact evaluations, the results of which 
shall be made publically available in a fully 
searchable, electronic format. 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 
The President shall ensure that assistance provided 
under this section to support programs and activities 
under this subsection is aligned with the diplomatic, 
economic, and national security interests of the
United States and that priority is given to devel-
oping countries in which— 
‘‘(A) there is the greatest need and oppor-
tunity to expand access to basic education and 
to improve learning outcomes, including for 
marginalized and vulnerable groups, particu-
larly women and girls, or populations affected 
by conflict or crisis; and 
‘‘(B) such assistance can produce a sub-
stantial, measurable impact on children and 
educational systems. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) BASIC EDUCATION.—The term ‘basic 
education’ includes— 
‘‘(i) all program and policy efforts 
aimed 
at 
improving 
early 
childhood, 
preprimary education, primary education, 
and secondary education, which can be de-
livered in formal and nonformal education 
settings, and in programs promoting learn-
ing for out-of-school youth and adults; 
‘‘(ii) capacity building for teachers, 
administrators, 
counselors, 
and 
youth 
workers;
‘‘(iii) literacy, numeracy, and other 
basic skills development that prepare an 
individual to be an active, productive mem-
ber of society and the workforce; and 
‘‘(iv) workforce development, voca-
tional training, and digital literacy that is 
informed by real market needs and oppor-
tunities. 
‘‘(B) 
PARTNER
COUNTRY.—The 
term 
‘partner country’ means a developing country 
that participates in or benefits from basic edu-
cation programs under this subsection pursuant 
to the prioritization criteria described in para-
graph (3), including level of need, opportunity 
for impact, and the availability of resources. 
‘‘(C) 
RELEVANT
EXECUTIVE
BRANCH 
AGENCIES AND OFFICIALS.—The term ‘relevant 
Executive 
branch 
agencies 
and 
officials’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) the Department of State, the 
United States Agency for International 
Development, the Department of the 
Treasury, the Department of Labor, the 
Department of Education, the Department 
of Health and Human Services, the De-
partment of Agriculture, and the Depart-
ment of Defense; 
‘‘(ii) the Chief Executive Officer of 
the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the 
Coordinator of United States Government 
Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally, 
the National Security Advisor, the Director 
of the Peace Corps, and the National Eco-
nomic Advisor; and 
‘‘(iii) any other department, agency, 
or official of the United States Govern-
ment that participates in activities to pro-
mote quality basic education pursuant to 
the authorities of such department, agency, 
or official or pursuant to this Act. 
‘‘(D) NATIONAL
EDUCATION
PLAN.—The 
term ‘national education plan’ means a com-
prehensive national education plan developed by 
partner country governments in consultation 
with other stakeholders as a means for wide- 
scale improvement of the country’s education 
system, including explicit, credible strategies in-
formed by effective practices and standards to 
achieve quality universal basic education.
‘‘(E) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘HIV/AIDS’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 
104A(h). 
‘‘(F) MARGINALIZED CHILDREN AND VUL-
NERABLE
GROUPS.—The term ‘marginalized 
children and vulnerable groups’ includes girls, 
children affected by or emerging from armed 
conflict or humanitarian crises, children with 
disabilities, children in remote or rural areas 
(including those who lack access to safe water 
and sanitation), religious or ethnic minorities, 
indigenous peoples, orphans and children af-
fected by HIV/AIDS, child laborers, married 
adolescents, and victims of trafficking. 
‘‘(G) GENDER
PARITY
IN
BASIC
EDU-
CATION.—The term ‘gender parity in basic edu-
cation’ means that girls and boys have equal ac-
cess to quality basic education. 
‘‘(H) NONFORMAL EDUCATION.—The term 
‘nonformal education’— 
‘‘(i) means organized educational ac-
tivities outside the established formal sys-
tem, whether operating separately or as an 
important feature of a broader activity, 
that are intended to serve identifiable
learning clienteles and learning objectives; 
and 
‘‘(ii) includes youth programs and 
community training offered by community 
groups and organizations. 
‘‘(I) SUSTAINABILITY.—The term ‘sustain-
ability’ means, with respect to any basic edu-
cation program that receives funding pursuant 
to this section, the ability of a service delivery 
system, community, partner, or beneficiary to 
maintain, over time, such basic education pro-
gram.’’. 
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED UNITED STATES 
STRATEGY TO PROMOTE BASIC EDUCATION. 
(a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than October 
1, 2016, October 1, 2021, and October 1, 2026, the Presi-
dent shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a comprehensive United States strategy to pro-
mote quality basic education in partner countries by— 
(1) seeking to equitably expand access to basic 
education for all children, particularly marginalized 
children and vulnerable groups; and 
(2) measurably improving the quality of basic 
education and learning outcomes.
(b) REQUIREMENT TO CONSULT.—In developing the 
strategy required by subsection (a), the President shall 
consult with— 
(1) the appropriate congressional committees; 
(2) relevant Executive branch agencies and offi-
cials; 
(3) partner country governments; and 
(4) local and international nongovernmental or-
ganizations, including faith-based organizations and 
organizations representing students, teachers, and 
parents, and other development partners engaged in 
basic education assistance programs in developing 
countries. 
(c) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The President shall provide 
an opportunity for public comment on the strategy re-
quired by subsection (a). 
(d) INITIAL STRATEGY.—For the purposes of this 
section, the strategy entitled ‘‘USAID education strat-
egy’’, as in effect on the day before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, shall be deemed to fulfill the initial re-
quirements of subsection (a) for 2016. 
(e) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 
(a) shall be developed and implemented consistent with the 
principles set forth in subsection (c) of section 105 of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 
of this Act) and shall seek to— 
(1) build the capacity of relevant actors in part-
ner countries, including in government and in civil 
society, to develop and implement national education 
plans that are aligned with and advance country de-
velopment strategies; 
(2) identify and replicate successful interven-
tions that improve access to and quality of edu-
cation; 
(3) project general levels of resources needed to 
achieve stated program objectives; 
(4) leverage United States capabilities, includ-
ing through technical assistance, training and re-
search; and 
(5) improve coordination and reduce duplication 
among relevant Executive branch agencies and offi-
cials, other donors, multilateral institutions, non-
governmental organizations, and governments in 
partner countries. 
(f) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Assistance provided 
under section 105 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(as amended by section 3 of this Act) should advance the 
strategy required by subsection (a), including through ef-
forts to—
(1) ensure an adequate supply and continued 
support for trained, effective teachers; 
(2) design and deliver relevant curricula, uphold 
quality standards, and supply appropriate teaching 
and learning materials; 
(3) build the capacity of basic education sys-
tems in partner countries by improving management 
practices and supporting their ability to collect rel-
evant data and monitor, evaluate, and report on the 
status and quality of education services, financing, 
and student-learning outcomes; 
(4) help mobilize domestic resources to elimi-
nate or offset fees for educational services, including 
fees for tuition, uniforms, and materials; 
(5) support education on human rights and 
conflict-resolution while ensuring that schools are 
not incubators for violent extremism; 
(6) work with communities to help girls over-
come relevant barriers to their receiving a safe, qual-
ity basic education, including by improving girls’ 
safety in education settings, helping girls to obtain 
the skills needed to find safe and legal employment 
upon conclusion of their education, and countering 
harmful practices such as child, early, and forced 
marriage and gender-based violence;
(7) ensure access to education for the most 
marginalized children and vulnerable groups, includ-
ing through the provision of appropriate infrastruc-
ture, flexible learning opportunities, accelerated and 
second-chance classes, and opportunities that sup-
port leadership development; 
(8) make schools safe and secure learning envi-
ronments without threat of physical, psychological, 
and sexual violence, including by supporting safe 
passage to and from schools and constructing sepa-
rate latrines for boys and girls; and 
(9) support a communities-of-learning approach 
that utilizes schools as centers of learning and devel-
opment for an entire community, to leverage and 
maximize the impact of other development efforts, 
and reduce duplication and waste. 
(g) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED FOR COUN-
TRIES AFFECTED BY CONFLICT AND CRISES.—In addi-
tion to the activities supported under subsection (f), as-
sistance provided under section 105 of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (as amended by section 3 of this Act) 
to foreign countries or those parts of the territories of for-
eign countries that are affected by or emerging from 
armed conflict, humanitarian crises, or other emergency 
situations may be used to support efforts to—
(1) ensure a continuity of basic education for 
all children through appropriate formal and non-
formal education programs and services; 
(2) ensure that basic education assistance of 
the United States to countries in emergency settings 
shall be informed by the Minimum Standards of the 
Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies 
(‘‘INEE Minimum Standards’’); 
(3) coordinate basic education programs with 
complementary services to protect children from 
physical harm, psychological and social distress, re-
cruitment into armed groups, family separation, and 
abuses related to their displacement; 
(4) support, train, and provide professional de-
velopment for educators working in emergency set-
tings; 
(5) help build national capacity to coordinate 
and manage basic education during emergency re-
sponse and through recovery; 
(6) promote the reintegration of teachers and 
students affected by conflict, whether refugees or in-
ternally displaced, into educational systems; and 
(7) ensure the safety of children in school, in-
cluding through support for—
(A) the provision of safe learning environ-
ments with appropriate facilities, especially for 
girls; 
(B) safe passage to and from school, in-
cluding landmine awareness, the designation of 
schools as conflict-free zones, the adoption and 
support of community-owned protective meas-
ures to reduce the incidence of attacks on edu-
cational facilities and personnel by local actors, 
armed groups, and armed forces; 
(C) out-of-school and flexible-hour edu-
cation programs in areas where security condi-
tions are prohibitive; 
(D) safety plans in case of emergency with 
clearly defined roles for school personnel; and 
(E) appropriate infrastructure, including 
emergency communication systems and access 
to mobile telecommunications with local police 
and security personnel. 
SEC. 5. IMPROVING COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT. 
(a) SENIOR
COORDINATOR
OF
UNITED
STATES 
INTERNATIONAL BASIC EDUCATION ASSISTANCE.—There 
is established within the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development a Senior Coordinator of United 
States International Basic Education Assistance (referred
to in this Act as the ‘‘Senior Coordinator’’), who shall be 
appointed by the President. 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator 
shall have primary responsibility for the oversight 
and coordination of all resources and activities of the 
United States Government relating to the promotion 
of international basic education programs and activi-
ties. 
(2) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Senior Coordinator 
shall— 
(A) facilitate program and policy coordina-
tion of international basic education programs 
and activities among relevant Executive branch 
agencies and officials, partner governments, 
multilateral institutions, the private sector, and 
nongovernmental and civil society organizations; 
(B) develop and revise the strategy re-
quired under section 4; 
(C) monitor, evaluate, and report on activi-
ties undertaken pursuant to the strategy re-
quired under section 4; and 
(D) establish due diligence criteria for all 
recipients of funds provided by the United
States to carry out activities under this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act. 
(c) OFFSET.—To offset any costs incurred by the 
United States Agency for International Development to 
carry out the establishment and appointment of a Senior 
Coordinator of United States International Basic Edu-
cation Assistance in accordance with subsection (a), the 
President shall eliminate such positions within the United 
States Agency for International Development, unless oth-
erwise authorized or required by law, as the President de-
termines to be necessary to fully offset such costs. 
SEC. 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. 
The President shall seek to ensure that programs car-
ried out under the strategy required under section 4 
shall— 
(1) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation 
methodologies to focus on learning and account-
ability; 
(2) include methodological guidance in the im-
plementation plan and support systemic data collec-
tion using internationally comparable indicators, 
norms, and methodologies, to the extent practicable 
and appropriate;
(3) disaggregate all data collected and reported 
by age, gender, marital status, disability, and loca-
tion, to the extent practicable and appropriate; 
(4) be planned and budgeted to include funding 
for both short- and long-term monitoring and eval-
uation to enable assessment of the sustainability and 
scalability of assistance programs; and 
(5) support the increased use and public avail-
ability of education data for improved decision mak-
ing, program effectiveness, and monitoring of global 
progress. 
SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
STRATEGY.—Not later than March 31 of each year 
through 2031, the President shall submit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a report on the implemen-
tation of the strategy developed pursuant to section 4 and 
make the report available to the public. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re-
quired under subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) a description of the efforts made by relevant 
Executive branch agencies and officials to implement 
the strategy developed pursuant to section 4 with a 
particular focus on the activities carried out;
(2) a description of the extent to which each 
partner country selected to receive assistance for 
basic education meets the priority criteria specified 
in subsection (c) of section 105 of the Foreign As-
sistance Act (as added by section 3 of this Act); and 
(3) a description of the progress achieved over 
the reporting period toward meeting the goals, objec-
tives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the 
strategy developed pursuant to section 4 at the pro-
gram level, as developed pursuant to monitoring and 
evaluation specified in section 6. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit-
tees’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Appropriations and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 
(2) the Committee on Appropriations and the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the terms 
‘‘basic education’’, ‘‘partner country’’, ‘‘relevant Executive 
branch agencies and officials’’, ‘‘national education plan’’, 
‘‘marginalized children and vulnerable groups’’, and ‘‘gen-
der parity in basic education’’ have the meanings given
such terms in subsection (c) of section 105 of the Foreign 
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 
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 assist-
ance policy, and for other purposes.