I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 416 
To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and development 
programs for member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2009 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HONDA, Mr. RANGEL, 
Mr. ENGEL, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, and Ms. JACK-
SON-LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and 
development programs for member countries of the Car-
ibbean Community (CARICOM). 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Edu-
cational Exchange Act of 2009’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Statement of purpose. 
Sec. 4. Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange 
Program. 
Sec. 5. Program to provide educational development assistance for CARICOM 
countries. 
Sec. 6. Administrative provisions. 
Sec. 7. Reporting requirements. 
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International 
Development. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate. 
(3) 
CARICOM 
COUNTRY.—The 
term 
‘‘CARICOM country’’— 
(A) means a member country of the Carib-
bean Community (CARICOM); but 
(B) does not include— 
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(i) a country having observer status in 
CARICOM; or 
(ii) a country the government of which 
the Secretary of State has determined, for 
purposes of section 6(j) of the Export Ad-
ministration Act of 1979 (as continued in 
effect pursuant to the International Emer-
gency Economic Powers Act), section 40 of 
the Arms Export Control Act, section 
620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961, or any other provision of law, is a 
government that has repeatedly provided 
support for acts of international terrorism. 
(4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 
the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of State. 
(5) UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘United States cooperating agency’’ 
means— 
(A) an institution of higher education (as 
such term is defined in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001(a))), including, to the maximum extent 
practicable, an historically Black college or uni-
versity that is a part B institution (as such 
term is defined in section 322(2) of such Act 
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(20 U.S.C. 1061(2))) or an Hispanic-serving in-
stitution (as such term is defined in section 
502(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(5))); 
(B) a higher education association; 
(C) a nongovernmental organization incor-
porated in the United States; or 
(D) a consortium consisting of two or more 
such institutions, associations, or nongovern-
mental organizations. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to establish— 
(1) an educational exchange program between 
the United States and CARICOM countries, to be 
known as the ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States- 
Caribbean Educational Exchange Program’’, pursu-
ant to section 4 to assist in educating promising stu-
dents and scholars from communities demonstrating 
the greatest need within CARICOM countries who 
will invest the knowledge and experiences they gain 
in the United States back into the community of 
CARICOM countries; and 
(2) a program to provide educational develop-
ment assistance for communities demonstrating the 
greatest need within CARICOM countries pursuant 
to section 5. 
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SEC. 4. SHIRLEY A. CHISHOLM UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN 
EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of State 
is authorized to establish an educational exchange pro-
gram between the United States and CARICOM countries, 
to be known as the ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States- 
Caribbean Educational Exchange Program,’’ under 
which— 
(1) secondary school students from CARICOM 
countries will— 
(A) attend a public or private secondary 
school in the United States; and 
(B) participate in activities designed to 
promote a greater understanding of the values 
and culture of the United States; and 
(2) undergraduate students, graduate students, 
post-graduate 
students, 
and 
scholars 
from 
CARICOM countries will— 
(A) attend a public or private college or 
university, including a community college, in 
the United States; and 
(B) participate in activities designed to 
promote a greater understanding of the values 
and culture of the United States. 
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(b) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The program author-
ized under subsection (a) shall meet the following require-
ments: 
(1) The program will offer scholarships to stu-
dents and scholars based on merit and need. It is 
the sense of Congress that scholarships should be of-
fered to students and scholars who evidence merit, 
achievement, and strong potential for the studies 
such students and scholars wish to undertake under 
the program and 60 percent of scholarships offered 
under the program should be based on financial 
need. 
(2) The program will seek to achieve gender 
equality in granting scholarships under the program. 
(3) Fields of study under the program will sup-
port the labor market and development needs of 
CARICOM countries, assuring a pool of technical 
experts to address such needs. 
(4) The program will limit participation to— 
(A) one year of study for secondary school 
students; 
(B) two years of study for undergraduate 
students; and 
(C) 12 months of study for graduate stu-
dents, post-graduate students, and scholars. 
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(5) For a period of time equal to the period of 
time of participation in the program, but not to ex-
ceed 2 years, the program will require participants 
who are students and scholars described in sub-
section (a)(2) to— 
(A) agree to return to live in a CARICOM 
country and maintain residence in such coun-
try, within 6 months of completion of academic 
studies; or 
(B) agree to obtain employment that di-
rectly benefits the growth, progress, and devel-
opment of one or more CARICOM countries 
and the people of such countries. 
(6) The Secretary may waive, shorten the dura-
tion, or otherwise alter the requirements of para-
graph (4) in limited circumstances of hardship, hu-
manitarian needs, for specific educational purposes, 
or in furtherance of the national interests of the 
United States. 
(c) ROLE OF UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGEN-
CIES.—The Secretary shall consult with United States co-
operating agencies in developing the program authorized 
under subsection (a). The Secretary is authorized to pro-
vide grants to United States cooperating agencies in car-
rying out the program authorized under subsection (a). 
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(d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall monitor 
and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the 
program authorized under subsection (a). In so 
doing, the Secretary shall, among other things, 
evaluate the program’s positive or negative effects 
on brain drain from the participating CARICOM 
countries and suggest ways in which the program 
may be improved to promote the basic goal of alle-
viating 
brain 
drain 
from 
the 
participating 
CARICOM countries. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall review on a regular 
basis— 
(A) financial information relating to the 
program; 
(B) budget plans for the program; 
(C) adjustments to plans established for 
the program; 
(D) graduation rates of participants in the 
program; 
(E) the percentage of participants who are 
students described in subsection (a)(1) who 
pursue higher education; 
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(F) the percentage of participants who re-
turn to their home country or another 
CARICOM country; 
(G) the types of careers pursued by par-
ticipants in the program and the extent to 
which such careers are linked to the political, 
economic, and social development needs of 
CARICOM countries; and 
(H) the impact of gender, country of ori-
gin, financial need of students, and other rel-
evant factors on the data collected under sub-
paragraphs (D) through (G). 
SEC. 5. PROGRAM TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOP-
MENT ASSISTANCE FOR CARICOM COUN-
TRIES. 
(a) PROGRAM
AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 
State, acting through the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development, is author-
ized to establish a program to provide educational develop-
ment assistance for CARICOM countries. 
(b) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The purpose of the pro-
gram authorized under subsection (a) is to improve pri-
mary and secondary education in CARICOM countries by 
enhancing teacher training, strengthening curriculum and 
instructional materials, and assisting improvements in 
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school management and public administration of edu-
cation. 
(c) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The program author-
ized under subsection (a) shall extend and expand upon 
existing primary and secondary school programs in 
CARICOM countries to provide— 
(1) teacher-training methods and training in 
subject area studies; 
(2) classroom and school management; 
(3) development and modernization of cur-
riculum and instructional materials; 
(4) increased community involvement in school 
activities; and 
(5) local, regional, and national government pol-
icy planning on the elements described in para-
graphs (1) through (4). 
(d) ROLE OF UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGEN-
CIES.—The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 
Education, officials of United States cooperating agencies, 
and officials of CARICOM countries in developing the pro-
gram authorized under subsection (a). The Secretary is 
authorized to make grants to United States cooperating 
agencies in carrying out the program authorized under 
subsection (a). 
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(e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 
The Secretary shall monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 
and efficiency of the program authorized under subsection 
(a). 
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 
(a) FUNDING FROM PRIVATE SOURCES AND PART-
NERSHIPS WITH OTHER APPROPRIATE ENTITIES.—To 
the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of State 
and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development should implement the pro-
grams authorized under sections 4 and 5 through utiliza-
tion of funding from private sources to maximize the im-
pact of United States funds under this Act, and through 
partnerships with appropriate United States organiza-
tions, institutions, and corporations. 
(b) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The Secretary 
and the Administrator shall consult with the Secretary of 
Education to ensure that— 
(1) activities under the programs authorized 
under sections 4 and 5 are not duplicative of other 
United States educational programs for CARICOM 
countries; and 
(2) United States cooperating agencies and 
partner institutions in CARICOM countries are ac-
credited by national or regional accrediting bodies. 
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(c) REPORTING UNDER SEVIS.—To the extent nec-
essary, the Secretary shall provide support to United 
States cooperating agencies that are participating in the 
program authorized under section 4 in order to fulfill the 
requirements for student data reporting under the Stu-
dent and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). 
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on plans to implement the programs 
authorized under sections 4 and 5. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re-
quired by subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) with respect to implementation of the pro-
gram authorized under section 4— 
(A) a plan for selecting participants in the 
program, including an estimate of the number 
of secondary school students, undergraduate 
students, graduate students, post-graduate stu-
dents, and scholars from each country, by edu-
cational level, who will be selected as partici-
pants in the program for each fiscal year; 
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(B) a timeline for selecting United States 
cooperating agencies that will assist in imple-
menting the program; 
(C) a financial plan that— 
(i) identifies budget plans for each 
educational level under the program; and 
(ii) identifies plans or systems to en-
sure that the costs to public school, college, 
and university education under the pro-
gram and the costs to private school, col-
lege, and university education under the 
program are reasonably allocated; and 
(D) a plan to provide outreach to and link-
ages with schools, colleges and universities, and 
nongovernmental organizations in both the 
United States and CARICOM countries for im-
plementation of the program; and 
(2) a plan outlining implementation of the pro-
gram authorized under section 5, identifying the ini-
tial countries in which the program will be imple-
mented and a timeline for implementation. 
(c) UPDATES OF REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees updates 
of the report required by subsection (a) for each fis-
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