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(4) According to a 2005 World Bank Report on 
the Caribbean region, high rates of unemployment, 
particularly youth unemployment, have had severe 
implications on poverty and income distributions, as 
well as drug trafficking and addiction. 
(5) The 2005 World Bank Report also con-
cludes that better synchronization is needed between 
curricula in CARICOM countries and the skills 
needed in evolving national and regional job markets 
and economies. 
(6) Caribbean leaders have highlighted the need 
for increased educational opportunities for Carib-
bean students in fields that will contribute to and 
support an increasingly competitive regional econ-
omy. 
(7) Enhancing United States cultural and edu-
cational exchange programs in CARICOM countries 
will expand human resources, provide opportunities 
that promote economic growth, and improve regional 
security. 
(8) Many Caribbean leaders studied at the un-
dergraduate or graduate level in the United States 
before returning to their respective countries to con-
tribute toward the strengthening of democracy, the 
economy, or the provision of social services. 
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(9) From 2003 through 2005, 217 Caribbean 
leaders participated in exchange programs with the 
United States that focused on good governance, 
combating drug trafficking, anti-corruption, and 
other regional issues of concern. 
(10) The Department of State currently admin-
isters public outreach programs that include cul-
tural, academic, and citizen-exchange initiatives in 
CARICOM countries through the public affairs sec-
tions at United States embassies with support from 
the Office of Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of 
Western Hemisphere Affairs. 
(11) The Caribbean Center for Excellence in 
Teacher Training (C–CETT), a Presidential Initia-
tive funded by the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development and implemented by the Uni-
versity of the West Indies, works to improve the 
quality of reading instruction by training classroom 
and student teachers in seven countries of the 
English-speaking Caribbean.
Belize, Jamaica, Gre-
nada, St. Lucia, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Gren-
adines, and Trinidad and Tobago have participated 
in the C–CETT as a means to reducing illiteracy
in the most disadvantaged urban and remote rural
areas. 
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(12) In Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the 
Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Cayman Islands, 
the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Grenada, Guy-
ana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. 
Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, 
and Trinidad and Tobago, the Bureau of Edu-
cational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of 
State sponsors educational advisors to promote 
study in the United States. 
(13) In the 2004–2005 academic year, approxi-
mately 14,000 Caribbean students were enrolled in 
United States colleges and universities. 
(14) Shirley Anita Chisholm, who served as a 
member of the United States House of Representa-
tives from 1968 to 1983, had family roots in the 
Caribbean nation of Barbados, was a staunch advo-
cate for educational opportunity and access, and in-
creased support for historically Black colleges and 
universities and other minority-serving institutions 
in the United States. 
(b) 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- 
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Caribbean Educational Exchange Program’’, pursu-
ant to section 4 of this Act to assist in educating 
promising students and scholars from CARICOM 
countries who will invest the knowledge and experi-
ences they gain in the United States back into the 
community of CARICOM countries; and 
(2) a program to provide educational develop-
ment assistance for CARICOM countries pursuant 
to section 5 of this Act. 
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; 
(B) participate in activities designed to 
promote a greater understanding of the values 
and culture of the United States; and 
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(C) have the option to live with a United 
States host family and experience life in a 
United States host community; 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; 
(B) participate in activities designed to 
promote a greater understanding of the values 
and culture of the United States; and 
(C) have the option to live with a United 
States host family and experience life in a 
United States host community or live in an on- 
campus housing environment. 
(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 under the program to students and scholars 
who evidence merit, achievement, and strong poten-
tial for the studies such students and scholars wish 
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to undertake under the program and 40 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) The program will limit participation to— 
(A) two years of study for secondary school 
students; 
(B) four years of study for undergraduate 
students; 
(C) 30 months of study for graduate stu-
dents; and 
(D) one year of study for post-graduate 
students and scholars. 
(4) 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-
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opment of one or more CARICOM countries 
and the people of such countries. 
(5) The Secretary of State shall have the dis-
cretion to waive, shorten the duration, or otherwise 
alter the requirements of paragraph (5) in limited 
circumstances of hardship, humanitarian 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) and shall make grants to United 
States cooperating agencies in carrying out the program 
authorized under subsection (a). 
(d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
and implement a system to monitor and evaluate the 
effectiveness and efficiency of the program author-
ized under subsection (a). In carrying out the sys-
tem, the Secretary shall evaluate the program’s posi-
tive or negative effects on brain drain from the par-
ticipating CARICOM countries and suggest ways in 
which the program may be improved to promote the 
basic goal of alleviating brain-drain from the partici-
pating CARICOM countries. 
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(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; 
(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). 
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(e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary should seek to work with 
CARICOM countries to establish an educational exchange 
program under which— 
(1) secondary school students from the United 
States will attend a public or private equivalent 
school in CARICOM countries; and 
(2) undergraduate students, graduate students, 
post-graduate students, and scholars from the 
United States will attend a public or private college 
or university in CARICOM countries. 
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 and United States cooperating agencies in de-
veloping the program authorized under subsection (a) and 
shall make grants to United States cooperating agencies 
in carrying out the program authorized under subsection 
(a). 
(e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 
The Secretary shall establish and implement a system to 
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monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of 
the program authorized under subsection (a). 
(f) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary should seek to work with 
CARICOM countries to establish an educational develop-
ment program under which education in the CARICOM 
countries is improved and access to quality education for 
children in CARICOM countries is increased. 
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 of this Act 
through utilization of funding from private sources to 
maximize the impact of United States funds under this 
Act, and through partnerships with appropriate United 
States organizations, 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 of this Act are not duplica-
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tive 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. 
(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 of this Act in order 
to fulfill the requirements for student data reporting 
under the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Sys-
tem (SEVIS). 
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 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 of this Act. 
(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 
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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; 
(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. 
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(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-
cal year for which amounts are appropriated pursu-
ant to the authorization of appropriations under sec-
tion 8 of this Act. 
(2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Such updates 
shall include the following: 
(A) Information on United States cooper-
ating agencies that are selected to assist in im-
plementing the programs authorized under sec-
tions 4 and 5 of this Act. 
(B) An analysis of the positive and nega-
tive impacts the program authorized under sec-
tion 4 will have or is having on brain drain 
from the participating CARICOM countries. 
(C) A description of efforts made by the 
Secretary of State, acting through the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development, to implement the pro-
gram authorized under section 5. 
(D) A description of the programs estab-
lished in each CARICOM country receiving as-
sistance under the program authorized under 
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section 5 that provides a detailed explanation of 
the extent to which the program and the assist-
ance provided are contributing to the purpose 
of the program described in section 5(b) in the 
CARICOM country. 
(E) An evaluation of additional educational 
development goals in CARICOM countries, 
identifying those goals that could be maximized 
or achieved with United States assistance 
through the program authorized under section 
5. In addition to standard or necessary areas of 
education review, the evaluation should give at-
tention to factors affecting academic achieve-
ment, attrition, and graduation rates in 
CARICOM countries. The evaluation should 
suggest ways in which United States assistance 
can maximize success factors and address fac-
tors contributing to poor achievement. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be ap-
propriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2008 through 2012. Amounts appropriated 
pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under this 
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section are in addition to amounts otherwise available for 
such purposes. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 31, 2007. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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