I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5735 
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development to prioritize efforts to sup-
port access to primary and secondary education for displaced children, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 12, 2016 
Mr. CHABOT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment to prioritize efforts to support access to primary 
and secondary education for displaced children, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Girls’ Ac-
cess to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
(1) The number of people displaced by conflict 
in 2016 is the highest since the end of the Second 
World War, at almost 60 million. Armed conflicts in 
Iraq, Libya, the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, the 
Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic 
of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, 
Ukraine, and many other countries have led to the 
internal displacement of civilians as well as forcing 
many people to become refugees or stateless. 
(2) The majority of such displaced people, in-
cluding refugees and stateless people, are also sur-
vivors of human rights abuses, violence, and conflict. 
(3) The United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees has identified deprivation and discrimina-
tion as two root causes of the crisis of displaced peo-
ple. The causes of deprivation may include poor gov-
ernance, lack of access to the benefits of economic 
development, regional dynamics and conflicts, urban-
ization, and political extremism. The discrimination 
such people face may be based on race or ethnicity, 
nationality, gender, beliefs, caste, or class. 
(4) Half of the population of displaced people 
is under the age of 18. One out of every four such 
children does not receive either a primary or sec-
ondary education. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
(5) Displaced people spend an average of 17 
years away from their home countries. As a result, 
displaced children may spend the entirety of their 
childhoods in a foreign country, without access to 
quality primary or secondary education. 
(6) Although the global enrollment rate in sec-
ondary schools is 67 percent, among displaced chil-
dren, this rate is 36 percent. 
(7) Education offers socioeconomic opportuni-
ties, psychological stability, and physical protection 
for displaced people. Education also contributes to 
the long-term livelihood of such people, ensuring 
that displaced generations are able to rebuild their 
lives and communities in their countries of asylum 
or in their home countries. 
(8) Each additional year of secondary education 
completed by displaced people results in a ten per-
cent increase in earnings. 
(9) Displaced children face many barriers to ac-
cessing educational services. Educational services 
may not be accessible because such services are too 
expensive, too far away, or located in areas too dan-
gerous to travel to daily. Even if a school is available 
and sufficiently staffed, the school may not accom-
modate children who have missed years of schooling, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
or who face linguistic or cultural barriers to assimi-
lation. 
(10) Despite the development of recent conflicts 
such as those in Syria and Somalia, humanitarian 
aid for education has dropped. Less than two per-
cent of global emergency aid was directed toward 
educational services in 2016. 
(11) A lack of education among women and 
girls can aggravate an otherwise reduced ability to 
seek employment, participate in civil society, or pur-
chase or inherit land and other assets. In general, 
girls who have received secondary education are up 
to six times less likely to marry as minors, compared 
to girls who have received little or no formal edu-
cation. Girls who are not attending primary or sec-
ondary schools are also disproportionately vulnerable 
to human and sex trafficking and sexual violence. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that it is critical to ensure 
that children, particularly girls, displaced by conflicts 
overseas are able to access educational services and receive 
a quality education, and that the educational needs of 
women and girls are considered in the design, implementa-
tion, and evaluation of United States foreign assistance 
policies and programs. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) encourage other countries to support efforts 
to ensure that displaced children have access to safe, 
quality primary and secondary education; 
(2) enhance training and capacity-building for 
the governments of countries hosting displaced peo-
ple to design, implement, and monitor programs to 
effectively address barriers to such education, in co-
ordination with— 
(A) the United Nations, the World Bank, 
and other international organizations; 
(B) local and international nongovern-
mental organizations; and 
(C) civil society organizations, including 
faith-based organizations and organizations rep-
resenting parents and children; 
(3) incorporate into the design and implementa-
tion of such programs measures to evaluate the im-
pact of the programs on girls, with respect to the re-
duction of child marriage, gender-based violence, 
sexual and human trafficking, and forced labor; and 
(4) coordinate with the governments of coun-
tries hosting displaced people to— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
(A) promote the inclusion of displaced chil-
dren into the educational systems of such coun-
tries; and 
(B) develop safe, quality primary and sec-
ondary 
educational 
opportunities 
in 
cir-
cumstances in which such inclusion is not pos-
sible or appropriate, including through fostering 
innovative solutions such as schools that permit 
more children to be educated by extending the 
hours of schooling and expanding the number 
of teachers. 
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT EDU-
CATIONAL SERVICES FOR DISPLACED CHIL-
DREN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development are authorized to prioritize and ad-
vance ongoing efforts to support programs that— 
(1) provide safe, quality primary and secondary 
education for displaced children; 
(2) build the capacity of institutions in coun-
tries hosting displaced people to prevent displaced 
children from facing discrimination when accessing 
safe, quality primary and secondary education; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
(3) help increase the access of displaced chil-
dren, especially displaced girls, to educational, eco-
nomic, and entrepreneurial opportunities, including 
through the governmental authorities of such host 
countries responsible for educational or youth serv-
ices. 
(b) COORDINATION WITH MULTILATERAL ORGANI-
ZATIONS.—The Secretary and the Administrator are au-
thorized to coordinate with the World Bank, appropriate 
agencies of the United Nations, and other relevant multi-
lateral organizations, to work with governments in other 
countries to enact, implement, and enforce programs and 
policies that specifically collect data disaggregated by sex 
and age on displaced people. 
(c) COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR
AND 
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary and the 
Administrator are authorized to work with private sector 
and civil society organizations, in the United States and 
internationally, to promote safe, quality primary and sec-
ondary education for displaced children. 
SEC. 6. REPORT. 
During the five-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Adminis-
trator shall include in any report or evaluation submitted 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
to Congress related to a foreign assistance program the 
following information: 
(1) To the extent practicable, a breakdown of 
the beneficiaries of such program by location, age, 
gender, marital status, and school enrollment status. 
(2) A description of how such program benefits 
displaced people. 
(3) A description of any primary or secondary 
educational services supported by such program that 
specifically address the needs of displaced girls. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:42 Jul 19, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H5735.IH
H5735
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS