an inclusive and equitable quality education leading 
to relevant learning outcomes. 
(13) Adopted in 2015, the 2030 Agenda for 
Sustainable Development renews the commitment to 
creating a world where all girls are healthy and pro-
tected, learning and have a fair chance to succeed. 
This agenda also states that empowering girls will 
require scaling up investments in holistic program-
ming models to end gender-based violence, child 
marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) and 
adolescent girls’ education and skills are essential to 
address gender divides, particularly in secondary 
school. 
(14) PEPFAR, through its DREAMS (Deter-
mined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, 
and Safe) Initiative, has worked to address a num-
ber of the specific barriers to education that adoles-
cent girls face. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) every child, regardless of place of birth, de-
serves an equal opportunity to access quality edu-
cation; 
(2) the United States has been a global leader 
in efforts to expand and improve access to quality 
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basic education for all, particularly marginalized and 
vulnerable populations, including women and girls; 
(3) gains with respect to girls’ secondary edu-
cation and empowerment have been proven to cor-
relate strongly with progress in gender equality and 
women’s rights, a stated priority of United States 
foreign policy and national security; 
(4) achieving gender parity in both access to 
and quality of educational opportunity contributes 
significantly to economic growth and development, 
thereby lowering the risk for violence and instability; 
and 
(5) education is a lifesaving humanitarian inter-
vention that protects the lives, futures, and well- 
being of girls. 
SEC. 5. SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development shall enter 
into agreements, including agreements across sectors, to 
address the barriers described in subsection (b) that ado-
lescent girls face in accessing a quality secondary edu-
cation in countries where adolescent girls are significantly 
more likely to drop out of school than boys. Such activities 
shall— 
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(1) seek to support the needs of adolescent girls 
holistically to achieve positive life and learning out-
comes; 
(2) use existing United States Government 
strategies and frameworks relevant to international 
basic education and gender equality to— 
(A) integrate new technologies, digital 
learning enhancements and multi-sectoral ap-
proaches to girl’s education such as distance 
learning and accelerated education for out-of- 
school youth; 
(B) apply evidence-based approaches; 
(C) promote inclusive, equitable and sus-
tainable educational achievement; and 
(D) support a responsible transition to 
education systems that are sustainably financed 
by domestic governments; and 
(3) ensure that schools provide safe and quality 
educational opportunities and create empowering en-
vironments, so that girls can enroll in and regularly 
attend school, successfully transition from primary 
to secondary school, and eventually graduate having 
achieved learning outcomes and positioned to make 
healthy transitions into adulthood. 
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(b) SPECIFIC BARRIERS.—The barriers described in 
this subsection are— 
(1) harmful social and cultural norms; 
(2) lack of safety at school or traveling to 
school and online, including harassment and other 
forms of physical, sexual, or psychological violence; 
(3) child, early, and forced marriage; 
(4) female genital mutilation; 
(5) distance from a secondary school; 
(6) cost of secondary schooling, including fees, 
clothing, and supplies; 
(7) inadequate sanitation facilities and products 
available at secondary schools; 
(8) prioritization of boys’ secondary education; 
(9) poor nutrition; 
(10) early pregnancy and motherhood; 
(11) HIV infection; 
(12) disability; 
(13) discrimination based on religious or ethnic 
identity; 
(14) heavy workload due to household tasks or 
care burdens; and 
(15) inequitable access to digital resources. 
(c) COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Agency 
for International Development Senior Coordinator 
for International Basic Education Assistance, in co-
ordination with the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development Senior Coordinator for Gender 
Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the Am-
bassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the 
Department of State, shall be responsible for the 
oversight and coordination of all activities of the 
United States Government carried out under this 
section. 
(2) DEVELOPMENT OF AGREEMENTS.—In the 
development of agreements described in subsection 
(a), the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and 
Women’s Empowerment and the Senior Coordinator 
for International Basic Education Assistance at the 
United States Agency for International Development 
shall consult with representatives across Federal de-
partments and agencies implementing the Global 
Strategy described in section 6. 
(3) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
STRATE-
GIES.—Activities carried out under this section shall 
also be carried out in coordination with— 
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(A) the United States Global Strategy to 
Empower Adolescent Girls described in section 
6; and 
(B) the United States Government Strat-
egy on International Basic Education, including 
its objective to expand access to quality basic 
education for all, particularly marginalized and 
vulnerable populations. 
(d) ACCEPTANCE OF SOLICITATIONS FOR AWARDS.— 
The Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development shall seek to accept solicitations for 
awards, pursuant to the authority in subsection (a), to 
conduct activities under this section beginning not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—The Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International De-
velopment shall seek to ensure that activities carried out 
under this section— 
(1) employ rigorous monitoring and evaluation 
methodologies to ensure that such activities demon-
strably close the gap in gender parity for secondary 
education and improve the quality of education of-
fered to adolescent girls; 
(2) disaggregate all data collected and reported 
by age, gender, marital and motherhood status, dis-
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ability, and urbanity, to the extent practicable and 
appropriate; and 
(3) use, to the extent possible, indicators and 
methodologies identified by the Interagency Working 
Group for the Strategy on International Basic Edu-
cation. 
SEC. 6. GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 5 years there-
after for not less than 10 years, the Ambassador-at-Large 
for Global Women’s Issues at the Department of State, 
in consultation with the Senior Coordinator for Gender 
Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the Senior Co-
ordinator for International Basic Education Assistance at 
the United States Agency for International Development, 
shall— 
(1) review and update a United States global 
strategy to empower adolescent girls, which includes 
a focus on girl’s access to quality, inclusive sec-
ondary education and subsequent agency implemen-
tation plans; 
(2) provide a meaningful opportunity for review 
and civil society consultation on the strategy and 
agency implementation plans; and 
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(3) submit the updated strategy to the appro-
priate congressional committees. 
(b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In reviewing and 
updating the strategy and implementation plans under 
subsection (a), the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Wom-
en’s Issues, the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality 
and Women’s Empowerment, and the Senior Coordinator 
for International Basic Education Assistance shall consult 
with— 
(1) the heads of relevant Federal departments 
and agencies (or their designees); 
(2) the appropriate congressional committees; 
and 
(3) representatives of United States civil society 
and multilateral organizations with demonstrated ex-
perience and expertise in empowering adolescent 
girls and promoting gender equality, including local 
civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, 
and program participants where possible. 
SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter 
for 10 years until each activity initiated pursuant to the 
authorities under this Act has concluded, the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International De-
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velopment, in coordination with the Secretary of State, 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report describing— 
(1) the activities initiated under the authorities 
provided in this Act; and 
(2) the manner and extent to which such activi-
ties are monitored and evaluated, in accordance with 
section 5(e). 
(b) AVAILABILITY.—The report required by sub-
section (a) shall be made available on a text-based, search-
able, and publicly available website of the United States 
Agency for International Development. 
Æ 
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