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intended to provide students with measurable 
improvements in literacy, numeracy, and other 
basic skills development that prepare an indi-
vidual to be an active, productive member of so-
ciety and the workforce. 
‘‘(G) 
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 (4), including level of need, opportunity 
for impact, and the availability of resources. 
‘‘(H) 
RELEVANT
EXECUTIVE
BRANCH 
AGENCIES AND OFFICIALS.—The term ‘relevant 
Executive branch agencies and officials’ means 
the Department of State, the United States 
Agency for International Development, the De-
partment of the Treasury, the Department of 
Labor, the Department of Education, the De-
partment of Agriculture, and the Department of 
Defense, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mil-
lennium Challenge Corporation, the National 
Security Advisor, and the Director of the Peace 
Corps. 
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‘‘(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 without the use of foreign assistance. 
‘‘(2) POLICY.—In carrying out this section, it 
shall be the policy of the United States to work with 
partner countries, as appropriate, other donors, mul-
tilateral institutions, the private sector, and non-
governmental and civil society organizations, includ-
ing faith-based organizations and organizations that 
represent teachers, students, and parents, to pro-
mote sustainable, quality basic education through 
programs and activities that— 
‘‘(A) take into consideration and help re-
spond to the needs, capacities, and commitment 
of developing countries to achieve measurable 
improvements in literacy, numeracy, and other 
basic skills development that prepare an indi-
vidual to be an active, productive member of so-
ciety and the workforce; 
‘‘(B) strengthen educational systems, pro-
mote communities of learning, as appropriate, 
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expand access to safe learning environments, in-
cluding by breaking down specific barriers to 
basic education for women and girls, ensure 
continuity of education, including in conflict 
settings, measurably improve teacher skills and 
learning outcomes, and support the engagement 
of parents in the education of their children to 
help partner countries ensure that all children, 
including marginalized children and other vul-
nerable groups, have access to and benefit from 
quality basic education; 
‘‘(C) promote education as a foundation 
for sustained economic growth and development 
within a comprehensive assistance strategy that 
places partner countries on a trajectory toward 
graduation from assistance provided under this 
section with clearly defined benchmarks of suc-
cess that are used as requirements for related 
procurement vehicles, such as grants, contracts, 
and cooperative agreements; and 
‘‘(D) monitor and evaluate the effective-
ness and quality of basic education programs in 
partner countries. 
‘‘(3) PRINCIPLES.—In carrying out the policy 
referred to in paragraph (2), the United States shall 
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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 foreign policy 
and economic 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-
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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. 
‘‘(E) EFFECTIVENESS.—Programs and ac-
tivities supported under this subsection— 
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‘‘(i) shall be consistent with the poli-
cies and principles set forth in this sub-
section; 
‘‘(ii) shall be designed to achieve spe-
cific, measurable goals and objectives that 
are directly related to the provision of 
basic education (as defined in this section); 
and 
‘‘(iii) shall include appropriate tar-
gets, metrics, and indicators that— 
‘‘(I) move a country along the 
path to graduation from assistance 
provided under this subsection; and 
‘‘(II) can be applied with reason-
able consistency across such programs 
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. 
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‘‘(4) 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 foreign pol-
icy and economic interests of the United States and, 
subject to such alignment, 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 to ensure gender parity 
in basic education, or populations affected by 
conflict or crisis; and 
‘‘(B) such assistance can produce a sub-
stantial, measurable impact on children and 
educational systems.’’. 
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED UNITED STATES 
STRATEGY TO PROMOTE BASIC EDUCATION. 
(a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than October 
1, 2017, the President shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a comprehensive United States 
strategy to be carried out during fiscal years 2018 through 
2022 to promote quality basic education in partner coun-
tries by— 
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(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 under 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 under subsection (a). 
(d) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub-
section (a)— 
(1) shall be developed and implemented con-
sistent with the principles set forth in section 105(c) 
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of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by 
section 3; and 
(2) shall seek— 
(A) to prioritize assistance provided under 
this subsection to countries that are partners of 
the United States and whose populations are 
most in need of improved basic education, as 
determined by indicators such as literacy and 
numeracy rates; 
(B) to build the capacity of relevant actors 
in partner countries, including in government 
and in civil society, to develop and implement 
national education plans that measurably im-
prove basic education; 
(C) to identify and replicate successful 
interventions that improve access to and quality 
of basic education in conflict settings and in 
partner countries; 
(D) to project general levels of resources 
needed to achieve stated program objectives; 
(E) to develop means to track implementa-
tion in partner countries and ensure that such 
countries are expending appropriate domestic 
resources and instituting any relevant legal, 
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regulatory, or institutional reforms needed to 
achieve stated program objectives; 
(F) to leverage United States capabilities, 
including through technical assistance, training, 
and research; and 
(G) to improve coordination and reduce 
duplication among relevant Executive branch 
agencies and officials, other donors, multilateral 
institutions, 
nongovernmental 
organizations, 
and governments in partner countries. 
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 section as the ‘‘Senior Coordinator’’). The Senior 
Coordinator shall be appointed by the President, shall be 
a current USAID employee serving in a career or non-
career position in the Senior Executive Service or at the 
level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher, and 
shall serve concurrently as the Senior Coordinator. 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator 
shall have primary responsibility for the oversight 
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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.—In order to eliminate duplication of ef-
fort and activities and to offset any costs incurred by the 
United States Agency for International Development in 
appointing the Senior Coordinator under subsection (a), 
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