[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1580 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 530
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1580
To enhance the transparency, improve the coordination, and intensify
the impact of assistance to support access to primary and secondary
education for displaced children and persons, including women and
girls, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 19, 2017
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Manchin, Ms. Warren, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Coons, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Collins, Mr. Reed, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Booker)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
July 26, 2018
Reported by Mr. Corker, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance the transparency, improve the coordination, and intensify
the impact of assistance to support access to primary and secondary
education for displaced children and persons, including women and
girls, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Girls' Access to
Education in Vulnerable Settings Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) At the start of 2017, more than 65,000,000
people have been displaced by disasters and conflicts around
the world, the highest number recorded since the end of World
War II, of which more than 21,000,000 people are
refugees.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) More than half of the population of displaced
people are children and, according to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 4,000,000 school-aged
displaced children lack access to primary education.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Education offers socioeconomic opportunities,
psychological stability, and physical protection for displaced
people, particularly for women and girls, who might otherwise
be vulnerable to severe forms of trafficking in persons (as
such term is defined in section 103(9) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(9))), child
marriage, sexual exploitation, or economic disenfranchisement,
and contributes to long-term recovery and economic
opportunities for displaced people and for the communities
hosting them.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Displaced children face considerable barriers
to accessing educational services and, because the duration of
such displacement is, on average, 20 years, such children may
spend the entirety of their childhood without access to such
services.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Despite the rising need for such services,
less than two percent of global emergency aid was directed
toward educational services in 2016.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> It is the sense of Congress that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) it is critical to ensure that children,
particularly girls, displaced by conflicts overseas are able to
access educational services because such access can combat
extremism and reduce exploitation and poverty; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) the educational needs of vulnerable women and
girls should be considered in the design, implementation, and
evaluation of related United States foreign assistance policies
and programs.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.</DELETED>
<DELETED> It is the policy of the United States to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) partner with and encourage other countries,
public and private multilateral institutions, and
nongovernmental and civil society organizations, including
faith-based organizations and organizations representing
parents and children, to support efforts to ensure that
displaced children have access to safe primary and secondary
education;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) work with donors to enhance training and
capacity-building for the governments of countries hosting
significant numbers of displaced people to design, implement,
and monitor programs to effectively address barriers to such
education;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) incorporate into the design and implementation
of such programs measures to evaluate the impact of the
programs on girls, with respect to the reduction of child
marriage, gender-based violence, and severe forms of
trafficking in persons (as such term is defined in section
103(9) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7102(9))); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) coordinate with the governments of countries
hosting significant numbers of displaced people to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) promote the inclusion of displaced
children into the educational systems of such
countries; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) develop innovative approaches to
providing safe primary and secondary educational
opportunities in circumstances in which such inclusion
is not possible or appropriate, such as schools that
permit more children to be educated by extending the
hours of schooling and expanding the number of
teachers.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 5. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES FOR DISPLACED CHILDREN.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
are authorized to prioritize and advance ongoing efforts to support
programs that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) provide safe primary and secondary education
for displaced children;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) build the capacity of institutions in
countries hosting displaced people to prevent discrimination
against displaced children, especially displaced girls, who
seek access to such education; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) help increase the access of displaced
children, especially displaced girls, to educational, economic,
and entrepreneurial opportunities, including through the
governmental authorities responsible for educational or youth
services in such host countries.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The
Secretary and the Administrator are authorized to coordinate with the
World Bank, appropriate agencies of the United Nations, and other
relevant multilateral organizations to work with governments in other
countries to collect relevant data, disaggregated by age and gender, on
the ability of displaced people to access education and participate in
economic activity, in order to improve the targeting, monitoring, and
evaluation of related assistance efforts.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 to promote
safe primary and secondary education for displaced children.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 6. REPORT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> During the five-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Administrator shall
include in any report or evaluation submitted to Congress relating to a
foreign assistance program for natural or manmade disaster relief or
response the following information (to the extent practicable and
appropriate):</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) A breakdown of the beneficiaries of such
program by location, age, gender, marital status, and school
enrollment status.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) A description of how such program benefits
displaced people.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) A description of any primary or secondary
educational services supported by such program that
specifically address the needs of displaced girls.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Girls' Access to
Education in Vulnerable Settings Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) As of June 2018, more than 68,000,000 people have been
displaced by disasters and conflicts around the world, the
highest number recorded since the end of World War II, of which
more than 25,000,000 people are refugees.
(2) More than half of the population of refugees are
children and, according to the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, nearly 4,000,000 school-aged refugee children
lack access to primary education.
(3) Education offers socioeconomic opportunities,
psychological stability, and physical protection for displaced
people, particularly for women and girls, who might otherwise
be vulnerable to severe forms of trafficking in persons (as
such term is defined in section 103(9) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(9)), child
marriage, sexual exploitation, or economic disenfranchisement.
(4) Displaced children face considerable barriers to
accessing educational services and, because the duration of
such displacement is, on average, 26 years, such children may
spend the entirety of their childhood without access to such
services.
(5) Despite the rising need for educational services, as of
2016, less than two percent of humanitarian aid was directed
toward educational services.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is critical to ensure that children, particularly
girls, displaced by conflicts overseas are able to access
educational services because such access can combat extremism
and reduce exploitation and poverty; and
(2) the educational needs of vulnerable women and girls
should be considered in the design, implementation, and
evaluation of related United States foreign assistance policies
and programs.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) partner with and encourage other countries, public and
private multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental and
civil society organizations, including faith-based
organizations and organizations representing parents and
children, to support efforts to ensure that displaced children
have access to safe primary and secondary education;
(2) work with donors to enhance training and capacity-
building for the governments of countries hosting significant
numbers of displaced people to design, implement, and monitor
programs to effectively address barriers to such education; and
(3) coordinate with the governments of countries hosting
significant numbers of displaced people to--
(A) promote the inclusion of displaced children
into the educational systems of such countries; and
(B) in circumstances in which such inclusion is
difficult, develop innovative approaches to providing
safe primary and secondary educational opportunities,
such as encouraging schools to permit children to be
educated by extending the hours of schooling or
expanding the number of teachers.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR
DISPLACED CHILDREN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development are authorized
to prioritize and advance ongoing efforts to support programs that--
(1) provide safe primary and secondary education for
displaced children;
(2) build the capacity of institutions in countries hosting
displaced people to prevent discrimination against displaced
children, especially displaced girls, who seek access to such
education; and
(3) help increase the access of displaced children,
especially displaced girls, to educational, economic, and
entrepreneurial opportunities, including through the
governmental authorities responsible for educational or youth
services in such host countries.
(b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The Secretary
and the Administrator are authorized to coordinate with the World Bank,
appropriate agencies of the United Nations, and other relevant
multilateral organizations to work with governments in other countries
to collect relevant data, disaggregated by age and gender, on the
ability of displaced people to access education and participate in
economic activity, in order to improve the targeting, monitoring, and
evaluation of related assistance efforts.
(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 to promote
safe primary and secondary education for displaced children.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
The Secretary and the Administrator shall include in the report
required under section 7 of the READ Act (division A of Public Law 115-
56; 22 U.S.C. 2151c note) a description of any primary or secondary
educational services supported by programs for natural or manmade
disaster relief or response that specifically address the needs of
displaced girls.
Calendar No. 530
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1580
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance the transparency, improve the coordination, and intensify
the impact of assistance to support access to primary and secondary
education for displaced children and persons, including women and
girls, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 26, 2018
Reported with an amendment