[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