[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3535 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3535

      To support empowerment, economic security, and educational 
  opportunities for adolescent girls around the world, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 14, 2023

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To support empowerment, economic security, and educational 
  opportunities for adolescent girls around the world, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Girls in 
School Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 4. Secondary education for adolescent girls.
Sec. 5. Global strategy requirement.
Sec. 6. Transparency and reporting to Congress.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--the term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State.
            (4) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States 
        Agency for International Development.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) every child, regardless of gender or place of birth, 
        deserves an equal opportunity to access quality education;
            (2) education is a key investment in--
                    (A) the future, well-being, and prosperity of 
                girls; and
                    (B) the stability and productivity of their 
                communities;
            (3) the United States has been a global leader in efforts 
        to expand and improve access to quality basic education for 
        all, particularly marginalized and vulnerable populations, 
        including women and girls;
            (4) gains with respect to girls' secondary education and 
        empowerment have been proven to correlate strongly with 
        progress in gender equality and women's rights, a stated 
        priority of United States foreign policy and national security;
            (5) 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
            (6) education is a lifesaving humanitarian intervention 
        that protects the lives, futures, and well-being of girls.

SEC. 4. SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS.

    (a) Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary and the Administrator 
        shall--
                    (A) promote access to quality education for girls 
                globally; and
                    (B) enter into agreements, including agreements 
                across sectors, to address the barriers described in 
                subsection (b) that adolescent girls face in accessing 
                a quality secondary education, particularly in 
                countries in which adolescent girls are significantly 
                more likely to drop out of school than boys.
            (2) Requirements.--Activities carried out pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) be informed by a context-specific, evidence-
                based analysis of the challenges that girls face, which 
                inhibit girls from successfully transitioning to, 
                remaining enrolled in, and completing secondary school;
                    (B) ensure that integrated programs--
                            (i) holistically support safe, inclusive, 
                        and quality educational opportunities; and
                            (ii) create empowering environments to 
                        enable girls--
                                    (I) to enroll in and regularly 
                                attend school;
                                    (II) to successfully transition 
                                from primary to secondary school; and
                                    (III) to eventually graduate after 
                                achieving learning outcomes and being 
                                in a position to make healthy 
                                transitions into adulthood; and
                    (C) seek to use United States Government strategies 
                and frameworks relevant to international basic 
                education, women's and girls' empowerment, and gender 
                equality to integrate multi-sectoral, evidenced-based 
                approaches to adolescent girls' education and well-
                being.
    (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) Acceptance of Proposals or Applications for Awards.--Beginning 
not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator shall seek proposals or applications for awards to 
conduct the activities described in the agreements entered into 
pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B).
    (d) Monitoring and Evaluation.--The Administrator shall seek to 
ensure that activities carried out pursuant to agreements referred to 
in subsection (a)(1)(B)--
            (1) employ rigorous monitoring and evaluation 
        methodologies, including measurable goals, outcomes, and 
        benchmarks, to ensure that such activities demonstrably--
                    (A) improve adolescent girls' access to secondary 
                education;
                    (B) close the gap in gender parity for secondary 
                education; and
                    (C) improve the quality of girls' education;
            (2) disaggregate data collected and reported by age, 
        gender, marital and motherhood status, disability, 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 Education.
    (e) Coordination and Oversight.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
        Administrator, shall be responsible for the oversight and 
        coordination of all activities of the United States Government 
        carried out pursuant to this section, as appropriate.
            (2) Development of agreements.--In developing agreements 
        described in subsection (a)(1)(B), the Secretary, in 
        coordination with the Administrator, shall consult with 
        representatives of Federal departments and agencies that are 
        implementing the United States Global Strategy to Empower 
        Adolescent Girls.
            (3) Coordination requirements.--In carrying out the 
        activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary 
        and the Administrator shall coordinate with the Senior 
        Coordinator for International Basic Education Assistance at 
        USAID, the Youth Coordinator at USAID, the Senior Coordinator 
        for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at USAID, and the 
        Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues at the Department 
        of State.
            (4) Coordination with other strategies.--Activities carried 
        out pursuant to agreements described in subsection (a)(1)(B), 
        shall be carried out in a manner that is consistent with--
                    (A) the latest update of the United States Global 
                Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls; and
                    (B) the United States Government Strategy on 
                International Basic Education, including its objective 
                to expand access to quality basic education for all, 
                particularly marginalized and vulnerable populations.

SEC. 5. GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the 
Administrator, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues at the 
Department of State, the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and 
Women's Empowerment at USAID, and the Senior Coordinator for 
International Basic Education Assistance at USAID, shall--
            (1) review and update a United States Global Strategy to 
        Empower Adolescent Girls, which includes a focus on girls' 
        access to quality, inclusive secondary education, and 
        subsequent agency implementation plans; and
            (2) submit the updated strategy to the appropriate 
        congressional committees.
    (b) 5-Year Update of Strategy.--Not later than 5 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with 
the Administrator, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees another update and revision of--
            (1) the United States Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent 
        Girls; and
            (2) the agency implementation plans for such strategy.
    (c) Consultation.--In reviewing and updating the strategy and 
implementation plans pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary, in 
coordination with the Administrator, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global 
Women's Issues at the Department of State, the Senior Coordinator for 
Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at USAID, and the Senior 
Coordinator for International Basic Education Assistance at USAID, 
shall consult with and provide meaningful opportunity for review with--
            (1) the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies 
        (or their designees);
            (2) the appropriate congressional committees; and
            (3) representatives of United States and international 
        civil society and multilateral organizations with demonstrated 
        experience and expertise in empowering adolescent girls and 
        promoting gender equality in education, including local civil 
        society organizations, faith-based organizations, to the extent 
        possible, program participants.
    (d) Coordination.--In carrying out the activities described in his 
section, the Secretary and the Administrator shall coordinate with the 
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues at the Department of 
State, the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's 
Empowerment at USAID, the Senior Coordinator for International Basic 
Education Assistance at USAID, and the Youth Coordinator at USAID.

SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
submission of the strategy required under section 5, and biennially 
thereafter for 10 years, the Secretary, in coordination with the 
Administrator, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
committees that describes--
            (1) the activities initiated pursuant to the authorities 
        provided in this Act; and
            (2) the manner and extent to which such activities are 
        monitored and evaluated, in accordance with section 4(d).
    (b) Availability.--Each report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall be made available on a text-based, searchable, and publicly 
available website of USAID.
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