US Codex
Bill
Notes

S. 1580 — what changed

Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act

From Reported in Senate to Engrossed in Senate. 3 sections amended between Reported in Senate and Engrossed in Senate.

Sec. 2 Findings

Congress finds the following:

(1)
changed At the start As of 2017, June 2018, more than 65,000,000 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 21,000,000 25,000,000 people are refugees.
(2)
changed More than half of the population of displaced people refugees are children and, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 4,000,000 school-aged displaced refugee children lack access to primary education.
(3)
changed 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))), 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.disenfranchisement.
(4)
changed Displaced children face considerable barriers to accessing educational services and, because the duration of such displacement is, on average, 20 26 years, such children may spend the entirety of their childhood without access to such services.
(5)
changed Despite the rising need for such educational services, as of 2016, less than two percent of global emergency humanitarian aid was directed toward educational services in 2016.services.

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)
changed 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;education; and
(3)
removed 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
(3)
renumbered was (6) coordinate with the governments of countries hosting significant numbers of displaced people to—
(A)
renumbered was (6)(2) promote the inclusion of displaced children into the educational systems of such countries; and
(B)
added 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.
(B)
removed 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.

Sec. 6 Report

changed During the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the The Secretary and the Administrator shall include in any the report or evaluation submitted to Congress relating to required under section 7 of the READ Act (division A of Public Law 115–56; 22 U.S.C. 2151c note) a foreign assistance program description of any primary or secondary educational services supported by programs for natural or manmade disaster relief or response the following information (to that specifically address the extent practicable and appropriate):needs of displaced girls.

(1)
removed A breakdown of the beneficiaries of such program by location, age, gender, marital status, and school enrollment status.
(2)
removed A description of how such program benefits displaced people.
(3)
removed A description of any primary or secondary educational services supported by such program that specifically address the needs of displaced girls.