ACADEMIC Act

To authorize the Department of Education, in coordination with other relevant Federal agencies, to include a longitudinal component on the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on student outcomes and well-being on an existing longitudinal educational study. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Assessing Children’s Academic Development and the Emotional and Mental Health Implications of COVID–19 Act ACADEMIC Act 2. Interagency longitudinal component on the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on student outcomes and well-being (a) Authorization of component (1) In general Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall include in a prekindergarten through grade 12 longitudinal educational study that was authorized before the date of enactment of this Act and that is active on such date of enactment, to the extent practicable and appropriate, a longitudinal component on the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic and the associated school closures, remote learning, and other factors, on student outcomes and well-being. (2) Impacts (A) In general The longitudinal component authorized under paragraph (1) shall include the impact on students’— (i) academic achievement, including any learning loss; (ii) social and emotional well-being; (iii) mental health; (iv) behavioral health; and (v) physical health. (B) HIPAA compliance The longitudinal component authorized under paragraph (1) shall comply with the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. (3) Study on specific subgroups (A) In general The longitudinal component authorized under paragraph (1) shall examine the impact on specific subgroups of students (except as provided in subparagraph (B)), including on each of those subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)(xi) (i) Status as a student with a parent who is a member of the armed forces (as defined in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code) on active duty (as defined in section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code) or serves on full-time National Guard duty (as defined in section 101(d)(5) of title 10, United States Code). (ii) Status as a homeless child or youth, as defined in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11434a(2) (iii) Status as a child in foster care. In this clause, the term foster care 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq. (iv) Status as a neglected, delinquent, or at-risk student, as described in part D of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6421 et seq. (v) Students from different grade levels. (B) Exception The requirement under subparagraph (A) to examine the impact on a specific subgroup of students shall not be required in the case in which the number of students in a subgroup is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student. (4) National representation The longitudinal component authorized under paragraph (1) shall be nationally representative and include different geographic areas, including rural and urban localities. (b) Privacy laws In carrying out this section, the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall act in accordance with section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (c) Release of summary of findings Not later than 1 year after the end of the data collection under the longitudinal component authorized under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Education shall release a preliminary summary of findings from the longitudinal component to the public.

Summary: Assessing Children's Academic Development and the Emotional and Mental Health Implications of COVID-19 Act or the ACADEMIC Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to include an additional longitudinal component in an existing prekindergarten through 12th grade longitudinal educational study. Specifically, ED must include in the study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student outcomes and well-being.