ACADEMIC Act
Bill: S.3862 | Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco (R-FL)
Policy area: Education

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.

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.

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

SECTION 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'' or the ``ACADEMIC Act''.

SEC. 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)) and on each of the following:
                            (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'' means 24-
                        hour substitute care for children placed away 
                        from their parents and for whom the agency 
                        under part E of title IV of the Social Security 
                        Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) has placement and 
                        care responsibility. This includes, but is not 
                        limited to, placements in foster family homes, 
                        foster homes of relatives, group homes, 
                        emergency shelters, residential facilities, 
                        child care institutions, and preadoptive homes. 
                        A child is in foster care in accordance with 
                        this definition regardless of whether the 
                        foster care facility is licensed and payments 
                        are made by the State, Tribal, or local agency 
                        for the care of the child, whether adoption 
                        subsidy payments are being made prior to the 
                        finalization of an adoption, or whether there 
                        is Federal matching of any payments that are 
                        made.
                            (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, commonly known as the 
``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.
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