Global Learning Loss Assessment Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1500 | Sponsor: Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy (D-PA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global Learning Loss Assessment Act of 2021
This bill requires the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agency's basic education programs.
This report shall include (1) an assessment of the global learning loss that will result from protracted school closures; (2) evaluations of the effectiveness, cost, accessibility, and reach of the most commonly used forms of distance learning in low- and middle-income countries; and (3) a description of the resources needed for the USAID to support continued distance learning, safe school reopenings, remedial and accelerated learning, and reenrollment campaigns.

To direct the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development to submit to Congress a report on the impact 
  of the COVID-19 pandemic on United States Agency for International 
                 Development basic education programs.

    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 ``Global Learning Loss Assessment Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (commonly referred 
        to as ``COVID-19'') pandemic began, 258,000,000 children were 
        out of school globally, including 130,000,000 girls.
            (2) Students already at a disadvantage before COVID-19 will 
        experience greater learning loss, thereby worsening inequity 
        and inequality.
            (3) Approximately 90 percent of the world's student 
        population--over 1,600,000,000 children and youth--have had 
        their education disrupted by school closure due to COVID-19.
            (4) School closures lead to interrupted learning, poor 
        nutrition, gaps in childcare, increased dropout rates, exposure 
        to violence, and social isolation.
            (5) Up to 24,000,000 children are at risk of dropping out 
        of school permanently due to rising levels of child poverty 
        associated with the pandemic.
            (6) School closure and remote learning is especially 
        burdensome on girls, who are frequently expected to shoulder 
        more household chores and responsibilities and are more 
        vulnerable to gender-based violence.
            (7) During the Ebola epidemic, nationwide school closures 
        in Sierra Leone in 2014 led to increased instances of sexual- 
        and gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, school dropout, 
        and child labor for girls.
            (8) More than 60 percent of national distance learning 
        alternatives rely exclusively on online platforms but two-
        thirds of the world's school aged children, or 1,300,000,000 
        children aged 3 through 17, do not have internet connection in 
        their homes, and schools and local learning centers also 
        frequently have inadequate internet connectivity. Eighty 
        percent of students in sub-Saharan Africa lack such access, 
        with an even higher rate for girls.
            (9) Children and youth with disabilities are particularly 
        vulnerable to the health, education, and socioeconomic 
        consequences of the pandemic. As a further challenge, distance 
        learning tools are not always accessible to learners with 
        disabilities or those with complex learning needs, especially 
        in poorer and rural households.
            (10) Before the COVID-19 pandemic, refugee children were 
        twice as likely to be out of school as other youth, and school 
        closures and a lack of access to distance learning tools 
        threaten to make the education gap among refugee children even 
        more severe.
            (11) The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic 
        could lead to an education financing gap of $77,000,000,000 in 
        low- and middle-income countries over the next 2 years.
            (12) The economic cost of school closures could be up to 
        $1,337 per student, which on a global scale equates to 
        approximately $10,000,000,000,000 in lost economic output over 
        the coming generation.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States that United States-funded 
basic education programs operating in low- and middle-income countries 
should seek to--
            (1) provide inclusive learning opportunities for students 
        and teachers, especially for the most marginalized, including 
        girls, children with disabilities, and previously out of school 
        children;
            (2) build local capacity and help countries strengthen 
        their education systems, including opportunities for early 
        childhood development;
            (3) improve the availability, delivery, and quality of 
        education services from early childhood through secondary 
        education;
            (4) improve equity and safety in education services; and
            (5) support the return of children to school who have 
        experienced interruptions in their education due to the COVID-
        19 pandemic and work to enroll previously out-of-school 
        children and youth, particularly the most marginalized.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development, acting through the Senior Coordinator 
for International Basic Education Assistance and in consultation with 
the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on United States Agency for 
International Development basic education programs.
    (b) Matters to Be Included.--The report required under subsection 
(a) shall include, at a minimum, the following elements:
            (1) An assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on such basic 
        education programs, including the magnitude of learning loss 
        that will result from protracted school closures and the 
        specific effects of school and learning space closures on 
        marginalized children and youth, including girls, minority 
        populations, displaced children, and those with disabilities.
            (2) An assessment comparing academic outcomes of 
        beneficiaries of United States Agency for International 
        Development basic education programs, as practical and 
        appropriate, between those that attend schools that remain 
        closed or continue to operate remotely since the start of the 
        COVID-19 pandemic and schools that have resumed in-person 
        instruction.
            (3) A description of the effectiveness, cost, 
        accessibility, and reach of the most commonly used forms of 
        distance learning in low- and middle-income countries and low-
        resource contexts.
            (4) A description of efforts to pivot and adapt such basic 
        education programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including an 
        overview of existing data on funding and programmatic focus 
        disaggregated by gender, country, education level, and 
        disability.
            (5) An identification and description of any gaps in, or 
        barriers to, reaching and educating marginalized populations, 
        such as girls, children with disabilities, displaced children, 
        or other children adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic 
        with distance learning interventions.
            (6) A description of the United States Agency for 
        International Development's plan and needed authorities and 
        resources to prevent degradation of such basic education 
        programs and to support, as necessary and appropriate, 
        continued distance learning interventions, safe school 
        reopenings, assessments of student learning levels, remedial 
        and accelerated learning, re-enrollment campaigns for out-of-
        school children and youth, and education system strengthening 
        and resilience-building efforts.
            (7) An analysis of the coordination between the United 
        States Agency for International Development and other actors in 
        global basic education policy and programming to provide 
        education during the COVID-19 pandemic, including partner 
        organizations, faith based-organizations, donors, and 
        multilateral organizations.
            (8) A description of opportunities to partner and support 
        efforts to expand access to digital infrastructure, internet 
        connectivity, and learning resources in areas that lack access 
        to digital and remote learning infrastructure and resources, 
        including rural and remote communities.
    (c) Public Availability.--The report required by subsection (a) 
shall be made available to the public.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 29, 2021.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.