[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7911 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7911
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 learning and global basic education
programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 31, 2020
Ms. Houlahan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 learning and global 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 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (commonly referred
to as ``COVID-19'') pandemic began, 258 million children were
out of school, including 130 million 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 1.7 billion 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, exposure to
violence, and social isolation.
(5) Up to 9.7 million children are at risk of dropping out
of school 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) Over 60 percent of national distance learning
alternatives rely exclusively on online platforms but as many
as 465 million children and young people in these countries do
not have access to the internet at home, with 80 percent of
students in sub-Saharan Africa without such access, and an even
higher rate for girls.
(9) Distance learning tools are not always accessible to
learners with disabilities or those with complex learning
needs, especially in poorer and rural households.
(10) The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
could lead to an education financing gap of $77 billion in low-
and middle-income countries over the next two years.
(11) The economic cost of school closures could be up to
$1,337 per student, which on a global scale equates to
approximately $10 trillion in lost economic output over the
coming generation.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to provide inclusive learning opportunities for
students and teachers, especially for the most marginalized,
including girls and children with disabilities;
(2) to build local capacity and help countries strengthen
their education systems;
(3) to improve the delivery and quality of education
services;
(4) to improve equity and safety in education services; and
(5) to support the return of children to school who have
experienced interruptions in their education due to the COVID-
19 pandemic and other causes.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 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 learning and global basic
education programs.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) An assessment of the magnitude of global learning loss
that will result from protracted school closures, including the
specific effects of school closures on marginalized children
and youth, including girls, minority populations, and those
with disabilities.
(2) Evaluations of effectiveness, cost, accessibility, and
reach of the most commonly used forms of distance learning in
low resource contexts.
(3) An overview of existing Agency programs being carried
out to continue learning during the COVID-19 pandemic,
including data on funding and programmatic focus disaggregated
by gender, country, education level, and, when practicable and
appropriate, disability.
(4) Identification of any gaps in reaching marginalized
populations, such as girls, children with disabilities, or
children affected by conflict and crisis.
(5) A description of the tools and resources needed for the
Agency to support continued distance learning interventions,
safe school reopening, remedial and accelerated learning, and
reenrollment campaigns for out-of-school children and youth.
(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.
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