[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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