[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8220 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8220
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 global basic education programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 11, 2020
Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Quigley) 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 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 makes the following findings:
(1) Before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (commonly referred
to as ``COVID-19'') pandemic began, 258,000,000 children were
out of school, 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 1,700,000,000 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 9,700,000 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) Over 60 percent of national distance learning
alternatives rely exclusively on online platforms but as many
as 465,000,000 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) 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 two 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 foreign countries should--
(1) provide inclusive learning opportunities for students
and teachers, especially for the most marginalized, including
girls and children with disabilities;
(2) build local capacity and help countries strengthen
their education systems;
(3) improve the delivery and quality of education services;
(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 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 global learning and 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 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) Descriptions of the 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 Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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