Global Learning Loss Assessment Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1500) 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, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1500
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.
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Mr. MEEKS. 1500, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1500, the Global Learning Loss Assessment Act of 2021.
I thank Representative Houlahan for authoring this bipartisan bill and for her leadership and strong advocacy for children and education around the world.
Over the past year and a half, we have seen everyday lives disrupted in unimaginable ways due to COVID-19. One of the biggest disruptions has been in the realm of education. From primary school to graduate school, students around the world have seen their education interrupted, challenged, adapted, and forever changed by this pandemic.
The United States has long supported basic education efforts around the world, with its most recent champion, former Congresswoman Nita Lowey, being an invaluable advocate. It is therefore crucial that the United States understand the effects of COVID-19 on international basic education programs and use that data to respond to current crises and better prepare for future pandemics.
Research has already shown that every day and every year in school counts. Women earn up to 12 percent more for every additional year they stay in school. However, UNESCO estimates that as many as 11 million--I repeat, 11 million--girls won't return to school after COVID, which increased their risk of forced labor, early marriage, and limiting their professional and economic opportunities.
This bill requires the United States Agency for International Development to submit a report to Congress on the impacts of COVID-19 on USAID's basic education programs and global learning loss, including the magnitude of global learning loss that will result from protracted school closures, descriptions of forms of distance learning in low resource contexts, analysis of how school closures affected marginalized children, data on Agency programs being carried out to support continued learning during the pandemic, and a description of what is needed to help mitigate learning loss and help students get back on the right track.
Again, I thank Representative Houlahan for her work on this bill and her commitment to ensuring that we are fully aware of how COVID-19 has placed development gains at risk and to finding the best path forward to prevent further backsliding.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. MEEKS. Houlahan), a valued member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Education is recognized as the surest path to economic mobility. However, over the past year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic has rattled educational systems across the world, presented challenges unlike anything we have seen in the last 100 years since we had the last global pandemic, and it jeopardizes access to education for students around the world.
While some students and educators quickly adapted and overcame these challenges, the widespread disruptions caused by the pandemic will invariably have lasting impacts on communities at home and abroad. The Global Learning Loss Assessment Act of 2021 will allow us to better understand the effect the pandemic has had on global learning, and also find ways to help get students back on the path to continued learning and future success.
I know from my home city that the lack of availability of educational school buildings and lack of dialogue and conversations with other students in the classroom has hurt them. We need to evaluate and make sure what needs to be done so they can make up that time and continue the path to success because our Nation here in the United States and in the countries around the world are dependent upon it so that we can have a better tomorrow.
That is why I thank Ms. Houlahan for her bill, along with Mr. Fitzpatrick, working with the minority, Ranking Member McCaul, coming together because we understand the significance and importance of education. I hope all of my colleagues will join in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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