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It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted students’ academic performance and mental and physical health. Policymakers and the American public need a complete understanding of how the pandemic affected students in order to ensure that students are best supported moving forward.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced the Assessing Children’s Academic Development and the Emotional and Mental Health Implications of COVID-19 (ACADEMIC) Act to authorize the U.S. Department of Education, in coordination with other relevant federal agencies, to include a new longitudinal component on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student outcomes and well-being to an existing longitudinal educational study. This legislation would require a measure of the long-term impact from COVID-related school closures, remote learning, and other factors on pre-kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school students, including academic achievement (learning loss); social-emotional well-being; and mental, behavioral, and physical health.   

• “COVID disrupted the lives of students across the country, and we are only beginning to see the harm done to our kids. Understanding the pandemic’s long-term impact on students’ academic achievements and well-being is critical to avoiding future mistakes and correcting the ones we’ve made.”  – Senator Rubio

• “Although kids have been back in school for a long time, the impacts of the pandemic linger – especially when it comes to youth mental health and academic outcomes. Allowing the Department of Education to study the impacts of the pandemic on academic performance as well as mental and physical health is critical to making sure that our children can get the support they need, so we can best set them up for success in life.”  – Senator Hassan

Want more information? 

• March 2022: Rubio Leads Colleagues in Bill to Study Long-term Effects of COVID-19 on Students’ Academic and Health Outcomes