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Ke SEN

Republic of the Philippines js RECEIVED ae)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _7629

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
INSTITUTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, ESTABLISHING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
LEARNING RESOURCE CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (CYSNs) IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIVISIONS,
PROVIDING FOR STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREOF

The 1987 Constitution provides that "the State shall protect and promote the right of all
citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such
education accessible at all.” Republic Act No. 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled
Persons specifically mandates that "the State shall ensure that disabled persons are
provided with adequate access to quality education and ample opportunities to develop
their skills."

Several laws were already enacted regarding the provision of education to children and
youth with special needs. Republic Act No. 5250 entitled, "An Act Establishing A Ten-
Year Training Program for Teachers of Special and Exceptional Children in the
Philippines and Authorizing the Appropriation of Funds Thereof’, was signed on 15 June
1968 and was amended by Republic Act No. 6067 on 04 August 1969. Republic Act
No. 7277, "Magna Carta for Disabled Persons", specifically under Chapter Il, provides
for education for disabled persons, including the establishment of a system of special
education, Braille and Record Libraries.

In 1997, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) started special
education (SPED) in public schools. Still, only 2% of the 5.49 million children with
special needs are getting government assistance. This measure aims to fill in these
policy gaps by calling for the establishment of inclusive education learning resource
centers for children and youth with special needs nationwide.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is hereby eamestly sought.

a
LUIS RAYMUND “RAY? F. VILLAFUETE, JR.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 7629

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
INSTITUTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, ESTABLISHING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
LEARNING RESOURCE CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (CYSNs) IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIVISIONS,
PROVIDING FOR STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

Section 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Inclusive Education for Children
and Youth with Special Needs Act."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. — The following are hereby declared the policies of
the State:

a) Protect and promote the rights of children and youth with special needs to make
quality education accessible to them;

b}

Recognize the vital role of children and youth with special needs in society,
consider their needs as integral part of national development strategies, and
facilitate their active participation and integration in public, civic and State affairs;

2

Give full support for their welfare and development to ensure their full integration
to society;

d)

Consider the special requirements of disabled persons in the formulation of
inclusive educational policies and programs;

e)

Encourage learning institutions to take into account the special needs of disabled
persons with respect to the use of school facilities, class schedules, physical
education requirements, and other pertinent considerations;


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Support learning institutions, especially higher leaming institutions, in providing
auxiliary services that will facilitate the learning process for disabled persons,
ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all;

Recognize the right of the children and youth with special needs to education on
the basis of equal opportunity, in particular, making primary education compulsory
and accessible to every children and youth with special needs;

Recognize the right of children and youth with special needs to the highest
attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness; and
rehabilitation of health; and ensure that no child is deprived of the right of access
to such health care and rehabilitation services; and

Ensure that children and youth with special needs belonging to ethnic, religious or
linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin shall not be denied the right to
education, health treatment, or health rehabilitation in community with other
members, to enjoy their own culture, profess and practice their own religion, or to
use their own language.

Sec. 3. Objectives. — This Act shall pursue the following objectives:

Provide children and youth with special needs free and appropriate public
education and related services in accordance with their needs, and in preparation
for adult living and community life;

Provide children and youth with special needs access to general education
curriculum through the formal systems and alternative delivery services in
education;

Facilitate the inclusion and integration of children and youth with special needs into
mainstream education in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Incheon Strategy to Make the Rights
Real For Persons With Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific;

Implement inclusive education and establish Inclusive Education Learning
Resource Centers (IELRC) for inclusion of children and youth with special needs
in the educational mainstream in the least restrictive environment;

Ensure that children and youth with special needs fully develop their potential
toward self-sufficiency and become fully participative members of society;

Ensure that children and youth with special needs understand, appreciate and
respect differences amongst groups and members of society in which they live;

Identify, through a Child Find System, children and youth with special needs ages
three (3) to twenty-four (24), and infants and toddlers under the age of three (3), in
compliance with Republic Act No. 10410, otherwise known as the "Early Years Act
of 2003",


h) Develop, implement, and review Individualized Education Plan;

Provide parents with information and opportunities to actively participate in the
possible school placement options and educational programs for their children and
to enable them to make informed choices and decisions;

j) Enable and empower parents and family members by training and equipping them
with capabilities to identify, prevent, refer or intervene with regard to disorders,
disabilities and abilities of their children;

k) Train and equip special education teachers, regular _teachers,
principalsfadministrators, non-teaching staff of the school, and caregivers as
primary sources of care, development, education and advancement of children
and youth with special needs;

Increase school retention and cohort survival of children and youth with special
needs;

m) Create significant and positive changes in community orientation towards disability
and the need to provide inclusive education and proper care of children and youth
with special needs; and

n) Regularly consult and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children
and youth with special needs, through their representative organizations, in the
implementation of this Act and issues relating to it.

Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act

a) Basic education — refers to a program of instruction intended to meet the basic

learning needs which provide the foundation on which subsequent learning can be

based. It encompasses early childhood, kindergarten, elementary and secondary
education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school leamers and
those with special needs;

b) Child Find System — refers to the process of identifying, locating, and evaluating
every qualified child or youth with special needs so that the concerned child
development teachers/workers who are under the jurisdiction of local government
units (LGUs) can notify parents or guardians of those who are not receiving public
education services of the right of their children to receive the same and facilitate

such children's integration into the school system;

©) Children and youth with special needs — refer to children and youth who are gifted
or talented, or with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental, emotional
or behavioral disorders, speech and language disorders, sensory impairments,
autism, long term physical or health disabilities, deaf blindness, and multiple
handicapping conditions which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their
full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others and are in
need of special education as well as services for rehabilitation. They differ from
the average children in neuropsychological characteristics, sensory and cognitive
abilities, neuromuscular or physical characteristics, and social attributes to such


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an extent that the use of modified school practices or special education services
are required to develop them to maximum capability;

Disability — refers to 1) long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory
impairment that substantially limit one or more physiological or anatomical function
of an individual or activities of such individual; 2) limitation or difficulty encountered
by an individual in executing a task or action; and 3) a participation restriction or
problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life's situations. It does not
just entail a health problem but shall reflect the interaction between features of a
20 person's body and features of the society in which he lives as well as the
difficulties 21 the person has encountered to remove the environment and social
barriers.

Inclusive education— refers to a process of addressing and responding to the
diverse needs of all leamers by increasing participation in leaming, cultural
activities and community life, and reducing exclusion within and from education. It
involves changes and modifications in content, approaches, structures and
strategies, anchored on a common vision for all children of the appropriate age
range and the conviction that it is the responsibility of the State to educate all 28
children. It focuses on the achievement of high quality education for all learners
and 29 the all-encompassing development of more inclusive societies.

Individual Education Program (IEP) — refers to the systematic, purposive and
developmental educational programming of curricular and instructional priorities
and contents designed to meet a leamer's special needs and aimed at ensuring
mastery of target skills and behaviors. It specifies the services to be provided and
how often; describes the learner's present level of performances and how the
leamer’s disabilities affect. academic performances; and _ specifies
accommodations and modifications to be provided to the learner. An IEP must be
designed to meet the unique educational needs of a child in the appropriate and
least restrictive environment.

Learning Resource Center — refers to a teaching/leaming support system for
students, teachers, school personnel and other education stakeholders of children
and youth with special needs. It includes appropriate, accessible, disability-,
cultural-, and gender-sensitive instructional learning materials, tools, devices,
gadgets, equipment to facilitate and enhance learning assessment tools and
instruments to evaluate developmental domains and specific areas of concern
necessary in determining appropriate services and placement decisions; medical,
health and allied professionals for care, rehabilitation and development of learners.

Least restrictive environment (LRE) — refers to the situation where a learner, who
has a disability, is accorded the opportunity to be educated with non- disabled
peers to the greatest extent appropriate. The children and youth with special needs
should have access to the general education curriculum, or any other program that
non-disabled peers are able to access. The children and youth with special needs
shall be provided with supplementary aids and services necessary to achieve
educational goals if placed in a setting with non-disabled peers, and shall receive
an appropriate version of educational and social benefits which non-disabled
students routinely receive in school.


Private sector participation — refers to all forms of indispensable, substantial and
meaningful participation of private individuals, partnerships, groups or entities,
disabled people's organizations, community-based organizations or non-
government organizations, and business and industry groups in the delivery of
educational and rehabilitative services for children and youth with special needs.

Special Education (SPED) — refers to the customized instructional
program/service designed to meet the unique needs of individual children and
youth with special needs, which may necessitate the use of supplementary aids
and services and teaching strategies in classroom and non-academic settings and
includes instructions on physical and vocational education, social skills
development and travel training. It is geared towards their integration into
mainstream education and to prepare them as independent and functioning
members of society

k) Special Instructional Materials — refers to textbooks in Braille, large type, audio,
digital or any other medium or apparatus that convey information to a student or
otherwise contributes to the learning process.

})_ Universal Design for Learning (UDL) — refers to a scientifically valid framework
for guiding educational practice established by Department of Education (DepEd)
that:

(1) Provides flexibility in the way information is presented, in the way students
respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the way students are
engaged; and

(2) Reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations,
supports mental and physical challenges and maintains high achievement
expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and
students who have limited English proficiency.

It also refers to a set of principles that guides the design of inclusive classroom
instruction and accessible course materials. The three principles of UDL are:

(1) Recognition — refers to multiple methods of representation that give
leamers a variety of ways to acquire information and build knowledge;

(2) Strategic Learning — refers to multiple means of student action and
expression that provide learners alternative modes for
demonstrating what they have learned; and

(3) Affective Learning — refers to multiple modes of student engagement
that tap into leamer's interests, challenge them appropriately and motivate
them to learn.

Sec. 5. Establishment of Inclusive Education Learning Resource Centers.
— All public schools divisions of the DepEd shall establish an Inclusive Education
Learning Resource Center, hereinafter referred to as the Center, for children and
youth with special needs, where there are no existing Centers; Provided, That all


Centers shall comply with the Universal Design for Learning as defined under Section
4, subparagraph (|) of this Act: Provided, further That, all Centers and facilities for
children and youth with special needs shall also be compliant with the requirements
of Batas Pambansa Bilang 344, otherwise known as the "Accessibility Law".

Sec. 6. Functions of the Center. — The Center shall function as a learning
resource center that shall assist in promoting inclusive education and in capacitating
regular schools to effectively handle the needs of children and youth with special
needs. It shall:

a) Assess children and youth with special needs to identify specify
developmental areas of concern and determine appropriate services and grade
placement options;

b) Support children with disabilities and special needs in such a manner that
they could be integrated/included in regular schools in the least restrictive
environment;

c) Conduct school-based training of children and youth with special needs;

d) Produce appropriate teaching materials for children and youth with special
needs;

) Provide training to regular teachers, administrators, non-teaching personnel
and parents on inclusive education;

f) Monitor case management of children and youth with special needs within
the division;

g) Ensure that the children and youth with special needs within the division shall
receive the appropriate services needed;

h) Implement the programs of the Center such as individualized education,
transition program, alternative educational programs and early intervention program;

i) Establish a referral system that shall provide and develop multidisciplinary
services such as healthcare delivery systems and other child and youth support
systems to address the challenges and difficulties of the families of children and youth
with special needs and stimulate community resources which shall promote and foster
systems integration within education;

j) Provide access to auxiliary aids and services that are basically non educational
but which enhance the education process for children and youth with special needs.
These aids and services may include:

(1) Language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical and
physiotherapy, among other modes of therapy, through multi- disciplinary
specialist team;

(2) Quality reading or other effective methods of delivering reading
materials to individuals with visual impairments;

(3) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices;

(4) Appropriate classroom accommodation;

(6) Other simitar services and actions or all types of aids and services
that facilitate the learning process; and

(6) Assistance in the transfer or admission of qualified children and youth
with special needs to post-secondary or tertiary education institutions.

Sec. 7. Partnership Mechanism. — The DepEd and the concerned agencies
may coordinate and enter into cooperative agreement, arrangement or contract with


other government agencies, private non-profit agencies, institutions or organizations
duly accredited or recognized by the government agencies, civil society, business and
industrial sector, and other concerned sectors in the furtherance of the provisions of
this Act: Provided, That the DepEd shall coordinate with the Department of Health
(DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of
Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and
the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) for the establishment or creation of
Centers on the implementation of programs such as the following:

a) Technical assistance to teachers who are preparing to serve or are serving in
the Centers;

b) Training of professional or related services personnel, including all regular
teachers;

c) Replication of successful innovative approaches in providing educational or
related services to CYSNs;

4) Facilitation of parental involvement in the education of their children and youth
with special needs;

e) Diagnosis and educational evaluation of children and youth with special needs;
f) Consultative, counseling and training services for the families of children and
youth with special needs;

4g) Familiarization of the municipality or city being served by an Inclusive Education
Learning Resource Center with the problems and potentials of children and youth;
and

h) Entering into agreements with medical and allied medical professional group
Centers created under this Section shall remain part of the DepEd System.

Sec. 8. Responsibilities of Agencies. — In conformity with their respective
charters and mandates, government agencies shall define and delineate their
respective areas of responsibility with respect to the implementation of this Act. These
areas shall be subject to periodic reassessment of the Inter-Agency Coordinating
Council on Inclusive Education (IACCIE), as provided in Sec. 9 of this Act, whenever
necessary. For purposes of this Act, the different agencies shall have the following
roles:

a) Department of Education (DepEd) — The DepEd shall be the lead government
agency responsible for the implementation of this Act to ensure inter-agency
coordination and integration of services among school systems, early intervention
programs, mainstreaming of children and youth with special needs in the regular
classroom set-up, concemed welfare agencies, children and youth with special
needs availability of access and classification of developmental domains and
establishment of a referral system and redress mechanism for parents and
guardians.

b) Department of Health (DOH) — The DOH shall make available health care

services for children and youth with special healthcare needs, child mental health

service providers, health plans, oral health providers, family-to-family health
information and education, advocacy organizations and other community
organizations serving children and youth with special needs and their families. Due
to the importance of integrating primary care with mental health services, the DOH
shall collaborate with the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and the Early Childhood


c)

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Care and Development Council (ECCD) in the provision of inclusive health and
nutrition services for the implementation of this Act.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) — The DSWD shall be
responsible for the effective management and provision of social and welfare
services for poor and deserving children and youth with special needs based on
their assessed needs, subject to guidelines it shall prescribe.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — The DPWH shall prescribe
the proper physical set-up of the Centers and shall build and maintain roads that
shall ensure accessibility to children and youth with special needs.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) — The DILG shall
promulgate the policies and guidelines relevant to the implementation of this Act
by the local government units.

Local Government Units (LGUs) — The LGUs shall allocate a portion of 16 their
Special Education Fund (SEF) for the following:

(1)Provision of sites, buildings or centers where there are no existing school
facilities that may be used for the special education of children and youth with
special needs as well as the establishment of Child Development Centers
(CDCs) pursuant to Sec. 11 thereof;

(2)|dentification, coordination and partnership with public or private volunteers and
private organizations, national or international, duly recognized and accredited
by appropriate government office, for information dissemination campaigns and
funding support to augment the funding for Inclusive Education programs and
activities;

(3)Provide assistive devices, instructional materials and teacher's training
provisions;

(4)Provision of funds for the delivery of health and nutrition services and
interventions, educational assessment program for children and youth with
special needs in their respective localities that would be initiated by the DOH
and DepEd, respectively;

(5)Participate in all efforts concerning integration of children and youth with
special needs to regular schools, health services, transport services and other
social and welfare services;

(6)Develop government and community awareness and responsiveness to the
needs of children and youth with special needs;

(7)Provide a means for redress in case parents are not amenable to educational
program for children and youth with special needs under the jurisdiction of the
Local School Boards;


(8)Coordinate with other agencies in ensuring the proper implementation of the
provisions of this Act within their territorial jurisdiction, including the child find

and referral system; and
(9)Enact appropriate ordinances to implement the LGUs role in this Act.

Sec. 9. Inter-Agency Coordinating Council on Inclusive Education
(IACCIE). - For purposes of policy integration, harmonization and coordination of
functions, there is hereby created an Inter-Agency Coordinating Council on Inclusive
Education (IACCIE), which shall be attached to the DepEd and which shall be
composed of the following officials or their duly authorized representatives, up to the
level of Assistant Secretary or its equivalent:

1) Secretary of the DepEd, as Chairperson;
2) Secretary of DOH as Co-Chairperson;

3) Secretary of DSWD as Co-Chairperson;

4) Secretary of Department of Finance (DOF)

5) Secretary of DPWH

6) Secretary of DILG

7) Secretary of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

8) Director General of Technical Education and Skills Development
Administration (TESDA)

9) Commissioner of Commission on Higher Education (CHED)

The IACCIE shall perform the following functions:

a) Develop and set criteria on Individual Educational Programs. It shall
evaluate fundamental changes both in educational practice and in the
design of educational services for inclusion of children and youth with
special needs in regular schools. Inclusive Education involves changes in
philosophy, curriculum, teaching strategy and structural organization;

b) Implement appropriate and coordinated programs in health and related
physiological and psychological health services, multidisciplinary domains,
transportation and accessibility for children and youth with special needs;

Acts as catalyst of change and source of information for the benefit of both
regular students and children and youth with special needs;

°)

d) Constitute and authorize a multidisciplinary body to conduct an annual audit
to determine the compliance of the Centers on its operations;

) Document, monitor and assess the performances of the Centers and their
personnel;

Coordinate and disseminate information with partner agencies or local
government units.


Sec. 10. The IACCIE Technical Working Committee. — The IACCIE shall be
supported by a Technical Working Committee (TWC) which shall be composed of
representatives from the following agencies and institutions:

1) Bureau of Curriculum Development of the DepEd;

2) Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCD);

3) National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA);

4) Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC);

5) National Nutrition Council (NNC) of the DOH

6) Local Government Units — League of Provinces, Cities or Municipalities;

7) Health organizations, such as Philhealth and other healthcare services of the
DOH;

8) Civil society organizations on persons with disability and indigenous peoples’
concerns; and

9) Academe.

The TWC shall provide groundwork technical support to the IACCIE on its
activities to capture varied clientele scope and needs, mainstream programs, and
reach grassroots levels. Representatives of civil society organizations and the
academe shall be nominated through a process designed by the IACCIE.

Sec. 11. Inclusion of Children with Special Needs in Child Development
Centers. — Child Development Centers (CDCs) specially designed for pre-school
children and their parents where early identification of disabilities and/or special needs
and introductory educational and intervention programs will be administered, and
development of future multi-disciplinary child development centers shall be
established near all schools or within existing Inclusive Education Learning Resource
Centers. As far as practicable, the use of CDCs and facilities shall be maximized.

The ECCD Council shall coordinate with the DepEd, DSWD, DOH, LGUs and
other agencies to provide the necessary programs and support for children with
special needs under five (5) years old.

Sec. 12. Hiring of Personnel and Staff. — In addition to teachers and licensed
social workers who have knowledge, skills and special training in handling cases of
children and youth with special needs and to ensure the effective implementation of
this Act, the DepEd, DOH, and DSWD may hire the necessary personnel and support
Staff to operate, administer and oversee the Center.

Sec. 13. Remuneration, Benefits and Incentives for Inclusive Education
Learning Personnel and Staff. — The salary grades of Special Education (SPED)
teachers and Program Directors managing the Centers shall be in accordance with
the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and other civil service
rules and regulations.

The DepEd shall enhance the access of teachers/instructors to specialized and
continuing training and education and ensure that the Centers shall endeavor to attract
the best available teaching staff and talents through adequate remuneration, benefits,
scholarship and training grants, teacher exchange programs, incentives and
allowances and other means of securing their job satisfaction and tenure in their


respective posts. A similar program shall be designed for support personnel to include
interpreters, psychologists, social workers and health service professionals/workers
involved in the education, health and rehabilitation of children with special needs.

The DepEd shall identify at least one (1) leading institution or university in
Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao whose
faculty is considered or regarded as highly competent in the area of special education
and where a uniform or standardized curriculum for any post-graduate education
program shall be designed to benefit SPED teachers and other personnel of the
centers. The manner of selection of such institution shall be provided under the rules
and regulations to be formulated to implement the provision of this Act.

Sec. 14. In-Service Training of Teachers, Administrators, Non-Teaching
Personnel. — To enhance the inclusive education program, the DepEd shall
coordinate with the appropriate national government agencies to offer basic and
advanced seminars on disability awareness and inclusive education for the concerned
education stakeholders.

The appropriate and necessary trainings, seminars and other opportunities for
upgrading the performance of DepEd teachers implementing the inclusive education
curriculum shall be conducted and evaluated by the National Educators’ Academy of
the Philippines.

Sec. 15. Continuing Research to Identify the Needs of Children and Youth
with Special Needs. — The DepEd, by itself or in coordination with organizations or
institutions, shall undertake continuing research to identify and design programs that
shall meet the full range of needs of children and youth with special needs: Provided,
That such continuing research shall also be used to develop instructional techniques
for use by the Centers towards improving the acquisition of skills by the children and
youth with special needs necessary for their transition to independent living, vocational
training or competitive skill development: Provided, further, That such continuing
research shall be used by the DepEd in designing holistic programs for all schools and
all Inclusive Education Resource Learning Centers to enhance the potential of the
children and youth to participate and be integrated into community life.

Sec. 16. Student Assistance. - The DepEd, DSWD, DOLE, NCDA and the
LGUs shall develop programs to support the financial and educational needs of the
marginalized or disadvantaged children and youth with special needs, as defined in
Republic Act No. 8425, known as the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act. The
benefits accorded by Republic Act No. 8545, otherwise known as the "Government
Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Act" shall
likewise be extended to qualified children and youth with special needs in the
secondary levels.

Sec. 17. Recreational and Artistic Opportunities. — The DepEd shall
establish opportunities for the safe, wholesome, interactive individual as well as group
recreation and social activities of children and youth with special needs, optimal use
of their leisure hours and advancement of their physical, mental, social and cultural
development.


Sec. 18. Special Instructional Materials. — Publishers shall grant the DepEd
the authority to transcribe adopted instructional materials into accessible format,
without penalty or payment of royalty, in accordance with Republic Act No. 8293,
otherwise known as the "Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines": Provided, That,
publishers of a newly adopted instructional material shall provide, not later than the
second working day after the adoption of a textbook title by the DepEd, the digital copy
as specified by the DepEd for the purpose of producing accessible versions of the
textbooks for students with reading disabilities. The accessible versions may be
produced by the DepEd or by non-profit accessible book producers which may be
copied and distributed upon request by a Schools Division for instructional purposes.

Copies of these instructional materials shall be furnished without cost either to
the children and youth with special needs or their teachers in charge.

Sec. 19. Family Members, Guardians, Caregivers and Day Care Workers
Education. — A formal training and counseling program for family members,
guardians, caregivers and day care workers of children and youth with special needs
shall be developed jointly by the DepEd, DSWD, LGUs, ECCD Council, disabled
people's organizations, —parent-support organizations, health _ professional
organizations, healthcare services, non-government organizations and civil society
organizations to provide them with a working knowledge of special education and an
understanding of the physical and mental needs of children and youth with special
needs; and set their important role as educators, so as to maximize their knowledge
38 and skills to fully participate in developing the potentials of children and youth with
special needs.

Sec. 20. Incentives for Private Sector Participation. — Partnerships
between the government and private institutions catering to the needs of children and
youth with special needs shalll be encouraged. Private entities which team up with the
DepEd or provide the necessary educational assistance and service of children and
youth with special needs enrolled in public schools shall be entitled to the benefits
and incentives provided under R.A. No. 8525, otherwise known as the Adopt-a-School
Act and its implementing rules and regulations.

Sec. 21. Public Information, Education and Communication. — A
nationwide information dissemination campaign on the prevention, early identification
and the strategic intervention programs for children and youth with special needs shall
be intensified. This shall be the joint responsibility of the Philippine Information Agency
(PIA), CWC, NCDA and the DepEd. Likewise, the DepEd, in collaboration with the
DOH, DOLE, CHED, TESDA and DILG shall disseminate materials and information
concerning effective practices in working with, training and education of children and
youth with special needs.

Sec. 22. Appropriations. — The Secretaries of the DepEd, DOH and DSWD
shall immediately include their respective Departments’ programs the implementation
of this Act, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations
Act.

Sec. 23. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within one hundred
twenty (120) days from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretaries of the DepEd, the
DOH and the DSWD, in coordination with the heads of other concemed agencies,


shall promulgate and issue the necessary guidelines for the effective implementation
of this Act. The implementing rules and regulations issued pursuant to this section
shall take effect thirty (30) days after its publication in two (2) national newspapers of
general circulation.

Sec. 24. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder of this Act or any provisions hereof
not affected thereby shall continue to be in force and effect.

Sec. 25. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent or contrary to the
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 26. Effectivity. —This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,