Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
| Quezon City

| EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
| First Regular Session

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative JOEY SARTE SALCEDA

AN ACT CREATING MECHANISMS TO AUGMENT AND SUPPORT THE
‘EACHING WORKFORCE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Explanatory Note

This Act shall be known as the Teacher Empowerment Act of 2020 to provide free CPD trainings
to public school teachers and limit teachers’ administrative functions to 8 hours per week. This bill
will also allow highly qualified individuals to teach their expertise.

This Bill is Preparing the country for a series of reforms that will lead closer to the Finnish model
of education: absolutely free, absolutely high-quality, light on workload, heavy on critical thinking
and comprehension, and with universal access to nutrition. The first building block is the
empowerment of teachers.

This Bill nee the following:
1. Alternative routes to teaching for highly qualified individuals
2. A statutory 8-hour weekly limit to teachers’ administrative work

3. The creation of support administrative staff such as school and district statistician, and
government programs coordinator.

4. The establishment of an administrative internship program where qualified high school
students may assist in teachers’ administrative functions

5, ripe scholarship grants for teacher-deficit and remote areas to ensure that there are
available teachers who live near remote schools and to dispense with the need to assign teachers
from far places

6. Free leamner-based professional development programs for public school teachers

7. Merit-based grants to create professional development programs



This bill will allow teachers to focus on what they do best: TEACHING. Public school teachers

should not be mi
the public. And

The Bill also ct

jade to pay for professional development programs when the direct beneficiary is
besides, most CPD programs for teachers have very little relation to what our

ites a scholarship for residents of remote areas so that they can be teachers in their

learners need. ae should not have to pay for their trainings.

local schools, ins
to their safety.

tead of having to assign teachers who do not live in those areas, often with risks

While the national teacher-to-student ratio has improved in 2018 to 1:31 for the elementary level,

1:36 for Junior

High School level, and 1:31 for Senior High School level from 1:45 in previous

years, this eae does not take into account some realities on the ground, including the lack

of available tea
assigned to thes
at the expense of

The passage of t
‘Agenda, which

ers in remote areas. This meant that teachers from urban or suburban areas are
areas, far from their places of residence, often jeopardizing their safety and often
their familial responsibilities.

is Bill is earnestly sought as the first bill of the Comprehensive Education Reform
ill overhaul the education system of the country to make it more learner-centered

and focused on improving learning outcomes.

a SARTE SALCEDA



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS,
First Regular Session

| 6231
| House Bill No.

| Introduced by Representative JOEY SARTE SALCEDA

AN ACT CREATING MECHANISMS TO AUGMENT AND SUPPORT THE
TEACHING WORKFORCE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Section 1. Short title. This Act shall also be known as the “Teacher Empowerment
Act.”

Section 2. Declaration of principles. The State shall ensure that teaching will attract
and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and
other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment. Towards this end, the state shall ensure that its
administrative policies and professional service requirements do not discourage such talents
from entering and remaining in the teaching profession, especially in public schools.

Furthermore, the State shall ensure that public school teachers are adequately supported and
not overburdened with non-teaching functions, so that they may be able to provide dedicated
and high-quality teaching to the country’s learners

Section 3. Definition of terms, As mentioned inthis Act, the term

(a) “Highly qualified individuals” shall refer to individuals with considerable
professional experience and achievements in a field or area of study;

(b) “Master Teacher” shall refer to a public-school teacher with the rank of “Master
Teacher I” and above;

(c) “Mid-career professionals” shall refer to individuals with at least five (5) years of
professional experience in a field or practice;

(d) “Remote schools” shall refer to schools with limited physical accessibility;

(c) “Teacher-deficit communities” shall refer to municipalities where the ratio of residents
who are licensed teachers to school-age residents falls below a target set by the DepEd.

Section 4. Alternative routes to teaching. The Department of Education shall administer
alternative routes to teaching to provide opportunities to highly qualified individuals with a
baccalaureate degree, including mid-career professionals from other occupations, and recent
college or university graduates with records of academic distinction.


‘Towards this end, the Department of Education shall:

1. Allow highly qualified individuals with a baccalaureate degree, including mid-career
professionals from other occupations, and recent college or university graduates with
records of academic distinction to teach courses aligned with their area of expertise on
a part-time basis, at hourly salary rates comparable to those of teachers with the same
years of career experience;

2. Allow qualified individuals to participate as student teachers to be able to fill teaching
needs in academic subjects in which there is a demonstrated shortage of teachers;

3. Designate Master Teachers to mentor and train said student teachers within their
schools of assignment;

4, Include reasonable service requirements for the implementation of this section.

Section 5, Administrative work limit — The State shall not require public school teachers
to perform non-teaching and administrative functions for more than eight (8) hours each week.

Section 6. Administrative assistance. The DepEd shall create the following non-teaching,
administrative positions in each national high school and elementary schools district:
a. At least one (1) Statistician, who shall assist in the compiling, collation, analysis, and
submission of statistical data required of teachers and teaching departments.
b. At least one (1) Government Programs Coordinator, who shall assist in the compiling,
collection, analysis, and submission of reports on government programs and projects
implemented by agencies other than the Department of Education.

In addition, there shall be, in each national high school and elementary schools district, an
“administrative internship program” where qualified high school students may assist teachers,
the Statistician, and /or the Government Programs Coordinator as paid interns. The funds
allotted for each school and schools district under this program shall be based on the number
of teachers in the school or schools district.

Section 7. Preferential scholarship grants for teacher-deficit areas. There shall be
administered under the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) an Educators-for-the-
Countryside Scholarship Program. The Program shall provide financial assistance fully
covering costs of school fees, books, and basic living expenses to qualified scholars from
“teacher-deficit” communities and from communities of remote schools. Beneficiaries of the
scholarship program shall be required to serve for four (4) years in non-Central, rural schools
within the municipality of which they were a resident when they applied for the grant.

A list of such teacher-deficit communities and communities of remote schools shall be issued
by the DepEd, with support from the Professional Regulatory Commission, every year
preceding the acceptance of applications for the scholarship program created herein;

‘The DepEd and CHEd shall jointly issue the rules and regulations necessary for the
implementation of this section within ninety (90) days upon the effectivity of this Act.


Section

8 Professional development of public-school teachers -In every schools

division, the Department of Education shall administer accredited programs that provide

adequate units

to allow public school teachers to complete statutory requirements for

professional development. Such programs shall be administered free of charge for public

school teachers.
Section 9.

professional

Merit-based grants for model professional development — The model

elopment opportunities for teachers, such as

professional on activities specified in this section are activities providing ongoing

(a) innovative programs and model curricula in the area of professional development which

may se
and

'e as models to be disseminated to other schools and local educational agencies;

(b) developing innovative techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of professional
development programs.

‘The Departme

it of Education shall administer a merit-based grant program for qualified

personnel and schools divisions to participate in or develop model professional development

activities, Prov

/ed that recipients of such grant program shall be required to administer in their

respective schools divisions accredited continuing professional development programs
developed through the grant.

Section
House and Ser
the Commissior
reports to Con;
before Decem|
oversight power

10. Report to Congress. — To monitor the implementation of this Act, the

‘te Committees on Basic Education shall require the Department of Education,

‘on Higher Education, and the Professional Regulatory Commission to submit

ress on the implementation of provisions assigned to their respective agencies

rt 31" of every year. No part of this Act shall be construed as to limit the
inherently or actually possessed by the same committees.

Section. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations — Unless specifically assigned to a

different agen
regulations for

, the Department of Education shall promulgate the necessary rules and
fhe implementation of this Act within ninety (90) days upon its effectivity.

Section. 12. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provision of this Act is
subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are not

affected thereby

shall remain in full force and effect.

Section. 13. Repealing Clause. — All other laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive

orders, preside
contrary to or it
or modified

Section

tial proclamations, issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof which are
sistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended,
rdingly.

14. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,