SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SEN~~ 
S. No. 
'l\:S 4 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 15, Section 1, provides: 
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'13 
JUL 15 P4 :21 
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 to all. 
Recent studies have shown that the quality and rigor of the secondary school program of 
study is the most effective predictor of success in post-secondary education. 
Unfortunately, most secondary school institutions in the country are ill-equipped to 
provide relevant and quality education. 
Hence, this bill seeks to structure reforms in secondary education in order to provide 
students with effective schools that have high academic and behavioral standards for their 
students; can provide students with the necessary support and opportunities to meet those 
standards; counect students to adults in meaningful ways; connect students to possible futures in 
college and the workforce; and provide families with useful information about how their children 
are doing and about their futures. l 
1 This bill was originally filed during the Fourteenth Congress, First Regular Session, 
I 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'13 
JUL 15 P4 :21 
SENAIli 
S. No. 
'l;J4 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
1 
AN ACT 
2 
INTRODUCING EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND SUPPORTING THE 
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PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN 
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SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Secondary School 
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Refonn Act." 
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SECTION 2. Purposes. - The purposes of this Act are to-
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(A) support the planning and implementation of educational reforms in secondary 
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schools, particularly in urban and rural secondary schools that educate concentrations of 
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students from low income families, in order to meet the needs of students at risk of failing to 
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achieve the challenging standards, by strengthening curriculum and instruction, offering 
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extended learning opportunities, and providing professional development opportunities to 
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the school staff; 
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(B) support the further development of educational reforms, designed specifically for 
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secondary schools that -
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(1) help students meet the challenging standards; 
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(2) increase connections between students and adults and provide safe 
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learning environments; 
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(3) create positive incentives for serious change in secondary schools, by 
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offering rewards to participating schools that achieve significant improvements in 
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student achievement; and 
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(4) increase the national knowledge base of effective secondary school 
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reforms by identifying the most effective approaches and disseminating information 
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on those approaches so that they can be adopted nationally. 
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SECTION 3. Comprehensive Reforms Program. - The Secretary of Education 
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(hereinafter referred to as "Secretary"), through the use of appropriated funds, shall develop 
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and innovate a comprehensive reforms program to be applied to all secondary schools 
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nationwide, that shall critically assess and evaluate existing curricula, programs and 
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activities, ensuring that the same are in conformity with the principles and components 
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provided in Section 4. 
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SECTION 4. Principles and Components of Educational Reforms. -
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(A) PRINCIPLES. - Each secondary school, through the supervision of the Secretary 
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of Education, shall ensure that the reforms to be adopted are designed so that each assisted 
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secondary school -
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(1) is a place where students receive individual attention and support, through 
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such strategies as creating smaller learning environments, such as "schools within 
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schools" and career academies and providing students with counselors and mentors; 
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(2) provides all students in the school with challenging course work, aligned 
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with content and performance standards, through such strategies as the use of 
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technology to enhance academic instruction and the establishment or expansion of 
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international baccalaureate programs or advanced placement programs; 
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(3) is a place where students are motivated to learn, through such strategies as 
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applied learning and linking arts, music, and cultural opportunities with the school, 
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both during and after the normal school day; 
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(4) enables students to receive an education that is continuous and integrated, 
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through such strategies as partnerships with institutions of higher education; 
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(5) helps students to achieve their educational and career goals, through such 
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strategies as integrated academic and vocational instruction that connects students 
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with career opportunities; and for functions as a center for the community, through 
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such strategies as increasing the involvement of parents, employers, and others in the 
3 
community. 
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(B) REQUIRED COMPONENTS - In order to institutionalize the principles 
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described in subsection (A), the Secretary of Education shall appropriate funds to implement 
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research-based educational reform strategies for eventual implementation throughout the 
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entire school that -
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(I) in the case of a school with a school-wide program, build on and improve 
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the school-wide reform program; and 
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(2) address the needs of students who are at risk of failing to be promoted to 
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the next grade or to graduate, including -
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( a) covering material that students need to master in order to pass 
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mandated entrance exams; and 
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(b) strengthening curriculum, instruction, and assessments and by 
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offering extended learning opportunities such as after school, weekend, and 
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summer programs; 
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(3) make full and effective use of the resources that the school receives under 
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other programs of the department; 
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(4) make use of outside experts in secondary school reform, unless it can be 
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shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the school's reform strategy can be 
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implemented effectively without outside assistance; 
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(5) include professional development of school staff, including development 
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of the skills needed to use student achievement and other outcome data to refine and 
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improve the educational reform strategy; and 
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(6) provide for collecting data on, and evaluating, the reforms and for 
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reporting to the Secretary on the results of those evaluations. 
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SECTION 5. Additional Activities. -
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(A) The Secretary may select a random sample of schools to participate in an 
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incentive-based experiment, under which the Secretary makes incentive payments to 
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teachers and administrators in the grantee schools if, after three (3) years of program 
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participation, their students demonstrate significant gains in student educational outcomes. 
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(B) The Secretary may -
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(I) recognize secondary schools and school refonns that show outstanding 
results; 
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(2) disseminate information on those schools and reforms; 
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(3) carry out other activities to encourage the spread and adoption of 
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successful secondary school reform strategies; 
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(4) facilitate the creation of networks among participating schools and local 
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educational agencies, which may include schools and local educational agencies 
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interested in meeting the purpose ofthis part; and 
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(5) pay the costs of the peer review of applications under this part. 
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(C) The Secretary may reserve funds to evaluate activities carried out under this Act. 
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SECTION 6. Funding. - For the purpose of carrying out this Act, there are 
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authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary. 
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SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
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remain valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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