THIR’IEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
First Regular Session 
’ 
OF THE PHlLIPPINES 
Introduced by Senator LUISA “LOI” P. EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 15, Section 1 provides: 
“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 high 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 - 
(a) 
have high academic and behavioral standards for their students; 
(b) 
clearly communicate standards and provide students with the necessary 
support and opportunities to meet those standards; 
(c) 
connect students to adults in meaningll ways; 
(d) 
connect students to possible htures in college and the workforce; and 
(e) 
provide families with useful information about how their children are 
doing and about their futures. 
LUISA “LOI” b. EJERCITO ESTRADA 
Senator 


, 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF 
First Regular Session 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
’ THE REPUBLIC ) 
1 :1,2 
Introduced bv Senator LUISA “LOT P. EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
INTRODUCING EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND 
SUPPORTING TBE 
PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN 
SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title, - This Act shall be known as the “High-school Reform 
Act,” 
SEC. 2. Purposes. - The purposes of this Act are to - 
(a) support the planning and implementation of educational reforms in high 
schools, particularly in urban and rural high schools that educate students 
from low-income families, in order to help students at risk of failing to meet 
challenging standards, by strengthening curriculum and instruction, offering 
extended learning opportunities and providing professional development 
opportunities to school staff, 
(b) support the fbrther development of educational reforms, designed specifically 
for high schools, that - 
(1) help students meet challenging standards; and 
(2) increase connections between students and adults and provide safe 
learning environments. 
(c) create positive incentives for serious change in high schools, by offering 
rewards to participating schools that achieve significant improvements in 
student achievement; and 


, 
(d) increase the national knowledge base on effective high school reforms by 
identifying the most effective approaches and disseminating information on 
those approaches so that they can be adopted nationally. 
SEC. 3. 
Comprehensive Reforms Program. - The Secretary of Education, 
Culture and Sports, hereinafter referred to as the Secretary through the use of 
appropriated fbnds, shall develop and innovate a comprehensive reforms program to be 
applied to all secondary schools nationwide, that shall critically assess and evaluate 
existing curricula, programs and activities, ensuring that the same are in conformity with 
the principles and components provided in Section 4. 
SEC. 4. Principles And Components Of Educational Reforms - 
(a) Principles. - Each high school, through the supervision of the Secretary, shall 
ensure that the reforms to be adopted are designed so that each assisted high 
school - 
(1) is a place where students receive individual attention and support, through 
such strategies as creating smaller learning environments, such as “schools 
within schools” and career academies and providing students with 
counselors and mentors; 
(2) provides all students in the school with challenging coursework, aligned 
with content and performance standards, through such strategies as the use 
of technology to enhance academic instruction and the establishment or 
expansion of international baccalaureate programs or advanced placement 
programs; 
(3) is a place where students are motivated to learn, through such strategies as 
applied learning and linking the arts, music and cultural opportunities with 
the school, both during and after the normal school day; 


(4) enables students to receive an education that is continuous and integrated, 
through such strategies as partnerships with institutions of higher 
education; 
(5) helps students achieve their educational and career goals, through such 
strategies as integrated academic and vocational instruction that connects 
students with career opportunities; and 
(6) hnctions as a center for the community, through such strategies as 
increasing the involvement of parents, employers and others in the 
community. 
(b) Required Components. - In order to institutionalize the principles described in 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Education shall appropriate funds to 
implement research-based educational reform strategies for eventual 
implementation throughout the entire school that - 
(1) in the case of a school with a school wide program, build on and improve 
the school wide reform program; 
(2) address the needs of students who are at risk of failing to be promoted to 
the next grade or to graduate, including - 
(a) covering material that students need to master in order to pass 
mandated entrance exams; and 
(b) strengthening curriculum, instruction and assessments and by offering 
extended learning opportunities such as after school, weekend and 
summer programs; 
(3) make full and effective use of the resources that the school receives under 
other programs of the department; 
(4) make use of outside experts in high school reform, unless it can be shown 
to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the school’s reform strategy can be 
implemented effectively without outside assistance; 


(5) include professional development of school staff, including development 
of the skills needed to use student achievement and other outcome date to 
refine and improve the educational reform strategy; and 
(6) provide for collecting data on, and evaluating, the reforms and for 
reporting to the Secretary on the results of those evaluations. 
SEC. 5, Additional Activities - 
(1) The Secretary may select a random sample of schools to participate in an 
incentive-based experiment, under which the Secretary makes incentive 
payments to teachers and administrators in the grantee schools if, after three 
(3 )years of program participation, their students demonstrate significant gains 
in student educational outcomes. 
(2) The Secretary may - 
(a) recognize high schools and high school reforms that show outstanding 
results; 
(b) disseminate information on those schools and reforms; 
(c) carry out other activities to encourage the spread and adoption of 
successkl high school reform strategies; 
(d) facilitate the creation of networks among participating schools and local 
educational agencies, which may include schools and local educational 
agencies interested in meeting the purpose of this part; and 
(e) pay the costs of the peer review of applications under this part. 
(3) The Secretary may reserve knds to evaluate activities carried out under this 
Act. 
SEC. 6. Funding. - For the purpose of carrying out this Act, the appropriation of 
such amount as may be necessary is hereby authorized. 


. 
SEC. 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting. 
SEC. 8. RepeaZzng CZause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or 
inconsistent with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
accordingly. 
SEC. 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
GWprecy disk 2YELLO W/educational reforms