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EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

___ Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodrigue

House Bill No, 5544
EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 1, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution provides that, “The State shall protect ad
promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate
steps to make such education accessible to all

The right guaranteed by the Constitution does not make any qualifications. As such, children
have a right to education regardless of their situation. According to the Department of
Education (DepEd), only 2 percent of the 5.49 million children with special needs (CSN) are
getting government assistance. There are instances where parents are the ones who keep
their CSN out of school because various reasons including discrimination and bullying.
Further, drop-out rates among CSN are relatively high because special education (SPED) is
often too expensive for an average Filipino family

As such, this bill which aims to make special education more accessible to CSN, and
facilitate their inclusion and integration with mainstream education.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is eamestly requested.

Vy:

RuFuS 6. RODR\BOEZ


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

__ Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez
5544

House Bill No.

AN ACT

ENSURING ACCESSIBLE AND RESPONSIVE BASIC EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (CSN) THROUGH THE CREATION OF A BUREAU OF SPECIAL
EDUCATION, THE MANDATORY ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
CENTERS IN REGULAR SCHOOLS, THE PROVISION OF GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO CSN, THE GRANT OF INCENTIVES TO OTHER
INSTITUTIONS PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO THE CSN SECTOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Title — This Act shall be known as the "Special Education (SPED) Act”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy — It is hereby deciared the policy of the State to protect
and to promote the rights of children with special needs (CSN) to quality education and to
take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to them. The State recognizes
their vital role in society and endeavors to include their needs as integral part of national
development strategies. It is also the policy of the State to give full support for the welfare
and development of CSN, ensure their full integration in society, as well as facilitate their
active participation in the affairs of the state. Towards this end, the State shall institutionalize
an adequate and relevant educational program for every CSN through the establishment of
SPED centers and the provision of vital support mechanisms for such. Thus, all CSN in any
degree of sensory, physical or intellectual disability or needs shall have the opportunity to be
developed in the most enhancing environment, consistent with the provision of quality
education that best meets their needs.

SECTION 3. Objectives — The objectives of this Act are:

a) To provide CSN greater access to basic education through the formal system and
other alternative delivery services in education;

b) To effectively implement inclusive education and facilitate integration of CSN with
mainstream education;

¢) To ensure that CSN fully develop their abilities towards self-sufficiency and become
effective partners in nation-building;

d) To identify gifted and talented children from ages three (3) to eighteen (18);

€) To provide the parents with information on full continuum of SPED service and
Possible placement option for their children, thus enabling them to make informed
choices and decisions;

f) To enhance the role of the parents, teachers and other caregivers as primary
educators of the children by equipping them with capabilities to identify, prevent, refer
or intervene with the developmental disorder and disabilities of children;

9) To involve private groups, local government units (LGUs) and national agencies
other than the Department of Education (DepEd) in the education of CSN: and

h) To create significant and positive changes in community attitudes towards disability
and the need to provide special education and proper care for CSN.


SECTION 4. Definition of Terms — For the purposes of this Act, the following terms are
defined: .

a) Disability refers to any of the following:

1. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one (1) or more
Psychological, physiological or anatomical function of an individual or
activities of such individual,

2. A recorded of such an impairment; or

3. Being regarded as having such impairment

b) Impairment refers to any loss, diminution or aberration of psychological, physiological
or anatomical structure or function.

©) Handicap refers to a disadvantage of an individual resulting from impairment or a
disability that limits or prevents the function or activity that is considered normal given
the age and gender of the individual.

4) Person with disabilities (PWD) refers to those suffering from restriction or different
abilities, as a result of a mental, physical, sensory or neurological impairment to
perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human
being.

©) Marginalized/disadvantaged persons with disabilities refer to disabled person who
lack access to rehabilitative services and educational opportunities due to poverty,
abandonment illness and other forms of neglect. For the purposes of this Act, the
word "poor" refers to persons who either have no means of livelihood or have
incomes below the poverty threshold as determined by National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB). .

f) Children with special needs (CSN) refer to those who are gifted or are fast leamers
and those who are disabled, impaired or handicapped and in need of special
education as well as services for rehabilitation. They differ from the average children
in mental characteristics, sensory abilities, neuromuscular or physical characteristic
and ‘social attributes, to such an extent that requires the use of modified school
Practices or special education services to develop them to maximum capability. They
may be classified as follows:

1. Gifted children and fast learners are those capable of superior performance
including those with demonstrated achievement or potential ability in one (1)
or more the following areas: general intellectual ability, specific academic
aptitude, creative or productive thinking ability, leadership ability, ability in
visual or performing arts and psychomotor ability, or those _ individuals who
consistently manifest the following cluster of traits: above average ability
(including intelligence), high creativity (implies the developmental appreciation
Of innovative ideas) and high task commitment (related to high degree of
motivation) and those who by reason thereof, require services or activities not
ordinarily provided by the school;

2. Children with mental retardation/intellectual disability are those who have
‘substantial limitation in present functioning characterized by significant sub
average intellectual functioning existing concurrently with related limitations in
two (2) or more of the applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self,
care home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and
safety functional academics, leisure and works;

3. Children with visual impairment are those who are blind or have low vision
Persons are blind if they have visual capacity of 20/200 or less in the better
eye after maximum correction. The low vision persons retain relatively low
degree of vision and can read only enlarged print or regular print under
special conditions;

4. Children with hearing impairment are those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
Deaf persons are those whose hearing are non-functional for ordinary


Purposes in life. The hard of hearing have a defective sense of hearing that
functional with or without a hearing aid;

5. Children with behavior problems are those who cannot adjust to the socially
accepted norms of behavior and, consequently disrupt their academic
Progress, the learning efforts of their classmates and interpersonal relations:

6. Children with orthopedic/physical handicap are those whose impairment
Permanently or temporarily interferes with the normal functions of the joints,
muscles or limbs;

7. Children with special health problems are those who have health conditions
that tend to keep children out of school or those with chronic andlor
debilitating illness such as cardiac (heart) diseases, asthma diabetes,
tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments, carcenonza, epilepsy,
malnutrition and others;

8. Children with leaming disabilities are those who although normal in sensory,
emotional and intellectual abilities exhibit disorders in perception, listening,
thinking, reading, writing, spelling or arithmetic. They have conditions such as
Perceptual handicap, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia or
developmental aphasia;

9. Children with speech defects are those whose speech differs from the
average so far as to draw unfavorable attention to the manner of speaking
rather than to the thought conveyed;

10. Children with autism are those with developmental disabilities, the onset of
which occur before thirty (30) months of age and is marked by disturbance in
development, language and relationship with persons, activities and objects
and which may coexist with intellectual disability and epilepsy. Children
afflicted with this disorder have perceptual, cognitive communication and
social difficulties which change over time: and

11. Children with multi-handicaps are those with more than one (1) disability such
as the deaf-blind or those diagnosed with autism and intellectual disability

9) Auxiliary aids and services refer to services that are basically non-educational but
enhance on the education process of the child with special needs. These include.

1. Therapy;

2. Qualified interpretations or other effective methods of delivering materials to
individuals with hearing impairment;

3. Qualified reading, taped tests or other effective methods of delivering
materials to individuals with visual impairment;

4. Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices: and

5. Other similar services and actions or all types of aids and services that
facilitate the leaming process of people with mental disability

") Special instructional materials refer to textbooks in Braille, large type of any other
medium or any apparatus that conveys information to a student or otherwise
contributes to his learning process.

) Private sector participation refers to all forms of indispensable, substantial and
meaningful participation of private individuals, partnership, groups or entities,
community based organizations or nongovemmental organization in the delivery of
educational and rehabilitative services for students and CSN b

J) Basic education refers to kindergarten, at least six (6) years of elementary education
at least four (4) years of junior High School and at least two (2) years of Senior High
School.

*) Inclusive Education refers to the act of providing all students, including those with
Significant disabilities, equitable opportunities to receive effective educational
services, with the needed supplementary aids and support services. in age
appropriate classrooms in their neighborhood schools, in order to prepare. students
for productive lives as full members of society.


education
™) Regular school refers to elementary/secondary school, public or Private, providing
Wratnuction and education services that does not focus primarily on special education,
vocational/technical education, or alternative education
") Functional literacy refers to the level of literacy necessary for the student or child to
Pecome a useful citizen and an effective member of society

SECTION 5. Coverage — This Act shall cover all students and CSN nationwide.

‘The BSPED shall consist of three (4) divisions namely: (a) the Gifted Children Division; (b)
the Children with Disabilities Division (COD), (c) the Special Services and Auxiliary Aids
Division (SSAAD), and ( d) Children With Special Needs Assessment Division.

Each division shall be headed by a Division Chief with the staffing needs to be
equitably distributed in accordance with the current needs and concems of his respective
division. The Division Chief shalll assist the Director of the ‘Special Education program

(c) Produce appropriate teaching materials for CSN: and
(d) Conduct assessment of CSN
It shall also be the responsibilty of SPED centers to assist, facilitate and monitor the
‘ransfer/admission of qualified CSN to post-secondary or tertiary eclucatien institutions

SECTION 8. SPED Center Personnel - Each SPED center shail be headed by an assistant
Principal. He/She shall:
(2) Administer and supervise the programs on alternative education and early
intervention;
(©) Monitor, supervise and provide technical assistance, training and
enhancement program to SPED personnel;
(c) Manage the referral and placement procedures; and
(d) Oversee the other components of the SPED Program,


The assistant principal shall also be responsible for the formation and supervision of
the placement committee as well as in the resolution of disagreements of placement and
services,

There shall also be at least one specialized teacher for each SPED center who can
handle CSN who may include, but shall not be limited to, those with visual impairment
hearing impairment, autism, leaming disabilities, behavioral problems, multiple disabilities,
‘mental retardation/handicap and mental giftedness.

A regular teacher currently handling special education of CSN shall henceforth be
classified as SPED teacher.

SECTION 9. Placement Committee - The administrative core placement committee of the
SPED centers shall consist of:

{a) One (1) educational psychologist or psychometrician;

(b) One (1) physical therapist;

(c) One (1) occupational therapist;

(d) One (1) speech and language therapist/speech correction teacher: and

(e) One (1) education supervisor.

The placement committee shall ensure that CSN are properly diagnosed, assessed
when admitting students to determine whether they are eligible for SPED services. They
shall design an appropriate educational program for the students to optimize their functional
literacy. The placement committee shall also evaluate the student in the end of the school
year to determine the possibility of integration to mainstream education.

They shall be jointly tasked to develop and maintain a data bank in special education

in their respective jurisdictions, and prepare and submit an annual report to the regional
offices of the DepEd who shall, in turn, submit regional reports to the Bureau. The placement
committee shall, in consultation with and active participation of parents among others,
ensure that student with disabilities are educated as close as possible to their homes and
alongside their age-appropriate peer groups, and that these students attend their local
school or travel the shortest distance to avail educational services.
SECTION 10. itinerant SPED Teachers — An itinerant SPED teacher shall also be appointed
whenever necessary. He/She shall assist isolated or remote schools with specialized
equipment, individual programs curriculum adjustment, teaching aids and. building
modifications.

SECTION 11. Hospital SPED Teachers - SPED centers shall also designate a hospital
SPED teacher should the necessity arise. He/She shall provide hospital instruction, bedside
tutoring and group instructions for CSN confined in medical facilities. Such services are
fecommended for CSN with severe medical conditions that prevent them from attending
school,

SECTION 12. Authority of the Secretary of Education to Give Grants to or Enter into
Cooperative Arrangement for the Creation of SPED Center - The Secretary of Education is
hereby authorized to give grants to or enter into cooperative arrangement or contracts with
Public or private nonprofit agencies, institutions or organizations for the establishment o-
Creation of SPED centers for CSN or for programs such as the following
a. Technical assistance to SPED centers;
5. Training of professionals or related services personnel who are preparing to
serve of are serving CSN;
© Replication of successful innovative approaches in providing educational
related services to CSN; .
d. Facilitation of parental involvement in the education of their CSN.
@. Diagnosis and educational evaluation of CSN;
f Consultative, counseling and training services for the families of CSN: or


9. Familiarization of the municipality or city being served by SPED center with
the problems and potentialities of such children,

SECTION 13. Continuing Research to Identify Needs of CSN — The Bureau, by itself or in
Pesociation with such organizations or institutions as determined by the DepEd Secretary, to
be appropriate, shall undertake continuing research to identify and design programs that
shall meet the full range of needs of CSN: Provided, that such continuing research shall also
be utilized to develop instructional techniques for use by the SPED centers that will improve
the CSN's acquisition of skills necessary for transition to independent living, vocational
training or competitive development; Provided further, that such continuing research. shall
be used to design physical education and therapeutic program for use by the centers to
increase the potential of CSN for community participation

SECTION 14. Student Assistance - The Bureau shall provide financial assistance to
peonomically marginalized students with special needs at the elementary and secondary
levels which may come in the form of scholarship grants; allowances for transportation, food,
Poard and lodging, and books; student loan programs, artistic and cultural tours: training
Programs, subsidies and other incentives.

Marginalized disabled persons and those coming from indigenous communities shall
be the priority in the grant of the aforesaid assistance. Special equipment like wheelchairs
crutches, special toilet and hygiene requirements, hearing aids, eye glasses and such other
assistive devices required by the student to optimize education and participation in the
educational process shall also be provided for free or at discounted and affordable rates in
General through a reasonable funding scheme that shall be designed by the DepEd

SECTION 15. Medical Assistance ~ The Bureau shall prepare a scheme that will ensure
adequate and free medical assistance and intervention programs, including those essential
{o the student or child's rehabilitation like therapy, psychometric assessments, medical
examinations and the like with govemment clinics, hospitals and other health facilities. in
case the medical services are not offered by the nearest or accessible government health
facility or cannot be obtained by reason of critical immediacy, or needs a more specialized or
advanced treatment, CSN shall be entitled to twenty percent (20%) discount from services of
any private hospital or clinic: Provided, that these private hospitals and clinics may claim the
cost as tax credit,

SECTION 16. Nutritional Programs — The nutritional programs for CSN shall be supervised
by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination
with the LGU health officers,

SECTION 17. Establishment of Specialized Day Care Centers — Day care centers especially
designed for preschool children and their parents where early identification of disabilities and

SECTION 18. Recreational and Artistic Opportunities — The Bureau shall institute a program
for CSN that will afford them full Opportunities for safe and wholesome recreation and
activities, individual as well as group, for optimal use of their leisure hours and for the
advancement of their physical, mental, social and cultural development

SECTION 19. Remuneration and Benefits - The SPED teachers and school administrators
managing SPED centers and special schools shall be appointed to a similar position that is


at least one (1) salary grade higher than that of a regular teacher and school administrator,
respectively.

The DepEd shall enhance the right of the teachers/instructor to professional
advancement and ensure that the teaching staff will attract the best available talents through
adequate remuneration, scholarship and training grants, teacher exchange programs,
incentives and allowance and other means of securing job satisfaction and fulfillment as well
as their long stable tenure in their respective posts. A similar program shall be designed for
Support personnel like interpreters, psychologist, social worker and others also involved in
the education and rehabilitation of the child.

The DepEd shall identify at least one (1) leading institution or university in Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao whose faculty is considered or regarded as highly competent in the
area of special education and where a uniform or standardized curriculum for any
Postgraduate education program shall be designed to benefit SPED teachers and other
Personnel of SPED centers. The manner of selection of such institutions shall be provided
under the implementing rules and regulations of this Act

SECTION 20. Parents, Sibling and Caregiver Education — There shall be formal training and
counseling program for parents, siblings and caregivers of CSN for them to acquire a
working knowledge on special education, gain an understanding of the psychology of CSN
and be aware of their crucial role as educators so that they can maximize their knowledge
and skills for optimum development of the potentials of the child

SECTION 21. Special instructional Materials ~ Publishers shall grant the DepEd through te
SSMD the authority to transcribe adopted instructional materials into Braille, large type and
audio-tape without penalty or payment of royalty.

Furthermore, on or before the second (2nd) working day after the adoption of
textbook titles by the DepEd, each publisher of newly adopted instructional materials shall
Provide computerized files as specified by the DepEd which may be copied and distributed
upon request to a schoo! division for instructional purposes

Copies of these instructional materials shall be furnished without cost to either the
student or teacher who is blind or visually impaired. The materials are to be loaned to the
Public schoo! district and are to be retumed when no longer needed

SECTION 22. Incentives to Private Sector Participation — Partnership between the
goverment and private institution catering to the needs of CSN shall be encouraged. All
profits and income generated by the SPED center derived from its fundamental function as
an educational institution shall be exempt from income tax. Any donation, contribution, and
grants which may be made to the center shall be exempt from donor's tax and the same
shall be considered as allowable deduction from the gross income in the computation of the
income tax of the donor in accordance with the provisions of the National Intemal Revenue
Code of 1997, as amended: Provided that such donations shall not be disposed of
transferred or sold. Economic, technical and cultural hooks and/or publications shall be
imported duty free upon certification by the DepEd that such imported books and/or
Publications are for economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical or
cultural purposes, in accordance with the provision of the tariff and customs code. as
amended.

SECTION 23. Local Government Unit Participation ~ The LGUs shall be responsible for the
following:
a. Provision of building or centers which are CSN-friendly and sites where there
are no existing school facilities that may be used for the special education of
CSN, as well as the establishment of day care pursuant to section 15 hereof:
». Organization of one (1) parent-teacher association for CSN in every school
offering special education in their respective jurisdiction:


¢. Identification, coordination and the tapping of public or private volunteer and
Private organizations, national or international, for information disseminatfon
campaigns, funding programs and other projects to augment the funding for
SPED programs and equipment among others; and

d. Provision of counterpart funds for training and seminars of parents and
teachers, and nutritional programs for the CSN in their respective localities to
be determined by the DepEd, in coordination with the Department of Budget
and Management (DBM) and the Department of Finance (DOF).

SECTION 24. Public Information, Education and Communication — A nationwide information
dissemination campaign on the prevention, early identification and intervention programs for
CSN shall be intensified. This shall be the joint responsibility of the Philippine information
Agency (PIA), the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council and the DepEd,
in collaboration with the DOH and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall
also disseminate materials and information concerning effective practices in working with,
training, and educating CSN

SECTION 25. Appropriations ~ The Secretary of the Education shall immediately include in
the Department's programs the implementation of this Act, the funding of which shall be
included in the Annual General Appropriations Act

SECTION 26. Implementing Rules and Regulations — The Secretary of Education, in
Coordination with the Secretaries of the DBM, the DSWD, the Department of Interior and
Local Government (DILG), the DOH, the DOF and the heads of the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR), the ECCD Council and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA),
shall promulgate and issue the necessary guidelines for the creation and operation of SPED
centers within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this Act

SECTION 27. Separability Clause — If, for any reason, any provision or part of hereof is
declared invalid, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and
effect.

SECTION 28. Repealing Clause — Alll laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations
contrary to or inconsistent with the provision of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SECTION 29. Effectivity — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its Publication in
two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,