It Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 3311

Introduced by REP. CAMILLE A. VILLAR

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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is enunciated in the Philippine Constitution that the State shall give priority
to education,’ that all citizens shall have the right to quality education at all levels,
and that appropriate steps should be taken by the government to make such
education accessible to all.”

The constitutional guarantee of “accessibility of education” intends for no one
to be left behind and thus, it necessarily applies to children and youth with special
needs (CYSNs) as well.

And so, in keeping with the said constitutional guarantee, Republic Act (RA)
No. 7277, as amended or the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability provides that
“The State shall ensure that disabled persons are provided with access to quality
education and ample opportunities to develop their skills. It shall take appropriate
steps to make such education accessible to all persons with disability.”° and that
“The State shall establish, maintain and support complete, adequate and integrated
system of special education for the visually impaired, hearing impaired, mentally

* article II, Section 17 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
? article XIV, Section 1 of .
* article 12 of RA No. 7277, as amended

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retarded persons and other types of exceptional children in all regions of the
country.

The attached bill, which seeks to establish inclusive education learning
resource centers for children and youth with special needs (CYSNs) in all public
school divisions nationwide, is intended to give realization to the obligations of the
government under the said constitutional guarantee and RA No. 7277, as amended.
The bill comprehends the different or unique nature of the needs of CYSNs; and
thus, it provides learning strategies and programs that will appropriately educate
CYSNs, nurture their potentials, and prepare them well for their adult living,
community life and complete integration into society.

Hence, | recommend the early approval of the bill.
Cumbia quo
CAMILLE A. VILLAR

Representative
Lone District, Las Pifias City

“ article 14 of RA No. 7277, as amended


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3311
House Bill No.

Introduced by REP. CAMILLE A. VILLAR

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;

c) 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

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9)

h)

Sec.

a)

b)

c)

d)

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schedules, physical education requirements, and other pertinent
considerations;

Support learning institutions, especially higher learning 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.

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;


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

g) 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;

i) 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,
principals/administrators, non-teaching staff of the school, and
caregivers as primary sources of care, development, education and
advancement of children and youth with special needs;

1) 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 learners 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


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

d) 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
person's body and features of the society in which he lives as well as the difficulties
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 learners by increasing participation in learning, 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
children. It focuses on the achievement of high quality education for all learners and
the all-encompassing development of more inclusive societies.

f) Individual Education Program (IEP) — refers to the systematic, purposive
and developmental educational programming of curricular and instructional priorities
and contents designed to meet a learner'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
learner'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.

g) Learning Resource Center — refers to a teaching/learning 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,

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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.

h) 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.

i) 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.

j) 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.

1) 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.


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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
learners 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 learner'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 (I) 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;

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


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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;

(5) Other similar 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:


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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;

d) 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;

9) 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
groups.
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 re-assessment 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, concerned 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

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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
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.

d) 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.

f) Local Government Units (LGUs) - The LGUs shall allocate a portion of
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 hereof;

(2) Identification, 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;


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(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;

c) 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;

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

f) 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.

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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

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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
and skills to fully participate in developing the potentials of children and youth with
special needs.

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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 shall 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 concerned 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,

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