FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

1068

House Bill No.
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 meaningful ways;

(d) connect students to possible futures in college and the workforce;
and

(e) provide families with useful information about how their children are
doing and about their futures.

RUFUS B.ARPDRIGUEZ

“Vee
MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR.


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES =)
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No. 1068

AN ACT

INTRODUCING EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND SUPPORTING THE
PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN
SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

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

SECTION 1. Short Title, - This Act shall be known as the “High-

School Reform Act.”

2)

3)

SEC. 2. Purposes. - The purposes of this Act are to ~

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,

support the further development of educational reforms, designed
specifically for high schools, that -

(a) help students meet challenging standards; and

(b) increase connections between students and adults and
provide safe learning environments.

create positive incentives for serious change in high schools, by
offering rewards to participating schools that achieve significant
improvements in student achievement; and


4) 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, hereinafter referred to as the Secretary through the use of
appropriated funds, 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) functions as a center for the community, through such
strategies as increasing the involvement of parents, employers
and others in the community.


(0) 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;

(6) include professional development of school staff, including
development of the skills needed to use student achievement and other
outcome data 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 successful 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 funds 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. Repealing Clause. - 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.