Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
What teachers know and can do critically impact student achievement. Unfortunately, 
teachers are not adequately prepared to teach children from diverse backgrounds. 
Schools are having trouble recruiting qualified teachers. Many schools, frequently 
those in urban and rural areas with large concentrations of children from low-income 
families, cannot find all the certified and competent teachers they need.  
The Government, by itself, cannot provide the needed improvements in teacher 
preparation or solve the problem of the shortage of qualified teachers. However, the 
Government can make limited and targeted investments that: 
(A) Encourage more institutions of higher education that operate teacher 
preparation programs to adopt the practices and strategies of the best 
programs;
(B) 
Encourage a more diverse mix of Filipinos to enter teaching and complete 
high-quality preparation programs; and
(C) 
Encourage more Filipinos to serve as teachers in indigent communities.
This bill seeks to improve and strengthen the recruitment and training of Filipino 
teachers in order to achieve the aforementioned goals. 
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
October 20, 2022
1:53 pm
5636


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
AN ACT 
IMPROVING AND STRENGTHENING THE RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING 
OF FILIPINO TEACHERS 
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 “Improving the Quality of 
Teachers Act.”  
SECTION 2. Purpose. – The purpose of this Act is to help meet the national need to 
recruit, prepare, and retrain a high-quality and diverse supply of elementary and 
secondary education teachers, and to help meet the needs of schools in urban and 
rural areas with concentrations of children from low-income families, by — 
(A)
Authorizing support for partnerships among institutions of higher education 
that operate exemplary teacher preparation programs, other institutions of higher 
education seeking to improve their programs, public elementary and secondary 
schools, in order to improve the quality of the initial preparation of teachers for 
high-poverty communities; 
(B) 
Authorizing support for partnerships to increase the number and diversity of 
students who enter teacher education programs and complete high-quality 
preparation programs, and to increase the quality of teaching in underserved urban 
and rural communities; and 
(C) 
Encouraging, through such partnerships, the creation of a more diverse 
5636


 
 
teaching force, through the recruitment and preparation of minority individuals, 
including language minority individuals, and individuals with disabilities, to enter 
teaching.  
 
SECTION 3. Authorization of Appropriations. – There are authorized to be 
appropriated — 
(A)  
Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00) for the fiscal year in which this Act is 
promulgated and such sums as may be necessary for each of the four (4) succeeding 
fiscal years to carry out the program of Lighthouse Partnerships under part A; and  
 
(B)  
Fifty-Seven Million Pesos (P57,000,000.00) for each succeeding fiscal year 
and such sums as may be necessary for each of the four (4) succeeding fiscal years 
to carry out the program of Recruiting New Teachers for Undeserved areas under part 
B. 
 
PART A — LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS 
SECTION 4. Definitions. – As used in this part, the following terms have the 
following meanings: 
(A)  
The term ‘lead institution’ means a state university or even a private 
educational institution that — 
(1)  Operates an exemplary teacher preparation program of significant size in one 
or more areas of teacher preparation, which may include the preparation of 
principals and other educational administrators; 
(2)  Desires to assist other institutions of higher education in improving their 
programs and to serve as a national model for effective teacher preparation; 
and 
(3)  Places a significant percentage of its teacher preparation graduates in 
teaching positions in urban and rural communities with concentrations of 
children from low-income families. 
 
A lead institution may participate in a consortium with one or more two-year colleges 
with which it has articulation agreements relating to teacher preparation.  
 
(B)  
The term ‘lighthouse partnership’ means a partnership of a lead institution, 


 
 
partner institution, and the government, particularly educational agencies, that is 
dedicated to improving the quality of teacher preparation programs. Within each 
partnership, the lead institution shall act as the fiscal agent for the grant.  
 
(C)  
The term ‘teacher preparation program’ means a program operated by an 
institution of higher education that prepares students to obtain initial teacher licensure 
and to teach in elementary and secondary schools provided as free, public education.  
 
SECTION 5. Grants to Lighthouse Partnerships. – 
(A) 
Grants Authorized. – 
(1)  From funds appropriated under section 3, for this part of each fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall make competitive grants to lighthouse partnerships. 
(2)  Subject to the availability of appropriations, therefore, each grant under 
paragraph (1) shall be for a period not to exceed five (5) years.  
(3)  The Secretary shall — 
(a)  Make continuation awards, for the second and succeeding years, only 
after determining that the partnership is making satisfactory progress in 
carrying out the grant; and 
(b)  Conduct an intensive review of the partnership’s progress, with the 
assistance of outside experts, before making the continuation award for 
the fourth year of the grant. 
 
(B) 
Limitation. – No partnership may receive more than two (2) grants under this 
part.  
 
SECTION 6. Pre-applications and applications. – 
(A)  
Pre-Applications. – Each lead institution that wishes to participate in a 
lighthouse partnership that will apply for a grant under this part shall submit a 
pre-application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, except that the lead institution need not 
identify the other members of the partnership until it submits an application under 
paragraph (B). The Secretary shall use a peer process to review these 
pre-applications.  
 


 
 
(B)  
Applications Required. – Any lighthouse partnership desiring to receive a 
grant under this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
form, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.  
 
(C) 
Contents. – Each application shall include — 
(1) 
A description of the teacher preparation program operated by the lead 
institution, including information on the curriculum, the faculty, and the 
number and characteristics of students served; 
 
(2) 
Evidence of the quality of the institution’s teacher preparation program 
covering — 
(a)  The extent to which the institution provides a coherent program that — 
(i)  Reflects the best of what is known, from research and practice; 
(ii)  Prepares teachers to implement research-based instructional 
programs of demonstrated effectiveness and to teach students, 
particularly those in high-poverty schools, to high State and local 
content standards; and 
(iii)  Reflects high standards of teaching. 
(b)  The commitment of the institution to its program of teacher preparation; 
(c)  The connections between the institution’s teacher preparation program 
and its departments or schools of arts and sciences, to ensure the integrity 
of pedagogy and content in teacher preparation; 
(d) 
The extent to which the institution operates a clinically based teacher 
preparation program, particularly in high-poverty schools, through which 
prospective 
teachers 
participate 
in 
intensive, 
structured 
clinical 
experiences, with extensive faculty involvement, throughout their 
preservice education, and the extent to which those experiences are 
integrated into the curriculum; 
(e)  The extent to which the institution’s program offers continuous assistance 
to its graduates during their initial years in the classroom; 
(f)  The extent to which the institution’s program meets the needs of, and has 
strong connections with, elementary and secondary education (particularly 
with urban and rural schools and school systems that serve concentrations 
of students from low-income families), which may include the involvement 


 
 
of elementary and secondary educators in the continuing development, 
improvement, and implementation of the teacher preparation program; 
(g)  The success of the institution in preparing teachers to teach individuals 
from diverse populations effectively; 
(h)  The extent to which the institution is preparing teachers to use technology 
to teach children using high standards; 
(i)  The record of the institution’s teacher preparation program in attracting and 
graduating a diverse student body, including the recruitment and 
enrollment of individuals who are differently abled; 
(j)  The procedures the institution uses to measure the quality of its teacher 
preparation program, including the extent to which graduates improve their 
subject matter knowledge and teaching ability as a result of their 
participation in the program, and to improve its program, using information 
generated through those procedures; 
(k)  The success of the program in graduating students who are fully qualified 
to teach to high standards in the region served by the institution; 
(l)  The quality of the program’s graduates, as documented through such 
evidence as the graduates’ record of obtaining and retaining teaching 
positions and the opinions of school district officials, in the region, of the 
quality of those graduates; 
(m) If applicable, the quality of the instruction’s program for the preparation of 
school principals and other school administrators, and of the success of 
that program; and 
(n)  Involvement and leadership of the institution in national, and regional 
efforts to improve teacher education and licensure; 
 
(3) 
Evidence of the extent to which — 
(a)  Graduates have taken teaching positions in urban and rural schools in 
communities with concentrations of students from low-income families; 
(b) The institution recruits and serves students such as education 
paraprofessionals from those communities;  
 
(4) 
Evidence of the experience of the lead institution in creating or 
participating in networks with other institutions to improve the quality of 


 
 
teacher preparation programs; 
 
(5) 
A description of how the partnership will operate a program under this part, 
including — 
(a) 
A description of the governance structure that the partnership will establish 
(through a written partnership agreement) for the grant, which shall include 
the active involvement of high-level administrators of the lead institution 
and representatives of — 
(i)  Both the teacher preparation program and the school or department 
of arts and sciences in the lead institution; 
(ii)  The partner institutions involved with the grant; 
(iii)  Local 
educational 
agencies, 
including 
teachers 
and 
other 
school-level officials, served by the lead institution and one or more 
of the partner institutions; and 
(iv)  Officials with authority over teacher licensure and teacher preparation 
in the region in which the lead institution and one or more of the 
partner institutions are located. 
(b)  A description of how the partnership will fully engage local educational 
agencies in the activities carried out under the grant, including how the 
partnership will use grant funds to address the teacher training needs of 
the local educational agencies that are members of the partnership. 
 
SECTION 7. Uses of Funds. – In order to increase the quality and number of 
teachers it is preparing for positions in urban and rural areas with concentrations of 
low-income families, and to increase the diversity of elementary and secondary 
teachers, each partnership selected to receive a grant under this part shall use the 
grant funds for each of the following purposes: 
(A)  Further development, refinement, assessment of, and dissemination of 
information on, the teacher preparation programs operated by the lead 
institution, including activities that document, for other institutions nationally and 
for policy-makers, effective practices in teacher preparation and that produce 
curricular and other materials for use by other institutions preparing teachers.  
 
(B)  Technical assistance by the lead institution to the partner institutions in 


 
 
improving the partner institutions’ teacher preparation programs and, if 
applicable, their principal and other administrator preparation programs, based 
on the experience of the lead institution and the particular needs of the partners. 
 
(C)  Making subgrants to the partner institutions for the implementation of program 
improvements at those institutions, through adoption or adaptation of the 
teacher preparation practices of the lead institution, to meet the needs of the 
high-poverty schools in the urban and rural communities they serve. Each 
partnership shall use at least forty percent (40%) of its grant for this purpose.  
 
(D)  Joint activities with the local educational agencies in the partnership, and with 
other local educational agencies, that increase the involvement of classroom 
teachers and school administrators in the design and implementation of teacher 
preparation programs operated by the lead and partner institutions and thereby 
make those programs more responsive to the needs of teachers and 
administrators, and other activities to improve teaching and administration, and 
to support new teachers, in the high-poverty schools of those local educational 
agencies.  
 
(E)  Cooperation and interaction with other lighthouse partnerships and with other 
institutions, organizations, and public agencies, on activities aimed at the 
improvement of teacher preparation nationally, including improvement of 
teacher licensure and re-licensure requirements. 
 
(F)  Assessment of the effectiveness of the activities carried out under the grant, 
including the extent to which the partnership is achieving its goals.  
 
SECTION 8. Selection of Applications. – 
(A)   
Peer Review. – The Secretary shall, using a peer review process, select 
applicants to receive grants under this part on the basis of — 
(1) 
The quality of the teacher preparation program operated by the lead 
institution in a proposed partnership; 
(2) 
The quality of the partnership’s plan for carrying out activities under the grant; 
and 


 
 
(3)  The capacity of the lead institution and its partners to carry out the proposed 
activities successfully. 
 
(B) 
Criteria. – 
(1)  In selecting grantees under this part, the Secretary shall seek to ensure that-- 
(a)  Lighthouse partnerships represent a variety of approaches to teacher 
preparation; 
(b) 
Lead institutions represent a variety of institutions of higher education; 
and 
(c)  There is an equitable geographic distribution of awards. 
(2) 
In addition to complying with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give special 
consideration to applicants for— 
(a) 
Projects that are likely to have the most significant impact on the quality 
of teaching in high-poverty urban and rural schools; 
(b) 
Projects that are likely to result in improvement of teacher preparation in 
the areas of mathematics and reading; and 
(c)  Projects that are likely to prepare a significant number of minority 
individuals, including language minority individuals, and individuals with 
disabilities to be effective teachers. 
 
(C)  
Second Five-Year Grants. – In selecting grantees to receive second grants 
under this part, the Secretary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects 
have resulted in — 
(1)  The placement and retention of a substantial number of high-quality 
graduates in teaching positions in underserved, high-poverty schools; 
(2)  The adoption of effective teacher preparation programs, particularly those 
meeting the needs of high-poverty urban and rural areas, by the partner 
institutions; and 
(3)  Effective partnerships with elementary and secondary schools that are 
supporting improvements in student achievement.  
 
SECTION 9. Evaluation. – The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of the 
program carried out under this part, including an assessment of such issues as — 
(A)  
The extent to which the activities carried out through Lighthouse Partnership 


 
 
grants result in significant and positive changes in the teacher preparation programs 
operated by partner institutions, as well as improvements in the programs operated 
by lead institutions, that are likely to lead to improvements in teaching and learning; 
 
(B)  
The extent to which Lighthouse Partnership grants enhance the effectiveness, 
including the technological proficiency, and the diversity, of students completing 
teacher preparation programs in the institutions of higher education participating in 
the grants; and 
 
(C)  
The involvement of elementary and secondary schools and school districts 
serving concentrations of children from low-income families in activities carried out 
under this part, and the extent to which those activities result in benefits to those 
schools and districts, including information on the extent to which involvement in the 
grants improves the instructional programs and the educational outcomes for 
students in those schools and districts.  
 
SECTION 10. National Activities. – The Secretary may reserve up to five percent 
(5%) of the funds appropriated to carry out this part for any fiscal year for — 
(A) Peer review of applications;  
 
(B) Evaluation of the program and measure of its effectiveness;  
 
(C) Conferences and networks of lighthouse partnerships, and other entities, in 
order to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas among the participating 
partnerships and other institutions, agencies, and individuals, including 
recipients of funds under part B of this title, who are interested in the 
improvement of teacher preparation and parallel improvements in principal and 
administrator preparation; and  
 
(D) Technical assistance and other activities to enhance the success of the program 
carried out under this part or of the teacher education more generally. 
 
PART B—RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS 
FOR UNDERSERVED AREAS 


 
 
 
SECTION 11. Program Authorized. – From funds appropriated to carry out this part, 
the Secretary shall make competitive grants to eligible applicants for programs that — 
(A)  Provide scholarships and, as necessary, support services for students with high 
potential to be effective teachers; 
 
(B)  Increase the quality and number of teachers nationally; and 
 
(C)  Increase the ability of schools in underserved areas to recruit a qualified 
teaching staff.  
 
SECTION 12. Definitions. – As used in this part, the following terms have the 
following meanings: 
(A) The term ‘eligible applicant’ means a partnership of — 
(1) 
An institution of higher education that grants baccalaureate degrees and 
prepares teachers for their initial entry into the teaching profession; and 
(2)  One or more local educational agencies that are in underserved areas. 
 
(B) The term “support services” includes— 
(1) 
Academic advice and counseling; 
(2) 
Tutorial services; 
(3) 
Monitoring; and 
(4) 
Child care and transportation, if funding for those services cannot be 
arranged from other sources. 
 
SECTION 13. Grant Conditions. – 
(A)  Grants Authorized. – 
(1)  The Secretary shall carry out this part by making competitive grants to 
eligible applicants. 
(2)  Subject to the availability of appropriations, therefore, each grant under 
paragraph (A) shall be for a period not to exceed five (5) years.  
(3)  The Secretary shall— 
(a) Make continuation awards, for the second and succeeding years, only 
after determining that the grantee is making satisfactory progress in 


 
 
carrying out the grant; and   
(b) Conduct an intensive review of the grantee’s progress, with the 
assistance of outside experts, before making an award for the fourth 
year of the grant.  
(4)  
No partnership may receive more than two (2) grants under this 
subsection. 
 
(B)  Planning Grants. – 
(1)  The Secretary may make planning grants to eligible applicants that are not 
yet ready to implement programs under paragraph (A).  
(2)  Each planning grant shall be for a period of not more than one year, which 
shall be in addition to the period of any grant under paragraph (A). 
(3)  Any recipient of a planning grant under this subsection that wishes to 
receive a grant under paragraph (A)(1) shall separately apply for a 
competitive grant under that subsection.  
 
SECTION 14. Grant Applications. – 
(A)  
Applications Required. – Any eligible applicant desiring to receive a grant 
under this part shall submit an application at such time, in such form, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require.  
 
(B)  
Application Contents. – Each application for a grant shall include — 
(1)  A designation of the institution or agency, within the partnership that will serve as 
the fiscal agent for the grant; 
 
(2)  Information on the quality of the institution’s teacher preparation program, which 
may include the types of information and how the applicant will ensure, through 
improvements in its teacher preparation, practices, and other appropriate strategies, 
that scholarship recipients will receive high-quality preparation; 
 
(3) 
A description of the assessment the institution, the local educational agency 
partners, and other partners have undertaken — 
(a) To determine — 
(i) The most critical needs of the local educational agencies, particularly the 


 
 
needs of schools in high-poverty areas, for new teachers which may include 
teachers in particular subject areas or at certain grade levels, including the 
pre-kindergarten level, minority teachers, and teachers who are disabled who 
will contribute to the diversity of the local educational agency’s teachers, or 
teachers who are fluent in languages spoken by students in the local 
educational agency; and 
(ii) How the project carried out under the grant will address those needs; and 
(b) That reflects the input of all significant entities in the community (including 
organizations representing teachers and parents) that have an interest in teacher 
recruitment, preparation, and induction; 
 
(4)  A description of the project the applicant will carry out with the grant, including 
information on— 
(a) 
The recruitment and outreach efforts the applicant will undertake to publicize 
the availability of scholarships and other assistance under the program; 
(b)  The number and types of students that the applicant will serve under the 
program, which may include education paraprofessionals seeking to achieve full 
teacher certification; teachers whom the partner local educational agencies have 
hired under ‘emergency certification’ procedures; or former military personnel, 
mid-career professionals, who desire to enter teaching; 
(c)  The criteria that the applicant will use in selecting those students, including 
criteria to determine whether individuals have the capacity to benefit from the 
program, complete teacher certification requirements, and become effective 
teachers;  
(d)  The activities the applicant will carry out under a grant, including a description 
of, and justification for, any support services the institution will offer to participating 
students;  
(e)  The number and funding range of the scholarships the institution will provide 
to students; and  
(f)  The procedures the institution will establish for entering into, and enforcing, 
agreements with scholarship recipients regarding their fulfillment of the service 
commitment; 
 
(5) 
A description of how the institution will use funds provided under the grant only 


 
 
to increase the number of students with high potential to be effective teachers, 
participating in its teacher preparation programs, or in the particular type or types of 
preparation programs that the grant would support, or to increase the number of their 
graduates with high potential to be effective teachers who are minority individuals, 
including language minority individuals, or individuals with disabilities; 
 
(6) 
A description of commitments, by the partner local educational agencies, to hire 
qualified scholarship recipients in their schools and in the subject areas or grade 
levels for which the recipients will be trained, and a description of the actions of the 
grantee institution, the local educational agencies, and the other partners will take to 
facilitate the successful transition of those recipients into teaching; and 
 
(7)  A description of the applicant’s plan for institutionalizing the activities it is 
carrying out under this part so that those activities will continue once funding ceases.  
 
SECTION 15. Use of Funds. – Each grantee shall use the funds granted for the 
following: 
(A) Scholarships to help students pay the costs of tuition, room, board, and other 
expenses of completing a teacher preparation program. 
 
(B) Support services, if needed to enable scholarship recipients to complete 
post-secondary education programs. 
 
(C)  Follow-up services provided to former scholarship recipients during their first 
three (3) years of teaching. 
 
(D)  Payments to partner local educational agencies, if needed to enable them to 
permit paraprofessional staff to participate in teacher preparation programs such 
as the cost of ‘release time’ for those staff; and 
 
(E)  If appropriate, and if no other funds are available, paying the costs of additional 
courses taken by former scholarship recipients during their initial three (3) years 
of teaching. 
 


 
 
SECTION 16. Selection of Applicants. – 
(A) Peer Review. – The Secretary, using a peer review process, shall select 
applicants to receive funding under this part on this part on the basis of-- 
(1) 
The quality of the teacher preparation program offered by the institution; 
(2) 
The quality of the program that would be carried out under the application; 
and 
(3) 
The capacity of the partnership to carry out the grant successfully.  
 
(B)  Criteria. – 
(1) 
In making selections, the Secretary shall seek to ensure that— 
(a) 
In the aggregate, grantees carry out a variety of approaches to preparing 
new teachers; and 
(b) 
There is an equitable geographic distribution of awards.  
(2)  In addition to complying with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give special 
consideration to applications most likely to result in the preparation of 
increased numbers of individuals with high potential for effective teaching 
who are minority individuals, including language minority individuals, and 
individuals with disabilities; and 
 
(C)  Second Five-Year Grants. – In selecting grantees to receive second grants 
under this part, the Secretary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects 
have resulted in — 
(1)  The placement and retention of a substantial number of high-quality 
graduates in teaching positions in underserved, high-poverty schools; 
(2)  The adoption of effective programs that meet the teacher preparation needs 
of high-poverty urban and rural areas; and 
(3)  Effective partnerships with elementary and secondary schools that are 
supporting improvements in student achievement. 
 
SECTION 17. Duration and Amount of Assistance; Relation to Other Assistance. 
– 
(A)  Duration of Assistance. – No individual may receive scholarship assistance 
under this part for more than five (5) years of post-secondary education.  
 


 
 
(B)  Amount of Assistance. – No individual may receive an award under this program 
that exceeds the cost of attendance at the institution the individual is attending. 
 
(C)  Relation to Other Assistance. – A scholarship awarded under this part shall not 
be reduced on the basis of the individual’s receipt of other forms of student financial 
assistance; and 
 
SECTION 18. Scholarship Conditions. – A recipient of a scholarship under this part 
shall continue to receive that assistance only as long as he or she is — 
(A)  Enrolled as a full-time student and pursuing a course of study leading to teacher 
certification, unless he or she is working in a public school as a paraprofessional, or 
as a teacher under emergency credentials while participating in the program; and 
 
(B)  Maintaining satisfactory progress as determined by the institution. 
 
SECTION 19. Service Requirements. –  
(A)  Requirement. –  Each partnership receiving a grant under this part shall enter 
into an agreement, with each student to whom it wards a scholarship under this part, 
providing that a scholarship recipient who completes a teacher preparation program 
under this part shall, within five (5) years of completing that program, teach full-time 
for at least three (3) years in a high-poverty school in an underserved geographic 
area or repay the amount of the scholarship, under the terms and conditions 
established by the Secretary.  
 
(B)  Regulations. – The Secretary shall prescribe regulations relating to the 
requirements of paragraph (A), including any provisions for waiver of those 
requirements. 
 
SECTION 20. Evaluation. –  The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of the 
program carried out under this part, which shall assess such issues as — 
(A)  Whether institutions taking part in the partnerships are successful in preparing 
scholarship recipients to teach;  
 
(B)  Whether scholarship recipients are successful in completing teacher preparation 


 
 
programs, becoming fully certified teachers, and obtaining teaching positions in 
underserved areas, and whether they continue teaching in those areas over a period 
of years; 
 
(C)  The national impact of the program in assisting local educational agencies in 
underserved areas to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse, high-quality teachers in the 
areas in which they have the greatest needs; 
 
(D)  The long-term impact of the grants on teacher preparation programs conducted 
by grantees and on grantees’ relationships with their partner local educational 
agencies and other partners; and  
 
(E)  The relative effectiveness of different approaches for preparing new teachers to 
teach in underserved areas, including their effectiveness in preparing new teachers to 
teach to high content and performance standards.  
 
SECTION 21. 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.  
 
SECTION 22. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to 
or inconsistent with, the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified or 
amended accordingly.  
 
SECTION 23. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.  
 
Approved,