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

RECEIVED ©

pave; 19, SEP 204g
ie

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, _ 3646
Introduced By; REPRESENTATIVE MAGNOLIA ROSA C. ANTONINO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to establish Special Education (
Children with special needs in all public schools divisions
standards and guidelines

ED) Centers for
and to provide for

In view of the grave importance of this measure, the House of
Representatives favorably acted on it during the 16 Congress with
numerous authors, including this humble representation. However, due to
some reasons, it was not enacted into law. There is a need therefore to re-file
this bill in response to the persistent clamor of various sectors of society
which greatly understand the predicament of Children with special needs.

Our Constitution is replete with provisions giving priority to
education; not only to make education accessible to all but also to uphold
the right of citizens to quality education that the government gives the
highest budgetary priority to education.

It is sad to note however that notwithstanding the numerous
Constitutional guarantees, our education authorities have not initiated to
establish Special Education (SPED] Centers for Children with special needs
as they have concentrated their efforts only to ordinary children depriving in
the process children with special needs from impoverished families.

The paramount objective of this important piece of legislation is to
provide free education to children with special needs during their formative
years regardless of economic status in life,

In view of the foregoing reasons, the a
sought.

of this bill is

arnestly

Pave LIA as .NTONINO
Representative
Fourth District, Nueva Ecija

Gh



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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Ses

Introduced By: REPRESENTATIVE MAGNOLIA ROSA C. ANTONINO

ACT
ESTABLISHING SPECIAL EDUCATION (SPED) CENTERS FOR CHILDREN
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIVISIONS,
PROVIDING FOR STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES, AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This
“Special Education (SPED) Centers Act of 2016”.

shall be known as the

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ Wis hereby declared the policy of the State to
protect and promote the rights of children with special needs to quality education and to take
appropriate steps to make such education accessible to them, It is also the policy of the State
to fully support their welfare and development, ensure their full integration in society, as well
as facilitate their active participation in the affairs of the State, Towards these ends, and
pursuant to the 1987 Constitution specifically: Section 13, Article Il; Section 13, Article XII;
and Sections | and 2, paragraphs | and 3, Article XIV, Article 3 of Presidential Decree No
603 (The Child and Youth Welfare Code); and Sections 12, 13 and 14 of Republic Act No.
7277 (Magna Carta for the Disabled), the State shall institutionalize an adequate and relevant
educational program for every child with special need through the establishment of SPED
Centers and the provision of vital support mechanisms required to ensure their effectivity. All
children with special needs, in any degree of sensory, physical or intellectual disability or need,
shall therefore have the opportunity to be developed in the most enhancing environment,
consistent with the provision of a quality education that best meets their needs.

SEC. 3. Objec
following:
{a} Provide children with special needs access to ba
through the formal system and other alternative delivery servic
education;
{b) Facilitate the inclusion and integration of children with special needs
into the mainstream education in accordance with the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, and the Incheon

ives. - The SPED Centers shall pursue the

cation
s in



Strategy to Make the Rights Real for Persons With Disability in Asia and the

?acific;

(c)_ Develop, implement and oversee the Individual Education Program;
(d) Ensure that children with special needs fully develop their potentials

toward self-sufficiency and become more effective partners in the affairs of
the country;
(ce) Ensure that children with special needs understand, appreciate and
respect differences amongst groups and members of society, and to
understand the nature of the society in which they live;

( Identify gifted and talented children from ages three (3) to sixteen
(16);
(g) Provide parents with information on the full continuum of SPED

services and possible placement options for their children, and thus enable
them to make informed choices and decisions;

(h) Support the role of parents by training and equipping them with
capabilities to identify, prevent, refer or intervene with the developmental
disorders and disabilities of children;

(i) Train, equip and educate teachers and other caregivers as primary
sources of care, development, education and advancement of children; and
(i) Create significant and positive changes in community attitudes
towards disability and the need to provide special education and proper care
for children with special needs.

SEC.4. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, the following
terms shall mean:

(a) Basic education refers to meeting the basic learning needs which
provide the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It
encompasses kindergarten, elementary and secondary education as well as
alternative learning systems for out-of-school learners and those with
special needs;

(b) Children with special needs refer to children who are gifted or
talented, or with neuropsychological retardation, learning disabilities,
emotional or behavioral disorders, speech and language disorders, hearing
impairments, visual impairments, autism, physical or health disabilities,
deaf-blindness and multiple handicapping conditions and are in need of
special education as well as services for rehabilitation. They differ from the
average children in neuropsychological characteristics, sensory 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. They may be classified
as children with exceptionalities such as the following:

(1) Autism = those with developmental disabilities 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 that change over time;

2) Behavior problems ~ those who cannot adjust to the socially-accepted
norms of behavior and consequently disrupt their academic progress, the
learning efforts of their classmates, and their interpersonal relations;

G) Gifted or talented - those who are capable of superior
performance including those with demonstrated achievement or potential
ability in one (1) or more of the following areas: general intellectual ability,
specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking ability,
leadership ability, ability in the visual or performing arts and psychomotor
ability; or those individuals who consistenuy 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 a high degree of motivation}; and those who, by
reason thereof, require services or activities not ordinarily provided by a
school;

(4) Hearing impairment ~ those who are deaf or hard-ol-hearing. Deaf
persons are those whose hearing is nonfunctional for ordinary purposes in

life; the hard-of-hearing have a defective
functional with or without a hearing aid;

(8) Learning disabilities - those, although normal in sensory, emotional
and intellectual abilities, have a condition that ~— causes
impediment/impairment in perception, comprehension, listening, thinking,
reading, writing, spelling or arithmetic;

(6) Multiple disabilities - those with more than one (1) disability
such as the deaf-blind or those diagnosed with autism and intellectual
disability;

(7) Neuropsychological retardation/ intellectual disability — those who
have substantial limitation in present functioning characterized by
significant sub-average intellectual functioning coexisting with other
limitations in two (2) or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas:
communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use,
self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work;

(8) Orthopedic/ physical disabilities. - those whose impairment
permanently or temporarily cause difficulty in mobility and all activities of
daily life;

(9) Special health problems those who have health conditions that
tend to keep them out of school, or those with chronic and/or debilitating
illnesses such as cardiac disease, asthma, diabetes, tuberculosis and other
respiratory ailments, carcenonza, epilepsy and malnutrition;

sense of hearing but are still

(10) Speech impairment and delays those who have difficulty in
expressing or articulating words in a manner understandable to others; and
(1) Visual impairment ~ 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 afte!
maximum correction. Low vision persons retain relatively low degree of
vision and can read only enlarged print or regular print under special
conditions;


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

(a) Impairment refers to any loss, diminution or aberration of
psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function;

(e} Individuai Education Program 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 learning of target skills and behavior
(h Learning differences refer to any of the following:
(1) A physical or mental or sensory and intellectual impairment that
substantially limits one or more psychological, physiological, anatomical,
sensory or intellectual function of an individual;

(2) A record of such an impairment; or
(3) Being regarded as having such an impairment;
(2) Private sector participation refers to all. forms of indispensable,

substantial and meaningful participation of private _ individuals,
partnerships, groups or entities, community-based organizations or
nongovernmental organizations, in the delivery of educational and
rehabilitative services for children with special needs;
(hy Special education refers to the customized — instructional
program/service designed to meet the unique needs of individual learners
who differ from societal or community standards of normalcy because of
differences due to significant physical, sensory, neuropsychological,
cognitive or behavioral characteristics that may necessitate the use of
specialized materials, equipment, services and/or teaching strategies. It is
geared towards the integration of children with special needs into the
mainstream education; and

(i) Special instructional materials refer to textbooks in Braille, large type
or any other medium or apparatus, that convey information to a student or
otherwise contributes to the learning process.

SEC.5. Establishment of SPED Centers for Children With Special
Needs in all Public Schools Divisions. ~ A SPED Center for children with
special needs shall be established in all public schools divisions nationwide
where there are no existing SPED Center isting SPED Centers shall
continue to function and additional ones shall be established where the
need arises due to increased number of enrollees, upon the recommendation
of the Schools Division Superintendent and the approval of the Secretary of
the Department of Education (DepED).

All SPED Centers and facilities shall be compliant with the requirements of
Batas Pambansa Big, 344 or the Accessibility Law.

SEC. 6. Functions of a SPED Center. - The SPED Center shall
function as a resource center that shall assist in promoting inclusive
education as to capacitate regular schools to effectively handle the needs of
children with special needs. It shall:



6

(a) Support children with special needs so that they could be
integrated /included in regular schools;

(b) Conduct school-based training of children with special needs;

(c}_ Produce appropriate teaching materials for children with special
needs;

(d) Conduct assessment of children with special needs to evaluate

developmental domains and specific areas of concern and determine grade
placement;

(ce) Implement the programs of the SPED Centers such as the
Alternative Educational Program and the Early Intervention Program;

0) Provide auxiliary aids and services, or services that are basically
noneducational, but which enhance the education process of the child with
special needs. ‘These services include:

(1) Language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical and
physiotherapy, among other modes of therapy;

(2) Qualified interpretations or other effective methods of delivering
materials;

(3) Qualified reading, taped tests or other effective methods of delivering
materials to individuals with visual impairments;

(4) Acquisition or modification of equipment or device:

(5) Appropriate classroom accommodation;

(6) Other similar services and actions or all types of aids and services
that facilitate the learning process of children with special needs; and

(7) Assist, facilitate and monitor the transfer or admission of qualified
children with disabilities to post-secondary or tertiary education
institutions.

SEC.7. Staffing and Responsibilities. — In addition to teachers
with special training to handle children with special needs, each SPED
Center shall have a Program Director, an Administrative Core and Placement
Committee and itinerant SPED teachers as manpower complemen

(a) Program Director — The Program Director shall:

(1) Head the SPED Center;

(2) Administer and supervise the SPED Center programs;

(3) Oversee the other components of the special education program;

(4) Monitor, supervise and provide technical assistance, training and
enhancement programs to SPED personnel;

(5) Issue procedures for referrals and placement;

(6) Form and supervise the placement committee; and

(7) Resolve disagreements on placement and services.

(b) Administrative Core and Placement Committee The Placement

Committee shall, in consultation with and active participation of parents
and developmental pediatrician among others, ensure that students with
disabilities are educated by appropriate qualified personnel as close as
possible to their homes and alongside with their age-appropriate peer
groups. It is also tasked to develop and maintain a databank on special
education in its respective jurisdiction. This Committee shall be composed
of:

6


(1) Any one (1) of the following: Developmental Pediatrician,
Neurological Psychiatrist, Educational Psychologist or Psychometrician;
(2) One (1) Physical Therapist;

G) One (1) Occupational Therapist;

(4) One (1) Speech and Language Therapist /Speech Correction Teacher;
(5) One (1) Reading Specialist; and

(6) The SPED Center Program Director,

(c) _ Itinerant SPED Teachers ~-  Itinerant SPED teachers shall be

appointed whenever necessary. ‘They shall share responsibility for program
planning and scheduling, and assist isolated or remote schools with
specialized equipment, individual programs, curriculum adjustment,
teaching aids and building modifications, They shall likewise reach out to
children with special needs who have accessibility and mobility limitations.

SEC. 8. Remuneration ancl Benefits for SPED Center Personnel. ~
The salary grades of SPED teachers and Program Directors managing the
SPED 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 right of the teachers/instructors to
professional advancement and ensure that the SPED Centers shall attract
the best available teaching staff and talents through adequate
remuneration, scholarship and training grants, teacher exchange programs,
incentives and allowances and other means of securing their job satisfaction
and fulfillment as well as their long and stable tenure in their respective
posts. A similar program shall be designed for support personnel to include
interpreters, psychologists and social workers involved in the education and
rehabilitation of children with special needs.

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 post-graduate education
program shall be designed to benefit SPED teachers and other personnel of
SPED Centers. The manner of selection of such institution shall be provided
under the rules and regulations to be formulated to implement the
provisions of this Act.

SEC.9. Authority of the Secretary of Education to Give Grants to, or
Rnter Into Cooperative Arrangements for the Creation of SPED Centers. ~ The
Secretary of Education is hereby authorized to give grants to, or enter into
cooperative arrangements or contracts with public or private nonprofit
agencies, institutions or organizations for the establishment or creation of
SPED Centers or the implementation of programs such as the followin,
fa) Technical assistance to SPED Centers;

(b) ‘Training of professionals or related services personnel including all
regular teachers who are preparing to serve or are serving children with
special needs for inclusion and mainstreaming:



(c) Replication of successful innovative approaches in providing
educational or related services to children with special needs;

(4) Facilitation of parental involvement in the education of their children
with special needs;

(c) Diagnosis and educational evaluation of children with special needs;
() Consultative, counseling and training services for the families of
children with special needs; and

(2) Familiarization of the municipality or city being served by a SPED

Center with the problems and potentialities of such children

SEC. 10. Continuing Research to Identify the Needs of Children 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 with special
needs: Provided, That such continuing research shall also be used to develop
instructional techniques for use by the SPED Centers towards improving the
children’s acquisition of skills necessary for their transition to independent
living, vocational training or competitive development: Provided, further,
That such continuing research shall be used by the DepED in designing a
physical education and therapeutic recreation program to be used by the
SPED Centers to increase the potential of the children for community
participation.

SEC. 11. Student Assistance. - The DepED shall provide financial
assistance to the marginalized or disadvantaged children with special needs
at the elementary and secondary levels which may come in the form of
sholarship grants; allowances for transportation, food, lodging and books;
student loan programs; artistic and cultural tours; training programs;
subsidies; and other incentives, These include those who lack access to
rehabilitative services and educational opportunities due to being poor, as
defined in Republic Act No. 8425, otherwise known as the ‘Social Reform
and Poverty Alleviation Act”, have been abandoned, are ill, or are neglected.

Marginalized or disadvantaged children with special needs coming
from indigenous communities shall be given priority in the grant of
assistance

Special equipment like wheelchairs, crutches, special toilet and
hygiene requirements; hearing aids, eyeglasses and such other assistive
devices required by the students to optimize education and participation in
the educational process shall also be provided for free or at discounted rates
to deserving students, and at very affordable rates, in general, through a
reasonable funding scheme that shall be designed by the DepED.

SEC. 12. Recreational and Artistic Opportunities. ‘The DepED
shall institute a program for children with special needs that will afford
them full opportunities for:



9

(a) Safe and wholesome individual as well as interactive group
recreation and social activities;

(b) Optimal use of their leisure hours; and

(c) Advancement of their physical, mental, social and cultural
development.

SEC. 13. Special Instructional Materials. — Publishers shall grant
the DepED the authority to transcribe adopted instructional materials into
Braille, large type and audio-tape, without penalty or payment of royalty in
accordance with Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the “Intellectual
Property Code of the Philippines”. Further, a publisher 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 computerized files as
specilied by the DepED which may be copied and distributed upon request,
to a Schools Division for instructional purposes.

Copies of these instructional materials shall be furnished without cost to
either the children with special needs or the teacher who is handling their
instruction.

SEC. 14. Incentives for Private Sector Participation. — Partnership
between the government and private institutions catering to the needs of
children with special needs shall be encouraged. All revenues generated by
the SPED Center in public elementary and secondary schools, owned,
operated and controlled by the DepED shall be exempt from income tax. Any
donation, contribution, bequest and grant which may be made to the SPED
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 Republic Act
No, 8424, otherwise known as the “National Internal Revenue Code of 1997”,
as amendes Provided, That such donations shall not be disposed of,
transferred or sold. Economic, technical and cultural books and
publications shall be imported duty-free upon certification by the DepED
that such imported books and publications are for economic, technical,
vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical or cultural purposes, in
accordance with the provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code, as amended

SEC. 15. Establishment of Specialized Day Care Centers. - Day
care centers especially designed for pre-school children and their parents,
where early identification of disabilities and special needs and introductory
educational and intervention programs will be administered, shall also be
established near or within existing SPED Centers, or in other Centers that
shall be created by the DepED with the support of the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD] and the local government unit (LGU) in
the area. As far as practicable, the use of existing day care centers and
facilities shall be maximized



10

SEC. 16. Nutritional Programs, - The National Nutrition Council
(NNC) shall determine and prescribe appropriate nutritional programs for
children with special needs for implementation by the Department of Health
(DOH) and the DepED.

SEC. 17. Parent, Sibling and Caregiver Education. - A formal
training and counseling program shall be developed through joint efforts of
the DepED, the DSWD and the LGUs to equip parents, siblings and
caregivers of children with special needs with a working knowledge of special
education, an understanding of the psychology of children with special
needs, and the awareness of their crucial role as educators so that they, in
turn, can maximize their knowledge and skills to fully develop the potentials
of children with special needs.

SEC. 18. Local Government Unit Participation. - The LGUs may
make use of their SPED Fund for the following:
{a) Provision of sites, buildings or centers where there are no existing

school facilities that may be used for the special education of children with
special needs, as well as the establishment of a day care center pursuant to
Section 15 hereof;

(b) Identification, coordination and the tapping of public or private
volunteers and private organizations, national or international, for
information dissemination campaigns, funding programs and other projects
to augment the funding for SPED programs and equipment, among others;
and

(ce) Provision of counterpart funds for nutritional programs and the
training and seminars of parents and teachers, nutritional programs for
children with special needs in their respective localities that would be
initiated by the DepED, in coordination with the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) and the Department of Finance (DOF|

SEC. 19. Public Information, Education and Communication. ~
nationwide information dissemination campaign on the prevention, early
identification and the strategic intervention programs for children with
special needs shall be intensified. This shall be the joint responsibility of the
Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the Council for the Welfare of Children
(CWC) and the DepED. Likewise, the DepED, in collaboration with the DOH
and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), shall disseminate
materials and information concerning effective practices in working with,
training and educating children with special needs.

SEC. 20. Appropriations. - The Secretary of the DepED. shall
immediately include in the Department’s program the implementation of this
Act, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act

10


SEC, 21. Implementing Rules and Regulations, - The DepED, in
coordination with the DSWD, the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG), the DOH, the DOF, the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR), the CWC and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), shall
promulgate and i the necessary guidelines for the creation and
operation o ers within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this
Act

SEC. 22. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, a provision or
part hereof is declared invalid, other provisions not affected thereby shall
remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders,
rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this
‘Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 24, _Bffectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
alter its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.

Approved,