Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

EIGTHEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. nee

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ALFRED VARGAS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Children have a right to education regardless of any difficulties or
differences they may have. This right is granted not only by the Philippine
Constitution but also by the Magna Carta of Persons with Disabilities !, and the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)?,
ratified in the country in 2008. But according to the Department of Education
(DepEd), only 2 percent of the 5.49 million children with special needs (CSN) are
getting government assistance? and 97 percent of aged 7 to 12 years old are not
in school. There are some parents who tend to keep their CSN out of school
because of the fear that their children may be subjected to bullying and
discrimination. In addition, drop-out rates among CSN are relatively high
because special education (SPED) is often too expensive for an average Filipino
familyS. As a result, most parents of CSN find it difficult to send their child to
school.

This bill, patterned after the 15th Congress’ House Bill No. 6547, primarily
seeks to make special education more accessible to CSN, and facilitate their
inclusion and integration with mainstream education. These objectives shall be
achieved, first, through the creation of a Bureau of Special Education under the
DepEd. This Bureau shall be responsible for the formulation of an appropriate
curriculum and developmentally-suited programs to achieve functional literacy
for all CSN.

This proposed legislation also mandates the establishment of SPED
centers in all regular schools - at least one (1) SPED center for each school

* sections 12-17 of RA 7277

2 article 24 of UNCRPD

3 Jess Diaz, (2012) Angara wants schools for special children. The Philippine Star. [Online) Available from:
hnttp://www. philstar.com/headlines/2012/10/29/861349/angara-wants-schools especialechildren [Accessed 23
September 2013]

4 ABS-CBN News. (2010) DepEd to Congress: Poss Special Education Act. (Online) Available from:

ai seit .com/lifestyle/06/03/10/DepEd-congress-pass-special-education-act [Accessed 21 September
5 Leonard Cheshire Disabilty Philippine foundation. inclusive Education. [Online( Available from:
jnesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/brochures/iebrochure.pdf [Accessed 21 September



division and at least three SPED centers in big school division. These SPED
centers shall provide for the effective implementation of inclusive education. CSN
taught in an inclusive environment will believably achieve better academic
results, learn to overcome the challenges of their disability, become more
confident of their abilities, and be able to make strong relationships within their
peers. Inclusive education also benefits able-bodied children as they become
more aware and sensitive to the needs of CSN, thus instilling in them the values
of acceptance, fairness and equality.

This bill also recognizes the role that the family plays in the development
of the aptitude of CSN. Thus, the bill offers formal training and counselling
program for parents, siblings and caregivers of CSN. To ease their financial
ordeals, the bill also allows the DepEd to prepare schemes for financial and
medical assistance to indigent CSN.

Lastly, the bill provides incentives to private institutions that team up
with the government in advancing the education and rehabilitation of CSN.

To help CSN nurture and reach their full potential, ensure their

participation in society, and empower them to contribute to the development of
the nation, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

LFRED VARGAS


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

EIGTHEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

~ 0614
HOUSE BILL NO.

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ALFRED VARGAS

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

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

SECTION 1. Title -This Act shall be known as the "Special Education
(SPED) Act of 2019."

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(a) Disability refers to any of the following:

(1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one
(1) or more psychological, physiological or anatomical function
of an individual or activities of such individual;

(2) a recorded of such an impairment; or

(3) being regarded as having such impairment.

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

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

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

(e) Marginalized/disadvantaged persons with disabilities refer to disabled

person who lack access to rehabilitative services and educational

opportunities due to poverty, abandonment illness and other forms of
neglect. For the purposes of this Act, the word "poor" refers to persons
who either have no means of livelihood or have incomes below the
poverty threshold as determined by National Statistical Coordination

Board (NSCB).

Children with special needs (CSN) refer to those who are gifted or are

fast learner; and those who are disab'led, impaired or handicapped and

in need of special education as well as services for rehabilitation. They

(


differ from the average children in mental characteristics, sensory
abilities, neuromuscular or physical characteristic and social
attributes, to such an extent that requires the use of modified school
practices or special education services to develop them to maximum
capability. They may be classified as follows:

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

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

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

(4) Children with hearing impairment are those who are deaf or
hard-of-hearing, Deaf person are those whose hearing are non-
functional for ordinary purposes in life. The hard of hearing
have a defective sense of hearing that functional with or
without a hearing aid;

(5) Children with behavior problems are those who cannot adjust
to the socially accepted norms of behaviour and, consequently
disrupt their academic progress, the learning efforts of their
classmates and interpersonal relations;

(6) Children with orthopaedic/physical handicap are those whose
impairment permanently or temporarily interferes with the
normal functions of the joints, muscles or limbs;

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



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

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

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

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

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

(1) Therapy;

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

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

(4) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and

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

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

Private sector participation refers to all forms of indispensable,

substantial and meaningful participation of private individuals,

partnership, groups or entities, community based organizations or
nongovernmental organization in the delivery of educational and
rehabilitative services for students and CSN

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

(id) Inclusive Education refers to the act of providing all students, including
those with significant disabilities, equitable opportunities to receive
effective educational services, with the needed supplementary aids and
support services, in age appropriate classrooms in their neighborhood

(i


schools, in order to prepare students for productive lives as full
members of society.

(1) Special education (SPED) refers to basic education that takes into
account the special needs of both disabled children and gifted children.
This is a systematic and deliberate process that enables CSN to achieve
functional literacy and the highest level of their individual potential
and capacity. It is also defined as the type of education tailored to meet
the needs of children who cannot profit because of exceptional
abilities, SPED is geared towards integration of CSN with mainstream
education.

(m) _ Regular school refers to elementary/secondary school, public or
private, providing instruction and education services that does not
focus primarily on special education, vocational/technical education,
or alternative education.

(n) Functional literacy refers to the level of literacy necessary for the
student or child to become a useful citizen and an effective member of
society.

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

SECTION 6. Creation of the Bureau of Special Education. - For the objectives of
this Act to be realized, the Bureau of Special Education (BSPED), hereinafter
referred to as the Bureau, is hereby created to institutionalize and govern the
conduct of special education in the Philippines. The Bureau shall be responsible
for the formulation and administration of an appropriate curriculum and
developmentally-suited programs to achieve functional literacy of CSN and
ensure their integration to society. The full continuum of educational services
shall also be made available by the Bureau to CSN below school age through
regular home visits, consultations, day care activities, and any other medium and
program.

The Bureau shall function as a regular bureau of the Department of
Education, under the supervision of the Department Secretary and to be headed
by a Bureau Director (Director IV) and an Assistant Bureau Director (Director III).

‘The BS PED shall consist of three ( 4) divisions namely, (a) the Gifted
Children Division; (b) the Children with Disabilities Division (COD), (c) the
Special Services and Auxiliary Aids Division (SSAAD), and (d) Children With
Special Needs Assessment Division. Each division shali be headed by a Division
Chief with the staffing needs to be equitably distributed in accordance with the
current needs and concerns of his respective division. The Division Chief shall
assist the Director of the Special Education program.

SECTION 7. SPED Centers in Regular Schools -At least one (1) SPED center for
each school division and at least three (3) SPED centers in big school divisions
shall be established in regular schools, where there are no existing SPED centers.
The designated principal of the regular school shall administer the SPED centers.


The SPED center shall function as the resource center for the
implementation of inclusive education that will accept all kinds of children on
regular school. It shall: :

(a) Support CSN to be integrated /included in regular school;
(b) Conduct school-based training of CSN;

(c) Produce appropriate teaching materials for CSN; and

(d) Conduct assessment of CSN

It shall also be the responsibility of SPED centers to assist, facilitate and
monitor the transfer/admission of qualified CSN to post-secondary or tertiary
education institutions.

SECTION 8. SPED Center Personnel. -Each SPED center shall be headed by an
assistant principal. He/She shall:

(a) Administer and supervise the programs on alternative education and early
intervention;

(b) Monitor, supervise and provide technical assistance, training and
enhancement program to SPED personnel;

(c) Manage the referral and placement procedures, and;

(d) Oversee the other components ofthe SPED program.

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

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

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

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

(a) One (1) educational psychologist or psychometrician;
(b) One (1) physical therapist;

(c) One (1) occupational therapist;

(a) One (1) speech and language therapist/speech correction teacher; and
(e) One (1) education supervisor.

The placement committee shall ensure that CSN are properly diagnosed,
assessed when admitting students to determine whether they are eligible for
SPED services. They shall design an appropriate educational program for the
students to optimize their functional literacy. The placement committee shall also


evaluate the student in the end of the school year to dletermine the possibility of
integration to mainstream education.

They shall be jointly tasked to develop and maintain a data bank in special
education in their respective jurisdictions, and prepare and submit an annual
report to the regional offices of the DepEd who shall, in turn, submit regional
reports to the Bureau. The placement committee shall, in consultation with and
active participation of parents among others, ensure that student with disabilities
are educated as close as possible to their homes and alongside their age-
appropriate peer groups, and that these students attend their local school or
travel the shortest distance to avail educational services.

SECTION 10. Itinerant SPED Teachers. -An itinerant SPED teacher shall also be
appointed whenever necessary. He/She shall assist isolated or remote schools
with specialize equipment, individual programs curriculum adjustment, teaching
aids and building modifications.

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

SECTION 12. Authority of the Secretary of Education to Give Grants to or Enter
into Cooperative Arrangement for the Creation of SPED Center. -The Secretary of
Education is hereby authorized to give grants to or enter into cooperative
arrangement or contracts with public or private nonprofit agencies, institutions
or organizations for the establishment or creation of SPED centers for CSN or for
programs such as the following:

(a) Technical assistance to SPED centers;

(b) Training of professionals or related services personnel who are preparing
to serve or are serving CSN;

(c) Replication of successful innovative approaches in providing educational
related services to CSN;

(d) Facilitation of parental involvement in the education of their CSN;

(e) Diagnosis and educational evaluation of CSN;

(8) Consultative, counseling and training services for the families of CSN; or

(g) Familiarization of the municipality or city being served by SPED center
with the problems and potentialities of such children.

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


research shall be used to design physical education and therapeutic program for
use by the centers to increase the potential of CSN for community participation.

SECTION 14. Student Assistance. -The Bureau shall provide financial assistance to
economically marginalized students with special needs at the elementary and
secondary levels which may come in the form of scholarship grants; allowances
for transportation, food, board and lodging, and books; student loan programs;
artistic and cultural tours; training programs, subsidies and other incentives.
Marginalized disabled persons and those coming from indigenous communities
shall be the priority in the grant of the aforesaid assistance.

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

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

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

SECTION 17. Establishment of Specialized Day Care Centers. -Day care centers
especially designed for preschool children and their parents where early
identification of disabilities and special needs, and introductory educational and
intervention program will be administered, shall also be established near or
within existing SPED centers or those that will be created by the DepEd with the
support of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the
LGU in the area. As far as practicable, the use of existing day care cente-rs and
facilities shall be maximized.

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

SECTION 19. Remuneration and Benefits. -The SPED teachers and school
administrators managing SPED centers and special schools shall be appointed to
a similar position that is at least one (1) salary grade higher than that of a regular
teacher and school administrator, respectively.


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

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

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

SECTION 21. Special Instructional Materials. -Publishers shall grant the DepEd
through the SSMD the authority to transcribe adopted instructional materials into
Braille, large type and audio-tape without penalty or payment of royalty.
Furthermore, on or before the second (2nd) working day after the adoption of
textbook titles by the DepEd, each publisher of newly adopted instructional
materials shall provide computerized files as specified by the DepEd which may
be copied and distributed upon request to a school division for instructional
purposes.

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

SECTION 22. Incentives to Private Sector Participation. - Partnership between the
government and private institution catering to the needs of CSN shall be
encouraged. All profits and income generated by the SPED center derived from its
fundamental function as an educational institution shall be exempt from income
tax. Any donation, contribution, and grants which may be made to the center shall
be exempt from donor's tax and the same shall be considered as allowable
deduction from the gross income in the computation of the income tax of the
donor in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of
1997, as amended: provided that such donations shall not be disposed of,
transferred or sold. Economic, technical and cultural books and/or publications
shall be imported duty free upon certification by the DepEd that such imported


books and/or publications are for economic, technical, vocational, scientific,
philosophical, historical or cultural purposes, in accordance with the provision of
the tariff and customs code, as amended.

SECTION 23. Local Government Unit Participation. - The LGUs shall be
responsible for the following:

(a) Provision of building or centers which are CSN-friendly and sites
where there are no existing school facilities that may used for the
special education of CSN, as well as the establishment of day care
pursuant to section 15 hereof;

(b) Organization of one (1) parent-teacher association for CSN in every
school offering special education in their respective jurisdiction;

(c) Identification, coordination and the tapping of public or private
volunteer 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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Approved,