THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
) 
; 
S.B. No. 
SENATE 15'3.3 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
What teachers h o w  and can do has a critical impact 01 
Unfortunately, teachers are not receiving the initial preparation they 
children, from diverse backgrounds, to meet challenging standards. 
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student achievement. 
:ed in order to teach 
As a result of this, schools are having trouble recruiting qualified teachers. Many 
uncertain individuals annually enter teaching because schools, frequently 4ose in urban and rural 
areas with large concentrations of children from low-income families, cannot find all the certified 
and competent teachers they need. 
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The Government, by itself, cannot provide the needed improvements in tqacher 
preparation.or solve thZ-problem of 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, 
In order to achieve these goals, this bill seeks to improve and strengthen the rec 
and training of Filipino teachers, 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PNILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
S.B. No. 
sENATE1593 
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Inhoduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
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 reeain 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- 
(1) authorizing support for partnerships among institutions of higher education that 
operate exemplary teacTer.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; 
(2) 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 undeserved urban and rural communities; and 
(3) encouraging, through such partnerships, the creation of a more diverse teachin force, 
inority 
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through the recmitment and preparation of minority individuals, including’ language 
individuals, and individuals with disabilities, to enter teaching, 
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SECTION 3. Authorization ofappropriations. - 
AUTHORIZATION FOR PARTS A AND B-There 
are authorized to be appropriated- 


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(1) P50,000,000.00 for fiscal year 2005 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 
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(2) P57,000,000.00 for fiscal year 2005 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. 
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PART 1-LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS 
SECTION 4. DeJinitiom- As used in this part, the following terms have the fdllowing 
meanings: 
(1) (A) The term ‘lead institution’ means a state university or even a private educational 
institution that- 
(i) 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; 
(ii) desires to assist other institutions of higher education in improving their programs and 
to serve as a national model for effective teacher preparation; and 
(iii) places a significant percentage of its teacher preparation graduates in teaching 
positions in urban and rnral communities with concentrations of children from low-income 
families. 
(B) 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. 
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@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) desires to improve its program with assistance from a lead institution; and 
(D) prepares teachers for teaching positions in urban and rural communiti s with 
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concentrations of children form low-income families. 
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(3) 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. 
shall he for a period not to exceed five (5) years. 
(3) The Secretary shall- 
(i) make continuation awards, for the second and succeeding years, ony 
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after 
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 subsection (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. 
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(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; 
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(d) the extent to which the institution operates a clinically based teacher 
preparation program, particularly in high-poverty schools, through which pro pective 
teachers participate in intensive, structured clinical experiences, with extensive faculty 
involvement, throughout their preservice education, and the extent to whic !I. 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; 
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(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); 


0) 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; 
(1) 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 A d  other school administrators, and of the success of that program; and 
(n) involvement and leadership of the institution in national, regional efforts to 
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improve teacher education and licensure; 
(3) evidence of the extent to which- 
(a) graduates have taken teaching positions in urban and rural schools’ in 
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(b) the institution recruits and serves students (such as e ucation 
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commMities with concentrations of students from low-income families; 
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, 
inclnding- 
(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 iocal educatidnal 
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 I. Uses 0fjimds.- 
REQUIRED ACTIVITIES- 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 secondq teachers, each partnership selected to 
receive a grant under this part shall use the grant funds for each of the following purposes: 
(I) Further development, refinement, assessment of, and dissemination of information on, 
the teach; 
-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. 
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(2) Technical assistance b’y the lead institution to the partner institutions in improving the 
partner institutions’ teacher preparation programs (and, if applicable, their principal an other 
administrator preparation programs), based on the experience of the lead institution nd the 
particular needs of the partners. 
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(3) Making subgrants to the partner institutions for 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. 
(4) 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. 
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(5) Cooperation and interaction with other lighthouse partnerships and wit 
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. 
(6) Assessment of the effectiveness of the activities carried out under the grant, including 
the extent to which the partnership is achieving its goals. 
(B) lead institutions represent a variety of institutions of higher education; 
(C) there is an equitable geographic distribution of awards. 
(ii) In addition to complying with paragraph (i), the Secret& shall give 
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(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 secon 'grants 
under this part, the Secretary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects have esulted 
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(i) the placement and retention of a substantial number of high-quality graduates in 
teaching positions in undeserved, high-poverty schools; 
(ii) the adoption of effective teacher preparation programs, particularly those meeting the 
needs of high-poverty urban and rural areas, by the partner institutions; and 
(iii) 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 sqch issues as- 
(1) the extent to which the activities carried out through Lighthouse Partnership &ants 
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; 
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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 , 
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(3) 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 
information on the extent to which involvement in the grants improves the 
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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- 
(1) peer review of applications; 


(2) evaluation of the program and measure of its effectiveness; 
(3) 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 
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(4) technical assistance and other activities to enhance the success of the 
program camied out under this part or of the teacher educatio more 
generally. 
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PART B-RECRUITING 
NEW TEACHERS 
FOR UNDESERVED AREAS 
SECTION 11. Program authorized.- From funds appropriated to c a w  out this part, the 
Secretary shall make competitive grants to eligible applicants for programs that- 
(1) provide scholarships and, as necessary, support services for students with high 
potential to be effective teachers; 
(2) increase the quality and number of teachers nationally; and 
(3) increase the ability of schools in undeserved areas to recrnit a qualified teaching staff. 
SECTION 12. Definitions.- As used in this part, the following terms have the following 
meanings: 
(1) The term ‘eligible applicant’ means a partnership of- 
(i) anjnstitntion 
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of higher education that grants baccalaureate degrees and 
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prepares teachers for their initial entry into the teaching profession; and 
(ii) one or more local educational agencies that are in undeserved areas. 
(2) The term ‘support services’ includes- 
(A) academic advice and counseling; 
(D) child care and transportation, if funding for those services,cannot be a anged 
(B) tutorial services; 
(C) monitoring; and 
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(B) conduct an intensive review of the grantee’s progress, with the assistance of 
experts, before making an award for the fourth year of the grant. 
(3) No partnership may receive more than two (2) grants under this subsection. 
(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 subsection (a). 
(3) +ny recipient of a planning grant under this subsection that wishes to receive a grant 
under subsection (a) (1) shall separately apply for a competitive grant under that subsection. 
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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- 
(Iya-designatidGofthe 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; 
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(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 padicular 
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-tceachers, or teachers who-are fluent in languages spoken by students in the local 
educational agency); and 
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(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, in luding 
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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) (i) 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; 
and 
(ii) 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; 
(C) 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, 
(D) the number and funding range of the scholarships the institution will provide to 
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students; a d -  
(E) 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 the grantee institution, the local 
educational agencies, and the other partners will take to facilitate the successfid transition of 
those recijXents into teaching; and 
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(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&nds.- 
IN GENERAL- Each grantee shall use the funds granted for the following: 
(1) Scholarships to help students pay the costs of tuition, room, board, and other e penses 
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of completing a teacher preparation program. 
(2) Support services, if needed to enable scholarship recipients to complete post- 
secondaty education programs. 
(3) Follow-up services provided to former scholarship recipients during their first three (3) 
years of teaching. 
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(4) 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). 
(5) 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-. 
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(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) CkTERIA- 
(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 (I), 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 
(TSECOND-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 
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(1) the placement and retention of a substantial number of high-quality graduates in 
teaching positions in undeserved, high-poverty schools; 
(2) the adoption of effective programs that meet the teacher preparation needs 
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(3) effective partnerships With elementary and secondary schools that are sup orting 
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poverty urban and rural areas; and 
improvements in student achievement. 
SECTION 11. 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 


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IN GENERAL- A recipient of a scholarship under this part shall continue to rec ive that 
SECTIQN 18. Scholarship conditions.- 
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assistance only as long as he or she is- 
(1) 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 
(2) majntaining 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 undeserved 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 
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requiremetrts of suhsecihn (a), including any provisions for waiver of those requirements. 
SECTION 20. Evaluation.- The Secretaq shall provide for an evaluation of the program 
carried out under this part, which shall assess such issues as- 
(1) whether institutions taking part in the partnerships are successful in preparing 
(2) whether scholarship recipients are successful in completing teacher prep ration 
programs, .becoming fully certified .teachers, and obtaining 'teaching positions in unde served 
areas, and whether they continue teaching in those areas over a period of years; 
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scholarship recipients to teach; 
(3) the national impact of the program in assisting local educational agencies in 
undeserved areas to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse, high-quality teachers in the areas in 
which they have the greatest needs; 
(4) the long-term impact of the grants on teacher preparation programs conducted hy 
grantees and on grantees' relationships with their partner local educational agencies and other 
partners; and 


(5) the relative effectiveness of different approaches for preparing new teachers to teach 
in undeserved 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 in alid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 22. Repealing Clause.-Any 
law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instrnction, administrative order, rnle or regulation contraq to or inconsistent with, 
the provisions of this Act is 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. 
Fn:l157