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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS,

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HoUSE BILLNo. 320 ' SILLS aND INDEX SERVIOE

Introduced by Representative MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS

AN 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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Education is for everyone. It is the most powerful weapon to change the
world. It should not discriminate and must be inclusive. Thus, children with special
needs are no different from other children as they require more attention and
consideration from everyone around him including the government.

Government programs on inclusiveness should not only dwell on proximity but
shall also include the availability of trained educators and equipped caregivers that
will oversee the accomplishment of the program

This proposal intends to institutionalize the establishment of special education
centers for children with special needs in all public school divisions in the country. It
is aimed at providing for a medium to meet the needs of children with special
concerns and offer opportunity for their full integration in society, as well as facilitate
their active participation in the affairs of the State

With the foregoing, passage of the bill is earnestly sought

Alii |
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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 320

Introduced by Representative MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS

AN 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 Act shall be known as the “Special Education (SPED)
Centers Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Itis 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. The State recognizes
their vital role in society and endeavors to include their needs as an integral part of

national development strategies

Itis 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 Wl; Section 13, Article XIII; and Sections 1 and 2,
paragraphs 1 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


1 required to ensure their effectivity. All children with special needs, in any degree of
2 sensory, physical or intellectual disability or need, shall therefor have the opportunity
3 to be developed in the most enhancing environment, consistent with the provision of
4 a quality education that best meets their needs.

6 SEC. 3. Objectives. - SPED Centers shall pursue the following

8 (a) Provide children with special needs access to basic education
9 through the formal system and other alternative delivery services in
10 education;

u (b) Facilitate the inclusion and integration of children with special needs
rey into the mainstream education in accordance with the United
b Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabililies, and
4 the Incheon Strategy to Make the Rights Real for Persons With
15 Disability in Asia and the Pacific;

16 (c) Develop, implement and oversee the Individual Education Program;
7 (d) Ensure that children with special needs fully develop their potentials
18 toward self-sufficiency and become more effective partners in the
9 affairs of the country;

2 (e) Ensure that children with special needs understand, appreciate and
a respect differences amongst groups and members of society, and

to understand the nature of the society in which they live;
(f) Identify gifted and talented children from ages three (3) to sixteen
4 (16);

25 (g) Provide parents with information on the full continuum of SPED
26 services and possible placement options for their children, and thus
7 enable them to make informed choices and decisions;

28 (h) Support the role of parents by training and equipping them with
2» capabilities to identify, prevent, refer or intervene with the
30 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
3 children; and



@ 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

(a) Basic education refers to meeting the basic learning needs which
Provide the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based.
't encompasses kindergarten, elementary and secondary education
as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school leamers
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:


(3) 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
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 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-of-
hearing. Deaf persons are those whose hearing is
nonfunctional for ordinary purposes in life; the hard-of-
hearing have a defective sense of hearing but are still
functional with or without a hearing aid;

(6) Learning disabilities - those, although normal in
sensory, emotional and intellectual abilities, have a
condition that causes impedimentimpairment in
perception, comprehension, listening, thinking, reading,
writing, spelling or arithmetic;

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

(7) Neuropsychological retardation/intellectual disability —
those who have substantial jimitation 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;

(10) Speech impairment and delays — those who have
difficulty in expressing or articulating words in a manner
understandable to others: and

(11) 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 after maximum correction.
Low vision persons retain relatively low degree of vision
and can read only enlarged print or regular print under
special conditions;

(c) 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;

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

(e) Individual 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 behaviors;

(f) 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;

(g) 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;

(h) Special education refers to the customized instructional
program/service designed to meet the unique needs of individual
leamers 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 Centers. Existing 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



1 regular schools to effectively handle the needs of children with special needs. It

2 shalt

3

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

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

7 (c) Produce appropriate teaching materials for children with special

8 needs;

9 (d) Conduct assessment of children with special needs to evaluate
0 developmental domains and specific areas of concern and

" determine grade placement;

n (e) Implement the programs of the SPED Centers such as the
3 Alternative Educational Program and the Early Intervention
4 Program;

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

8

9 (1) Language and speech therapy, occupational therapy,

20 physical and physiotherapy, among other modes of

2 therapy;

2 (2) Qualified interpretations or other effective methods of

a delivering materials;

24 (3) Qualified reading, taped tests or other effective

25 methods of delivering materials to individuals with

2% visual impairments;

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

28 (5) Appropriate classroom accommodation;

» (6) Other similar services and actions or all types of aids

30 and services that facilitate the learning process of

u children with special needs; and

2 (7) Assist, facilitate and monitor the transfer or admission

2 of qualified children with disabilities to post-

M 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 complement:

(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;

(6) 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:

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

(2) One (1) Physical Therapist;

(3) 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 and 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 Enter 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 following

(a) 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;

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

(e) Diagnosis and educational evaluation of children with special
needs;

(f) Consultative, counseling and training services for the families of
children with special needs; and

(g) 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 scholarship 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:

(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 specified 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 amended: 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

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
schoo! 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
(c) 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. - A 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

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 issue the necessary guidelines for
the creation and operation of SPED Centers 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. Effectivity, - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication

in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved,