FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
“st Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
mr
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Introduced by Representative Ben P.

EXPLANATORY

OTE

Studies show that in the last ten years, around 4,000 experienced Filipino teachers
have left the country and decided to teach in other parts of the world, That figure does not
even include those teachers who went to other countries to become domestic helpers, care
aivers, nurse aides, etc, This leaves tens of thousands of young Filipinos bereft of their
chance to enjoy their right to have quality education,

There is a need to intensify recruitment of Filipinos to become elementary and
secondary teachers most especially in far-flung areas and indigenous communities
Moreover, better training for these teachers is required as it is what the teachers know
that will be passed on to their students. Hence, it is also of great importance that the
government pays close attention to strengthening our teacher preparation programs.

To help the national government mect the need to recruit and train highly qualified
teachers, this bill seeks to mandate the government to 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.

Trends show that by 2015, around 18 million teachers will be needed by the fi
World countries across the globe. And needless to say. many are already eyeing on th
need of other parts of the world. But we must also be reminded that we, as a nation, also
have needs of our own.

Hence, immediate appro sought.

VARDONE
Representative, Lone District of Fastern Samar

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(B) Fifty Seven Million Pesos (P57,000,000.00) for each succeeding fiscal
year and such sums as may be necessary for each of the four (4) succeeding fiscal
Years to carry out the program of Recruiting New Teachers for Underserved areas
under part B.

PART 1-LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS,

SECTION 4. Definitions. - As used in this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(A) The term ‘lead i
educational institution that--
(1) Operates an exemplary teacher preparation program of
significant size in one or more areas of teacher preparation, which may
include the preparation of principals and other educational administrators;
(2) Desires to assist other institutions of higher education in
improving their programs and to serve as a national model for effective
teacher preparation; and
(3) Places ‘a significant percentage of its teacher preparation
graduates in teaching positions in urban and rural communities with
concentrations of children from low- income families.
‘A lead institution may participate in a consortium with one or more
two-year colleges with which it has articulation agreements relating to
teacher preparation.
(B) The term ‘lighthouse partnership’ means a partnership of a lead institution,
partner institution, and the government, particularly educational agencies, that is
dedicated to improving the quality of teacher preparation programs. Within each
partnership, the lead institution shall act as the fiscal agent for the grant

(C) The term ‘teacher preparation program’ means a program operated by an
institution of higher education that prepares students to obtain initial teacher licensure
and to teach in elementary and secondary schools provided as free, public education.

stitution’ means a state university or even a private

SECTION 5. Grants to Lighthouse Partnerships. -
(A) Grants Authorized. -

(1) From funds appropriated under section 3, for this part for each fiscal
year, the Secretary shall make competitive grants to lighthouse partnerships.

(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations therefore, each grant under
paragraph (1) shall be for a period not to exceed five (5) years.

(3) The Secretary shall-

(a) Make continuation awards, for the second and succeeding
years, only afier determining that the partnership is making satisfactory
progress in carrying out the grant; and

(b) Conduct an intensive review of the partnership’s progress, with
the assistance of outside experts, before making the continuation award for
the fourth year of the grant.

(B) Limitation. - No partnership may receive more than two (2) grants under this
part.



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SECTION 6. Pre-applications and applications.-

(A) Pre-Applications. - Each lead institution that wishes to participate in a
lighthouse partnership that will apply for a grant under this part shall submit a pre-
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require, except that the lead institution need not identify
the other members of the partnership until it submits an application under paragraph (1)
The Secretary shall use a peer process to review these pre-applications,

(B) Applications Required. -Any lighthouse partnership desiring to receive a grant
under this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(C) Contents. -Each application shall include-

(1) A description of the teacher preparation program operated by the lead
institution, including information on the curriculum, the faculty, and the number
and characteristics of students serve;

(2) Evidence of the quality of the institut
covering-

1n’s teacher preparation program

(a) The extent to which the institution provides a coherent program
that-
(i) Reflects the best of what is known, from research and
practice;
(ii) Prepares teachers to implement research-based
. instructional programs of demonstrated effectiveness and to teach
students, particularly those in high- poverty schools, to high State
and local content standards; and
(iii) Reflects high standards of teaching

(b) The commitment of the institution to its program of teacher
preparation;

(c) The connections between the institution's teacher preparation
program and its departments or schools of arts and sciences, to ensure the
integrity of pedagogy and content in teacher preparation;

(d) The extent to which the institution operates a clinically based
teacher preparation program, particularly in high-poverty schools, through
which prospective teachers participate in intensive, structured clinical
experiences, with extensive ty involvement, throughout their
preservice education, and the extent to which those experiences are
integrated into the curriculum;

(e) The extent to which the institution’s program offers continuous

ial years in the classroom;

() 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 swdents 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 prograi

(g) The success of the institution in preparing teachers to teach
individuals from diverse populations effectivel

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(h) The extent to which the institution is preparing teachers to use
technology to teach children using high standards;

(i) The record of the institution's teacher prepa
attracting and graduating a diverse student body, inch
and enrollment of individuals who are differently-abled;

(j) The procedures the institution uses to measure the quality of its
teacher preparation program, including the extent to which graduates
improve their subject matter knowledge and teaching ability as a result of
their participation in the program, and to improve its program, using
information generated through those procedures;

(k) The success of the program in graduating students who are
fully qualified to teach to high standards in the region served by the
institution;

(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 and other school administrators, and of
the success of that program; and

(n) Involvement and leadership of the institution in national,
regional efforts to improve teacher education and licensure;

(3) Evidence of the extent to which-

(a) Graduates have taken teaching positions in urban and rural
schools in communities with concentrations of students from low-income
families;

(b) The institution reeruits and serves students such as education
paraprofessionals from those communities;

(4) Evidence of the experience of the lead i

tion program in
1g the recruitment

stitution in creating or

participating in networks with other institutions fo improve the quality of teacher
preparation programs;

(5) A description of how the partnei

hip will operate a program under this

part, including-

(a) A description of the governance structure that the partnership
will establish (through a written partnership agreement) for the grant,
which shall include the active involvement of high-level administrators of
the lead institution and representatives of-

(i) Both the teacher preparation program and the school or
department of arts and sciences in the lead institution;

(ii) The partner institutions involved with the grant;

(iii) Local educational agencies, including teachers and
other school-level officials, served by the lead institution and one
or more of the partner institutions; and

(iv) Officials with authority over teacher licensure and
teacher preparation in the region in which the lead institution and
one or more of the partner institutions are located.



teachers it is preparing for positions it
income families, and to increase the diversity of elementary and secondary teachers, cach
partnership selected to receive a grant under this part shall use the grant funds for each of
the following purposes:

(b) A description of how the partnership will fully engage local
educational agencies in the activities carried out under the grant, including
how the partnership will use grant funds to address the teacher training
needs of the local educational agencies that are members of the
partnership.

SECTION 7. Uses of Funds. - In order to increase the quality and number of
urban and rural areas with concentrations of low-

(A) Further development, refinement, assessment of, and dissemination of
information on, the teacher preparation programs operated by the lead institution,
including activities that document, for other institutions nationally and for policy-
makers, effective practices in teacher preparation and that produce curricular and
other materials for use by other institutions preparing teachers.

(B) Technical assistance by the lead institution to the partner institutions
in improving the pariner institutions’ teacher preparation programs and, if
applicable, their principal and other administrator preparation programs, based on
the experience of the lead institution and the particular needs of the partners.

(C) Making subgrants to the partner institutions for 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 purpos

(D) Joint activities with the local educational agencies in the partnership,
and with other local educational agencies, that increase the involvement of
classroom teachers and school administrators in the design and implementation of
teacher preparation programs operated by the lead and partner institutions and
thereby make those programs more responsive to the needs of teachers and
axlministrators, and other activities fo improve teaching and administration, and to
support new teachers, in the high-poverty schools of those local educational
agencies.

(E) Cooperation and interaction with other lighthouse partnerships and
with other institutions, organizations, and public agencies, on activities aimed at
the improvement of teacher preparation nationally, including tmprovement of
teacher licensure and re-licensure requirements.

(F) Assessment of the effectiveness of the activities carried out under the
grant, including the extent to which the partnership is achieving its goals.

SECTION 8. Selection of Application
(A) Peer Review. - The Secretary shall, using a peer review process, select
is to receive grants under this part on the basis of-
(1) The quality of the teacher preparation program operated by the
lead institution in a proposed partnership;
(2) The quality of the partnership's plan for carrying out activities
under the grant; and

applica



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(3) the capacity of the lead institution and its partners to carry out
the proposed activities successfully. .
(B) Criteric
(1) In selecting grantees under this part, the Secretary shall seek to
ensure that--
. (a) lighthouse partnerships represent a variety of
approaches to ieacher preparation;
(b) Lead institutions represent a variety of institutions of
higher education; and
(©) There is an equitable geographic distribution of awards,
(2) In addition to complying with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
give special consideration to applicants for-
(a) Projects that are likely to have the most significant
impact on the quality of teaching in high-poverty urban and rural
schools;
(b) Projects that are likely to result in improvement of
teacher preparation in the areas of mathematics and reading; and
(©) Projects that are likely to prepare a significant number
of minority individuals, including language minority individuals,
and individuals with disabilities to be effective teachers
(€) Second Five-Year Grants. - In selecting grantees to receive second
grants under this part, the Secretary shall give a preference to applicants whose
projects have resulted in-
(1) The placement and retention of a substantial numb
quality. graduates
school

er of high=
n teaching positions in underserved, high-poverty

(2) The adoption of effective teacher preparation programs,
particularly those meeting the needs of high-poverty urban and rural areas,
by the partner institutions; and

(3) Effective partnerships with elementary and secondary schools
that are supporting improvements in student achievement.

SECTION 9. Evaluation. - The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of the

program carried out under this part, including an assessment of such issues as-

(A) the extent to which the activities carried out through Lighthouse

Partnership grants result in significant and positive changes in the teacher
preparation programs operated by partner institutions, as well as improvements in
the programs operated by lead institutions, that are likely to lead to improvements
in teaching and learning;
(B) the extent to which Lighthouse Partnership grants enhance the
effectiveness, including the technological proficiency, and the diversity, of
students completing teacher preparation prog nstitutions of higher
education participating in the grants; and

(C) the involvement of elementary and secondary schools and school
districts serving concentrations of children trom low. smilies in activities
carried out under this part, and the extent to which those activities result in
benefits to those schools and districts, including information on the extent to

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Which involvement in the grants improves the instructional programs and the
educational outcomes for students in those schools and districts.

SECTION 10. National Activities. “The Secretary may reserve up to five percent
(5%) of the funds appropriated to carry out this part for any fiscal year for-

(A) Peer review of applications;

(B) Evaluation of the program and measure of its effectiveness,

(C) Conferences and networks of lighthouse partnerships, and other
entities, in order to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas among the
participating parmerships and other institutions, agencies and_ individuals,
including recipients of funds under part B of this title, who are interested in the
improvement of teacher preparation and parallel improvements in principal and
administrator preparation: and

(D) Technical assistance and other activiti
program carried out under this part or of the teacher education more generally.

PART B--RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS FOR UNDERSERVED AREAS.

SECTION 11. Program Authorized. - From funds appropriated to carry out this
part, the Secretary shall make competitive grants to eligible applicants for programs that-
(A) Provide scholarships and, as necessary, support services for students
with high potential to be effective teachers;
(B) Increase the quality and number of teachers nationally; and
(©) Increase the ability of schools in underserved areas to recruit a
qualified teaching staff.

SECTION 12. Definitions, -As used in this part, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(A) The term “eligible applicant’ means a partnership of-
(J) An institution of higher education that grants baccalaureate degrees
and prepares teachers for their initial entry into the teaching profession; and
(2) One or more local educational agencies that are in underserved areas,
(B) The term ‘support services’ includes-
(J) Academie advice and counselin
(2) Tutorial services;
(3) Monitoring; and
(4) Child care and transportation, if funding for those services cannot be
arranged from other sources.

SECTION 13, Grant Conditions,
(A) Grants Authorized.

(1) The S
eligible applicants.

(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations therefore, each grant under
paragraph (A) shall be for a period not to exceed five (5) years.

(3) The Secretary shall

wy shall carry out this part by making competitive grants to


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under this part shall submit an appl
information as the Secretary may require.

(a) Make continuation awards, for the second and succeeding
years, only after determining that the grantee is making satisfactory
progress in carrying out the grant; and

(b) Conduct an intensive review of the grantee’s progress, with the
assistance of outside experts, before making an award for the fourth year
of the grant.

(4) No partnership may receive more than two (2) grants under this
subsection.
(B) Planning Grants. -

(1) The Secretary may make planning grants to eligible applicants that are
not yet ready to implement programs under paragraph (A).

(2) Each planning grant shall he for a period of not more than one year,
Which shall be in addition to the period of any grant under paragraph (A)

(3) Any recipient of a planning grant under this subsection that wishes to
receive a grant under paragraph (A)(I) shall separately apply for a competitive
grant under that subsection.

SECTION 14. Grant Applications. -
(A) Applications Required. ~ Any eligible applicant desiring to receive a grant
jon at such time, in such form, and containing such

(B) Application Contents, -Each application for a grant shall include--

(J) A designation of the institution or agency, within the partnership that
will serve as the fiscal agent for the grant;

(2) Information on the quality of the institution’s teacher preparation
program, which may include the types of information and how the applicant will
ensure, through improvements in its teacher preparation, practices and other
appropriate strategies, that scholarship recipients will receive high-quality
preparation;

(3) A description of the assessment the institution, the local educational
agency partners, and other partners have undertaken

(a) To determine
(i) The most critical needs of the local educational
agencies, particularly the needs of schools in high-poverty areas,
for new teachers which may include teachers in particular subject
areas or at certain grade levels, including the pre-kindergarten
level, minority teachers, and teachers who are disabled who will
contribute to the diversity of the local educational agency's
teachers, or teachers who are fluent in languages spoken by
students in the local educational agency; and
(ii) How the project carried out under the grant will
address those needs; and
(b) That reflects the input of all significant entities in the
community (including organizations representing teachers and parents)
that have an interest in teacher recruitment, preparation and induction;

(4) A description of the project the applicant will carry out with the grant,

including information on-



(a) The recruitment and outreach efforts the applicant will
undertake to publicize the availability of scholarships and other assistance
under the program;

(b) The number and types of students that the applicant will serve
under the program, which may include education  paraprofessionals
seeking to achieve full teacher certification; teachers whom the partner
local educational agencies have hired under ‘emergency certification’
procedures; or former military personnel, mid career professionals, who
desire to enter teaching;

(©) 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 certifica
requirements, and become effective teachers;

(d) The activities the applicant will carry out under a grant,
including a description of, and justification for, any support services the
institution will offer to participating students;

(e) The number and funding range of the scholarships the
institution will provide to students; and

’ (The procedures the institution will establish €or entering into,
and enforcing, agreements with scholarship recipients regarding their
fulfillment of the service commitmen

(5) A description of how the institution will use funds provided under the
grant only to increase the number of students with high potential /o 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 successful transition of those recipients into
teaching; and

(7) A description of the applicant’s plan for institutionalizing the activities
it is carrying out under this part, so that those activities will continue once funding
ceases.

SECTION 15. Use ofFunds. -Each grantee shall use the funds granted for the
following:

(A) Scholarships to help students pay the costs of tu
expenses of completing a teacher preparation program.

(B) Support services, if needed to enable scholarship re
secondary education programs.

(C) Follow-up services provided to former scholarship recipients during their
three (3) years of teaching.

ion, room, board, and other

nts to complete post-

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(D) Payments to partner local educational agencies, if needed to enable them to
permit paraprofessional staff to participate in teacher preparation programs such as the
cost of ‘release time” for those staff; and

(E) If appropriate, and if no other funds are available, payin;
additional courses taken by former scholarship recipients during their
years of teaching.

the costs of
ial three (3)

SECTION 16. Selection of Applicants. -
(A) Peer Review. ~ The Secretary, using a peer review process, shall select
applicants to receive funding under this part on this part on the basis of--

(1) The quality of the teacher preparation program offered by the
institution;

(2) The quality of the program that would be carried out under the
application; and,

(3) The capacity of the partnership to carry out the grant suecessflly.

(B) Criteria. -

(J) In making selections, the Secretary shall seek to ensure that-

(a) In the aggregate, grantees carry out a variety of approaches to
preparing new teachers; and
(b) There is an equitable geographic distribution of awards.

(2) In addition to complying with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give
special consideration to applications most likely to result in the preparation of
increased numbers of individuals with high potential for effective teaching who
are minority individuals, including language minority individuals, and individuals

| With disabilities; and
(C) Second Five-Year Grants. - In selecting grantees to receive second grants
under this part, the Secretary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects have
resulted in-

(1) The placement and retention of a substantial number of high-quality
graduates in teaching positions in underserved, high-poverty schools;

(2) The adoption of effective programs that meet the teacher preparation
needs of high-poverty urban and rural areas; and

(3) Effective partnerships with elementar
supporting improvements in student achievement.

and secondary schools that are

SECTION 17. Duration and Amount of Assistance; Relation to Other Assistance.

(A) Duration of Assistance. -No individual may receive scholarship assistance
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

under thi

SECTION 18. Scholarship Conditions. - A recipient of a scholarship under this
part shall continue to receive that assistance only as long as he or she i

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(A) Enrolled as a full-time student and pursuing a course of study leading to
teacher certification, unless he or she is working in a public school as a paraprofessional,
or as a teacher under emergency credentials while participating in the program; and

(B) Maintaining satisfactory progress as determined by the institution.

SECTION 19. Service Requirements.

(A) Requirement. - Each partnership receiving a grant under this part shall enter
into an agreement, with each student to whom it wards a scholarship under this part,
providing that a scholarship recipient who completes a teacher preparation program under
this part shall, within five (5) years of completing that program, teach full-time for at
least three (3) years in a high-poverty school in an underserved geographic area or repay
the amount of the scholarship, under the terns and conditions established by the
Secretary.

(B) Regulations. - The Secretary shall prescribe regulations relating to the
requirements of paragraph (A), including provisions for waiver of those
requirements,

SECTION 20, Evaluation. - The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of the
program carried out under this part, which shall assess such issues as-

(A) Whether institutions taking part in the partnerships are successful in preparing
scholarship recipients to teach;

(B) Whether scholarship recipients are successful in completing teacher
preparation programs, becoming fully certified teachers, and obtaining teaching positions
in underserved areas, and whether they continue teaching in those areas over a period of
years;

(C) The national impact of the program in assisting local educational agencies in
underserved areas to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse, high-quality teachers in the areas
in which they have the greatest needs;

(D) The long-term impact of the grants on teacher preparation programs
conducted by grantees and on grantees” relationships with their partner local educational
agencies and other partners; and

'(E) The relative effectiveness of different approaches for preparing new teachers
to teach in underserved areas, including their effectiveness in preparing new teachers to
teach to high content and performance standards.

SECTION 21. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise
affected shall remain valid and subsist

SECTION 22. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to
or inconsistent with, the provisions of this Act 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,
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