SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session )

12 DEC 201
tae

DATE:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr
House Bill No6 835

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Article 15, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides:

“The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to
quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make
‘such education accessible to all.”

Recent studies have shown that the quality and rigor of the secondary school
program of study is the most effective predictor of success in post-secondary
education

Unfortunately, most high school institutions in the country are ill-equipped to
provide relevant and quality education.

‘And with the enactment of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, or the
K-to-12 Act, which establishes a “universal kindergarten” and introduces Grades 11
and 12 to high school education in public and private schools, a stronger secondary
high school program becomes all the more important. The K to 12 Program aims to
Provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong leamers,
and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development,
‘employment, and entrepreneurship.

‘Students will have to complete the extra education to qualify for university
Hence, this bill seeks to structure reforms in secondary education in order to
provide students with effective schools that -

a) have high academic and behavioral standards for their students;

b) clearly communicate standards and provide students with the
necessary support and opportunities to meet those standards;

©) connect students to adults in meaningful ways;

d) connect students to possible futures in college and the workforce; and

e) provide families with useful information about how their children are
doing and about their futures

MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR.


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House

ill No.
AN ACT

INTRODUCING EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND SUPPORTING THE PLANNING

AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN SECONDARY

INSTITUTIONS

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 “High-School Reform
Act.”

‘SEC. 2. Purposes. - The purposes of this Act are to —

1) support the planning and implementation of educational reforms in high
schools, particularly in urban and rural high schools that educate students
from low-income families, in order to help students at risk of failing to meet
challenging standards, by strengthening curriculum and instruction, offering
extended learning opportunities and providing professional development
‘opportunities to school staff,
support the further development of educational reforms, designed specifically
for high schools, that -

a. help students meet challenging standards; and

b. increase connections between students and adults and provide safe

learning environments.

3) create positive incentives for serious change in high schools, by offering
rewards to participating schools that achieve significant improvements in
student achievement; and
increase the national knowledge base on effective high school reforms by
identifying the most effective approaches and disseminating information on
those approaches so that they can be adopted nationally,

2)

4)

SEC. 3. Comprehensive Reforms Program. - The Secretary of Education,
hereinafter referred to as the Secretary through the use of appropriated funds, shall
develop and innovate a comprehensive reforms program to be applied to all
secondary schools nationwide, that shall critically assess and evaluate existing
curricula, programs and activities, ensuring that the same are in conformity with the
Principles and components provided in Section 4

SEC. 4. Principles and Components of Educational Reforms -

(a) Principles. - Each high school, through the supervision of the Secretary,

shall ensure that the reforms to be adopted are designed so that each assisted high
school -

(1) is a place where students receive individual attention and support,

through such strategies as creating smaller leaming environments,


such as “schools within schools” and career academies and providing
students with counselors and mentors;

(2) provides all students in the school with challenging coursework,
aligned with content and performance standards, through such
strategies as the use of technology to enhance academic instruction
and the establishment or expansion of international baccalaureate
programs or advanced placement programs;

(3) is a place where students are motivated to learn, through such
strategies as applied learning and linking the arts, music and cultural
‘opportunities with the school, both during and after the normal school
day;

(4) enables students to receive an education that is continuous and
Integrated, through such strategies as partnerships with institutions of
higher education;

(5) helps students achieve their educational and career goals, through
such strategies as integrated academic and vocational instruction that
connects students with career opportunities; and

(6) functions as a center for the community, through such strategies
as increasing the involvement of parents, employers and others in the
community.

(b) Required Components. - In order to institutionalize the principles
described in subsection (a), the Secretary of Education shall appropriate funds to
implement research-based educational reform strategies for eventual implementation
throughout the entire school that -

1 in the case of a school with a school wide program,
build on and improve the school wide reform program;
2. address the needs of students who are at risk of failing

to be promoted to the next grade or to graduate, including —
a) covering material that students need to master
in order to pass mandated entrance exams; and
b) strengthening curriculum, instruction and
assessments and by offering extended learning
‘opportunities such as after school, weekend and
summer programs;
3. make full and effective use of the resources that the
school receives under other programs of the department;

4 make use of outside experts in high school reform,
unless it can be shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that
the school's reform strategy can be implemented effectively
without outside assistance;

5. include professional development of school staff,
including development of the skills needed to use student
achievement and other outcome data to refine and improve the
educational reform strategy; and

6. provide for collecting data on, and evaluating, the
reforms and for reporting to the Secretary on the results of
those evaluations.

SEC. 5, Additional Activities -

(1) The Secretary may select a random sample of schools to participate in an
incentive-based experiment, under which the Secretary makes incentive payments to
teachers and administrators in the grantee schools if, after three (3) years of program


participation, their students demonstrate significant gains in student educational
outcomes.
(2) The Secretary may -

(a) recognize high schools and high school reforms that show
outstanding results;

(b) disseminate information on those schools and reforms;

(©) carry out other activities to encourage the spread and adoption of
successful high school reform strategies;

(d) facilitate the creation of networks among participating schools and
local educational agencies, which may include schools and local educational
agencies interested in meeting the purpose of this part; and

(€) pay the costs of the peer review of applications under this part.

(3) The Secretary may reserve funds to evaluate activities carried out under
this Act

SEC 6. Funding. - For the purpose of carrying out this Act, the appropriation of such
amount as may be necessary is hereby authorized.

SEC 7. 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 subsisting

SEC. 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or
inconsistent with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended
accordingly.

SEC. 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
Publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,