EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS: )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B.

House Bill No. 1859
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 schoo! 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

RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ
Ce


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez oe

House Bill No, 1859

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,

2). 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

4) 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.

SEC. 3. Comprehensive Reforms Program. - The Secretary of Education, hereinafter
teferred 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 learning 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 schoo! 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
{or reporting to the Secretary on the results of those evaluations.

SEC. 5, Additional Activities -

(4) 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;

(c) 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

(e) 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,