piths Philippine institute for Development Studies Surian sa m^a Pa^-aaral Pangkaunlaran PHipinas Svwiee le-xeatcA- 18"* Floor, Three Cyberpod Centris-North Tower, EDSA comer Quezon Avenue, Quezon City Tel; 372-1291, 372-1292 • http://www.pids.gov.ph Proposed Senate Bills SBN 78 AN ACT PROVIDING FO RA SU PPO RT MECHANISM FOR IN E PROGRA S OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GEARED TOWARDS THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS By: Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano SBN 996 AN ACT INSTITUTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND ESTABLISHING SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIVISIONS, PROVIDING FOR STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR By: Sen. Win Gatchalian On Specific Sections On Section 5. Allocation of the Special Education Fund. To fulfill the intent of this Act to extend regular and sustained support for the education and well-being of children with special needs, ten percent (10%) of the proceeds of the Special Education Fund (SEF) released to the local school boards of each local government (LGU)...shall be automatically set aside by the local school board to support programs of the Department Education, done in coordination and consultation with the respective local chief executives, and the local school boards for special education centers and schools within the territorial jurisdiction of such local government unit concerned. On Section 20 Parent, Sibling, and Caregiver Education. Aformal training on counselling program shall be developed through the joint efforts of DepED, DSWD, LGUs, ECCD Council, DON, disable people's organization (DPO's), parent support organization, health professional organizations, non-government organizations (NGOs), and civilsociety organizations (CSOs) to equip Comments/Questions The efficiency of LGUs in collecting the real property tax and the income class of LGUs affect the size of SEF. In particular, fifth and sixth income class municipalities, mostly those that are mainly rural or classified as deprived, depressed, and underserved, are at a major disadvantage because the low level of real property tax values in these areas means that SEF is likewise small, and thus hardly able to augment the operations and maintenance needs of schools in their jurisdiction (Manasan et al., 2011)L Because of the potential disparities in the ability to raise funds for the SEF among LGUs, how can we ensure that low income municipalities can still provide education support for children with special needs? It should be noted as welt that NOT all LGUs have Special Education Centers/Schools. Would it be sensible to propose the establishment of at least one SPED center per legislative district? Perhaps it is also good to include the Department of Health (DOH) since there is Caregiver education in the title of section 20. Although Section 19 specifies Health and Nutrition Services and Interventions where DOH is mentioned, modules on basic health care, emergency and/or disaster preparedness can also be taught to parents and/or guardians of children with special needs. ^ Manasan, R., Celestino, A., Cuenca, J. Mobilizing LGU Support Services for Basic Education: focus on the Special Education Fund. RIDS Discussion Paper Series No.2011-07. http://dirp4.Dids.gov.Dh/ris/dps/pidsdpsll07.pdf COMMENTS ON SENATE BILLS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION
Transcript
piths Philippine institute for Development Studies
Proposed Senate BillsSBN 78 AN ACT PROVIDING FO R A
SU PPO R T MECHANISM FOR IN E
PROGRA S OF THE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION GEARED TOWARDS
THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE
INTERESTS OF CHILDREN WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS
By: Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano
SBN 996 AN ACT INSTITUTING
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND
ESTABLISHING SPECIAL
EDUCATION CENTERS FOR
CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS IN ALL PUBLIC
SCHOOLS DIVISIONS, PROVIDING
FOR STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES,
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR
By: Sen. Win Gatchalian
On Specific SectionsOn Section 5. Allocation of the
Special Education Fund. To fulfillthe intent of this Act to extend
regular and sustained support forthe education and well-being ofchildren with special needs, ten
percent (10%) of the proceeds ofthe Special Education Fund (SEF)released to the local school boards
of each local government(LGU)...shall be automatically setaside by the local school board tosupport programs of theDepartment Education, done incoordination and consultation with
the respective local chiefexecutives, and the local school
boards for special educationcenters and schools within the
territorial jurisdiction of such localgovernment unit concerned.
On Section 20 Parent, Sibling, and
Caregiver Education. Aformaltraining on counselling programshall be developed through thejoint efforts of DepED, DSWD,LGUs, ECCD Council, DON, disable
people's organization (DPO's),parent support organization,health professional organizations,non-government organizations
(NGOs), and civil societyorganizations (CSOs) to equip
Comments/QuestionsThe efficiency of LGUs in collecting the realproperty tax and the income class of LGUsaffect the size of SEF. In particular, fifth andsixth income class municipalities, mostlythose that are mainly rural or classified asdeprived, depressed, and underserved, areat a major disadvantage because the lowlevel of real property tax values in theseareas means that SEF is likewise small, and
thus hardly able to augment the operationsand maintenance needs of schools in their
jurisdiction (Manasan et al., 2011)L
Because of the potential disparities in theability to raise funds for the SEFamongLGUs, how can we ensure that low income
municipalities can still provide educationsupport for children with special needs? Itshould be noted as welt that NOT all LGUs
have Special Education Centers/Schools.
Would it be sensible to propose the
establishment of at least one SPED center
per legislative district?
Perhaps it is also good to include theDepartment of Health (DOH) since there isCaregiver education in the title of section20. Although Section 19 specifies Healthand Nutrition Services and Interventions
where DOH is mentioned, modules on basichealth care, emergency and/or disasterpreparedness can also be taught to parentsand/or guardians of children with specialneeds.
^Manasan, R., Celestino, A., Cuenca, J. Mobilizing LGU Support Services for Basic Education: focuson the Special Education Fund. RIDSDiscussion Paper Series No.2011-07. http://dirp4.Dids.gov.Dh/ris/dps/pidsdpsll07.pdf
COMMENTS ON SENATE BILLS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION
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parents, siblings, and caregivers ofCYSNs with working knowledge ofspecial education, anunderstanding of the psychology ofCYSNs and the awareness of their
crucial role as educators so that
they, in turn, can maximize theirknowledge and skills to fullyparticipate in developing thepotentials of CYSNs.On Section 22. Public Information,
Education, and Communication. A
nationwide information
dissemination campaign on the
prevention, earlv identificationand the strategic intervention
programs for Children and Youthwith Special Needs (CYSNs) shall beintensified. This shall be the jointresponsibility of the PhilippineInformation Agency (PIA), Councilfor the Welfare of Children (CWC),the National Council for Disability
Affairs (NCDA), and the DepEd.Likewise, the DepEd incollaboration with DOH, the
Department of Labor andEmployment (DOLE) and LGUSshall disseminate materials and
information regarding effectivepractices in working with, trainingand education CYSNs.
Are the funds sufficient to cover related
activities for all the aforementioned
stakeholders? If not, would it be possible tocome up with a priority list, as well as aregistry of CYSNs, for this purpose?
Public awareness and disability sensitivitytraining must also be promoted in publicand private offices, especially if there areemployed persons with disabilities.
Aside from early identification, EARLYDETECTION^ of disabilities (e.g., before6 years old), which can lead to earlyIntervention and can prevent more
serious Illnesses of the child is
important. Thus, there is a need toinclude in the PhilHealth benefits not
just newborn screening but also theexpanded newborn screening to detectmore disorders. The existing list ofdisorders being tested are:
2Reyes, Celia. 2017. Improving Health Conditionof Women and Childrenwith Disabilities. Power point presentation during thedissemination forum of the research "Poverty Alleviation of Women and Childrenwith Disabilities in Developing Countries held at PIDSConference Hall, Centrls Tower, EDSA cor Quezon Avenue on March 15, 2017.
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"Office") within the Department ofEducation (hereinafter, the"Department"), which shall be theprincipal agency in the Departmentfor administering and carrying out
this Act and other programs and
activities concerning the educationof children with disabilities
On Section 5 Functions of the
Office of Special EducationPrograms.
well at the regional and provincial offices,down to the district schools.
Adding the monitoring mandate, it wouldthen be best to add the following: (g) Tomaintain a database of relevant information
(e.g., trainings conducted, participants'profile likegender and type of disabilities,among others); and, (h) To conduct periodicreview of programs and activities in order toupdate the curricula or, if possible, processand impact evaluations of the differentinterventions being implemented.
Another aspect is to look at the supply-sidefactors like the number of SPED graduates
who are currently employed by DepEd, bythe private schools/learning centers; and,number of those who are going abroad;among others.
One of the issues we found during our keyinformant interviews with SPED teachers in
Mandaue City, Cebu is the need to furtherenhance their capabilities to handledifferent types and/or multiple disabilitiesin one classroom setting especially thosewith intellectual disabilities.
If SPED schools become mandatory in every
legislative districts, then supply of SPEDtrained teachers should also be concern of
DepED in the long-run.
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with Special Needs in all PublicSchools Divisions.
SEC. 7. Staffing andResponsibilities. — In addition toteachers with special training tohandle children and youth with
special needs, each InclusiveEducation Learning Resource
Center shall have a Supervisor, an
Administrative Core and Placement
Committee. Mobile Special
Education (SPED) teachers and theMobile Multi Specialist InclusiveEducation Division Support Team
who will serve as human resource
complement.On Section 9. Itinerant/MobileSPED teachers. Itinerant/MobileSPED teachers shall also be
appointed whenever necessary
Annex A Figure 1 below shows the
distribution of SPED trained/graduates Inthe Philippines for the past 10 years. It canbe observed that there had been a decline
in SPED graduates, in absolute terms, froma total of 1,982 in 2013 to only 262graduates in 2015. Perhaps DepEd may alsoexamine the reasons for and proposemeasures to address the decline In
enrolment and graduates of SpecialEducation in the Philippines.
Reviewing the literature on schoolparticipation of children disabilities^indicate that PWD children who are living
farther from school are less likely to beattending school because parents havegreater worries about the safety of theirchildren, especially girls'*. Given that accessto school is also another issue, particularlyIn rural areas, then perhaps "a mobile/busSPED school" that Is equipped with
specialized learning tools, and assistive
devices, technologies and services can alsobe considered at the district level (perhaps)to complement with the mobile specialeducation teachers.
Are there additional incentives for these
mobile SPED teachers?
^Tansel, A. 2002. Determinants of school attainment of boys and girls InTurkey: Individual, household and communityfactors. Economics of Education Review, 21: 455-470.^Siddiqul, A. and U. Iram. 2007. Socioeconomic determinants of school progression in Pakistan.AppliedEconometrics andInternational Development, 7-2:179-196.
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schools with specializedequipment, individual, programs,curriculum adjustment, teachingaids and building modifications.
And related to Section 19. SpecialInstructional Materials
On Section 10. Provision of
Training of Personnel. TheDepartment of Education, incollaboration with the Commission
on Higher Education and theTechnical Education and Skills
Development Authority, shalldevelop special education coursesfor adoption and implementationby accredited higher educationinstitutions.
One of the issues in the field during our
survey of the research "Poverty Alleviationof Women and Children with Disabilities inDeveloping Countries" in Cebu, Philippines in2015 was the refund for the allowableexpenses for the ALS Mobile teacher. Sheshared that the refund usually takes about ayear after she submitted the official receiptsfor the learning materials she purchased Inthe conduct of her duties as mobile ALSteacher.
Is there a way for DepEd to make thematerials readily available for the teachersperhaps through innovative ways such asuse of tablets, mobile LCD projectors or
other technology-based applications?Also, can a voucher system for teachers beput up in purchasing teaching materials indesignated bookstores/educationalsuppliers?
Is it possible to include in the in-servicetraining of teachers, especially for highschool SPED teachers, a module on
livelihood and entrepreneurial skills, whichcan be integrated in their curricula? This canhelp the PWDs at the secondary level togain skill sets that will make thememployable, especially those whoseconditions are not severe. Annex B, Figures
2 and 3, below show the school
participation rate of children withdisabilities. Figure 2 shows that althoughgirls with disability have higher schoolparticipation than boys, they have higherdrop-out rate (8.2%) between ages 15 and16 than boys (5.65%). Moreover, Figure 3shows that overall school participation rateof PVYD children are lower than that of non-
PWD children, for all school ages.
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Figure 1. Regional share of SPEDgraduates, Philippines, 2005-2015
2005 2006 2007
• 01-llocos Region
• 04 - CALABARZON
• 07 - Central VIsayas
• 10 - Northern Mindanao
• 13 - National Capital Region
2008 2009 2010
• 02-Cagayan Valley
• 05 - Bicol Region
• 08 - Eastern Visayas
• 11 - Davao Region
2011 2012 2013
• 03 - Central Luzon
• 06 - Western Visayas
• 09 - Zamboanga Peninsula
• 12-SOCCSKSARGEN
14 - Cordillera Administrative Region a 16 - Caraga
2014 2015
Source of basic data: Commission on Higher EducationNote: Figuresshown are aggregates of Pre-baccalaureate, Baccalaureate, Post- baccalaureate. Master in Special Education, andDoctoral programs in Special Education.
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Figure 2. School participation rate of children with disability, Philippines, by sex, 2010
10 11 12
Single Year of Age
—All Boys ' •'•Girls
13 14 15 16 17 18
Sourceof basicdata: 2010 Census of Population and Housing {CPH), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)Note: The 20-percent sample of the 2010 CPH data set was used.
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