Special education

refers to the arrangement of teaching

procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to address the needs of students with learning differences, mental health issues, physical and developmental disabilities, and giftedness. Provision of special education is inferred from two provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. rticle !!, "ection 17 provides that the state must give priority to education, while rticle #!$, "ection 1 guarantees that this education be accessible to all% appropriate steps must be ta&en. Chapter !! of 'itle !! of the (agna Carta for )isable Persons, * 7+77, introduced some rules on special education in the Philippines. "ec. 1+ mandates that the ,"tate shall ta&e into consideration the special requirements of disabled persons in the formulation of educational policies and programs., -n the other hand, learning institutions are encouraged ,to ta&e into account the special needs of disabled persons with respect to the use of school facilities, class schedules, physical education requirements, and other pertinent consideration., "pecifically, learning institutions are encouraged to provide ,au.iliary services that will facilitate the learning process for disabled persons., "ec. 1/ of * 7+77 provides that the "tate ,shall establish, maintain and support complete, adequate and integrated system of special education for the visually impaired, hearing impaired, mentally retarded persons and other types of e.ceptional children in all regions of the country., 0owever, 1 !2, there is still no comprehensive law which mandates special education in the Philippines. 'here are two pending "enate bills% "3 4o. 517, thePlease register to see lin&s., introduced by "en. 6inggoy 7strada, and "3 4o. +8+8, the Please register to see lin&s., introduced by "en. (iriam )efensor "antiago. 3oth are still pending on the Committee 9evel. "en. 7strada:s bill proposes the establishment of special education centers in strategic places to be able to provide accessible services for children with special needs. !t mandates that there should be at least one "pecial 7ducation Center for each school division, and at least three "p7d Centers for school divisions with Children with "pecial 4eeds ;C"4<. 1urthermore, it mandates that the "tate shall institutionali=e an adequate and relevant educational program for every child with special needs ;"ec. +<. 'he bill

see&s to empower the parents of C"4, by providing them with information about the full continuum of services and possible placement options ;"ec. >, para. d<. !t further see&s to empower the teachers and other caregivers by providing them with the capability to identify, refer and intervene with developmental disorders and disabilities ;"ec. >, para. e<. ;! hate the word ,prevent, which is actually used in the bill.< 3ut perhaps, the most lofty ideal as identified by the bill is to ,effectuate significant and positive changes in community attitudes towards disability and the need to provide special education, care and other needs of children with special needs. ;"ec. >, para. g<., 'he putative "pecial 7ducation ct of +887 identifies ten groups of Children with "pecial 4eeds ;C"4s< ;"ec. /, para. f<% 1. gifted children and fast learners +. mentally handicapped?mentally retarded >. visually impaired /. hearing impaired 5. children with behavior problems @. orthopedically handicapped 7. children with special health problems 8. children with learning disabilities ;perceptual handicap, brain inAury, minimal brain dysfunction, dysle.ia and developmental aphasia< 9. speech impaired 18. persons with autism "en. "antiago:s bill is substantially the same as "en. 7strada:s.

0owever, these two bills Aust legislates something which )ep7d had apparently been doing as early as 1997. !n )ep7d -rder 4o. +7, s. 1997, all divisions where required to organi=e at least one "P7) Center to cater to children with special needs. )ep7d also has Please register to see lin&s. under its 3ureau of 7lementary 7ducation. 'he ultimate goal of special education in the public schools, according to the "pecial 7ducation )ivision of )ep7d, is the integration or mainstreaming of learners with special needs into the regular school system and eventually in the community, following the principles of 'he "alamanca "tatement on Principles, Policy and Practice in "pecial 7ducation.

-ut of 8/./ million 1ilipinos, appro.imately 5./8@ million ;1>B< are individuals with special needs. round /.8B are provided with appropriate educational services, but the 95.+B of those with e.ceptionalities are unserved. !n 1995 to 199@ about 88,888 special needs children enrolled. 15@,+78 by school year +88/ to +885% 77,15+ were mentally gifted and 79,118 were children with disabilities% /8, +@8 learning 11,597 hearing +,@78 visually 1+,/5@ intellectually 5,11+ behavior 7@8 orthopedically 5,17+ children with 91+ speech 1/+ chronically >+ children with cerebral palsy disabilities impaired impaired disabled issues disabled autism defectives ill