Organization and Administration of Special Education

Programs

SPECIAL EDUCATION
It is an individually planned, systematically implemented and carefully evaluated instruction to
help exceptional children achieve the greatest possible personal self-sufficiency and success in
present and future environments.
It can be differentiated from regular education by its curriculum- some children need intensive,
systematic instruction to learn skills that normally developing children acquire naturally. It
provides learning opportunities that are not provided in standard or regular school curricula or
by regular school services.

WHERE
Schools special and regular schools; therapy or early intervention centers; home; vocational
centers ; community

HOW
Use of varied teaching methods and strategies
Special educators should be skilled in the procedures for systematically designing, implementing
and evaluating instruction.

SPECIAL EDUCATION as INTERVENTION
Intervention is a general name for all efforts in behalf of individuals with disabilities.
The goal of SPED is to eliminate or at least reduced the obstacles that might keep a child or adult
with disabilities from full and active participation in school and society.
Preventive Techniques :
- Social and educational programs to stimulate infants and very young children to acquire
skills that most children learn normally and without help.
- Remedial Programs
- Compensatory Efforts (Aims to give an individual some kind of asset to be able to use tools
and techniques for meeting learning needs.

EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
Whose special needs or abilities necessitate an individualized program of education.
Refers to individuals who differ from societal or community standards of normalcy.
Differ from the norm either below or above to such an extent that an individualized program of
special education is required to meet their needs.
Defines the exceptional child as one who deviates from the average or normal child.
It is an inclusive term that refers to individuals with learning or behavior problems, individuals
with physical and sensory disabilities and those who are intellectually gifted.

Classification of Exceptionalities

Autism
Deafness
Deaf-Blindness
Hearing Impairment
Mental Retardation
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
Health Impairment
Serious Emotional disturbance
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment
Gifted and Talented

Disability refers to an individual to do something in a certain way; an incapacity to perform as other
individuals due to impairments in sensory, physical, cognitive and other areas of functioning.
- Refers to the loss or reduced function of a particular body part or organ
- Synonymous to impairment
- It limits the ability to perform certain tasks
- A disabled person is not handicapped unless the physical disability leads to educational,
personal, social, vocational and other problems

Handicap refers to the problems that an individual with a disability encounters as he or she attempts
to function or interact in his or her environment; this term is used when explaining the consequences or
impact imposed on the individual by his or her disability.

BRIEF HISTORY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

17
TH
Century Categories idiots and insane
Children were put in asylums no
categories
No education or intervention
18
th
Century Effective procedures were developed,
were revised for teaching children with
sensory impairments
Programs for the blind and the deaf
19
th
Century First systematic attempts were made to
educate the idiotic and the insane
mental retardation and emotional/
behavioral problems
Ideas of Democracy in France and America Change in attitude
Political reformers and leaders in medicine
and education began to champion the
cause of handicapped children and adults
Urged that the imperfect and
incomplete individuals
(physically disabled) be taught skills that
would allow them to be independent and
productive citizens
Desire to protect and defend handicapped
people
Sought to normalize exceptional children
to the greatest extent possible
20
th
Century Recognition of children and people with
exceptionalities
Establishing rights
Creation of laws and legislation for the
care and protection of exceptional
children
Focus on education
Creation of specific educational programs
for each exceptionality
Mainstreaming and inclusion

Brief History of SPED in the Philippines

1908 SPED in the Philippines started
1952 Pilot school for the Special Education (at the
Philippine Womens University) of the Mentally
handicapped children was started.
1963 Republic Act No. 3652 (June 1963), an act to
promote the education for the Blind in the
Philippines which was established teacher training
course and Philippine National School for the
Blind.
1964 Philippine Normal College offered courses in SPED
for teaching the Blind wherein 14 elementary
school teachers were selected for training.

Goal of Special Education (From Article I, Section 5 of Child and Youth Welfare Code PD No. 603)

1. Integration or mainstreaming of learners with special needs into the regular school system and
eventually in the community.
2. To meet the individual educational needs of the learners and, to the extent possible, prepare
them for going to a more regular classroom setting.
3. Special Educational programs must focus on helping the learners develop academic skills, self-
help skills, social proficiency, a positive attitude and self-confidence.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
-is a United States federal law that governs how states and public agencies provide early
intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities. It addresses the
educational needs of children with disabilities from age 3 to age 18 or 21 in cases that involve 14
specified categories of disability.
In defining the purpose of special education, IDEA 2004 clarifies Congress intended outcome for each
child with a disability: students must be provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that
prepares them for further education, employment and independent living.
Under IDEA 2004:
Special education and related services should be designed to meet the unique learning needs of
eligible children with disabilities, preschool through age 21.
Students with disabilities should be prepared for further education, employment and independent
living.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- An IEP defines the individualized objectives of a child who has been found with a disability, as
defined by federal regulations. The IEP is intended to help children reach educational goals more easily
than they otherwise would. In all cases the IEP must be tailored to the individual student's needs as
identified by the IEP evaluation process, and must especially help teachers and related service providers
(such as paraprofessional educators) understand the student's disability and how the disability affects
the learning process.
-The IEP describes how the student learns, how the student best demonstrates that learning and
what teachers and service providers will do to help the student learn more effectively. Developing an IEP
requires assessing students in all areas related to the known disabilities, simultaneously considering
ability to access the general curriculum, considering how the disability affects the students learning,
forming goals and objectives that correspond to the needs of the student, and choosing a placement in
the least restrictive environment possible for the student.
- An IEP is meant to ensure that students receive an appropriate placement, not "only" special
education classrooms or special schools. It is meant to give the student a chance to participate in
"normal" school culture and academics as much as is possible for that individual student. In this way, the
student is able to have specialized assistance only when such assistance is absolutely necessary, and
otherwise maintains the freedom to interact with and participate in the activities of his or her more
general school peers.
Dizons Concept of Normalization
a. Integration
-consist of placing the special learner in the regular class in one or more subjects, so that he can
interact with regular children with the SPED class as his station; may include tutorials and involve
ancillary or auxiliary services.
b. Mainstreaming
- in the context of education, is the practice of educating students with special needs in regular
classes during specific time periods based on their skills.
[1]
This means regular education classes are
combined with special education classes. Schools that practice mainstreaming believe that students with
special needs who cannot function in a regular classroom to a certain extent "belong" to the special
education environment.
[2]


Benefits of Mainstreaming to Students with Disabilities
1. Higher academic achievement:
2. Higher self-esteem
3. Better social skills

c. Inclusion
- wherein the special learner is placed in the regular class based on age; regardless of the
background, disability and degree of severity. This is no pull out and no shadow teaching.
d. Segregation
- A segregated student attends no classes with non-disabled students. He or she might attend
a special school that only enrolls other students with disabilities, or might be placed in a dedicated, self-
contained classroom in a school that also enrolls general education students.
Some students may be confined to a hospital due to a medical condition and are thus eligible for
tutoring services provided by a school district. Less common alternatives include homeschooling and,
particularly in developing countries, exclusion from education
Possible placement options:
1. Special Education Class with learners who are 2 to 10 years old and the
maximum size may vary from 4 to 7 with one SPED
Teacher and one teacher aide
NOTE: Placement in special class shall be temporary and not terminal, thus a continuous process is
essential

2. Resource Class has specially trained SPED Teachers who provide
instruction to exceptional learners for part of the
school days, either individually or in small groups.
Learners with special needs come here for one or
several periods during the school days to receive
individualized instruction
3. Self-contained class has learners who are with other individuals with
special needs for all or most of the school day to
receive individual instruction
NOTE: The propose case load for a resource class or self-contained class must have a maximum of
only 5 learners with special needs.

4. Integrated/Mainstreamed/Inclusive Class has following function inside the regular classroom
that:
Establishes and maintains a warm
accepting classroom community that
embraces discriminating and honor
differences
Complements multilateral and
multimodality classroom
Prepares supports teachers to teach
interestingly, and
Provide ongoing support for teachers in
their classrooms and breaking down
barriers of professional isolation

5. Occupational Therapy Class wherein occupational therapy session is being held
6. Physical Therapy Class wherein physical therapy session is being held.

Legal Foundations of Special Education
A. In the Philippines

Care and Protection of Disabled Children (C.A. 3203)
- The rights of every child in the Philippines to live in an environment conducive to his
physical , moral and intellectual development and the duty of the government to promote
the full growth of every child.

White Cane Act (R.A 6759)
- Declared the 1
st
day of August each year as White Cane Safety Day, white can being the
symbol of the need of blind persons.

The Economic Independence of Disabled Persons Act (S.B. 1730)
- Requires that all governmental agencies, instrumentalities and government owned and
controlled corporations to source at least ten percent of their supplies and equipment
requirements from cooperatives of PWDs that are engaged in the manufacturing and
fabrication in order to support their economic independence.

The Magna Carta for Disabled Persons ( R.A. 7277)
- Affirms the full participation and total integration of persons with disabilities into the
mainstream of our society by giving them equal opportunities to develop their skills and
potentials and affording them equal access to the basic services extended by the
government.

B. In the US

IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
- States that children with disabilities are to be educated to the maximum extent with
children who do not have disabilities.
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
- Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in private sector employment; services
rendered by state and local governments; places of public accommodations; transportation;
telecommunications relay systems.
Rehabilitation Act 504
- No otherwise qualified individual with disabilities in the United States shall solely by
reason of his disabilities, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination under any program, or activity receiving Federal financial
assistance
NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Act
- Was signed on Jan. 8 , 2002 which reauthorized and replaced the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, the federal framework for how public education throughout the US is
provided. Its overall aim is to have all students performing at proficient levels in the two
educational cornerstones, Reading and Math, by year 2014.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004)
- Outlined changed to IDEA 1997 wherein one of them states that benchmarks and short-term
objectives written into the IEPs are no longer required for many learners, reducing the
amount of IEP paperwork.

Difference between Special Education and Regular (General Education)

Kind Of Learners Children with Special needs who
necessitate individualized
Regular Learners
Number of Learners For one-on-one: 1
For group: 3-4
For resource group : 5-10
Private School: 35-50
Public School: 50-60 or more

Emphasis On the given intervention On the curriculum and the
mastery of skills established
within the curriculum
Curriculum Attention Skills (ADHD), Memory
Skills (MR), Braille (VI), Sign
Language (HI), Auditory and
Visual Perception (LD), Anger
Management (Emotional/
Behavioral Disturbance),
Creative and Critical Thinking
Skills (Giftedness), Functional
Academics (Autism)
English, Reading, Math,
Makabayan..
Who dictates the curriculum Individual needs of the child School Systems (DECS)
Instruction Intensive Systematic Instruction Generalized Instruction
Received Instruction from? SPED teachers, Occupational
Therapist, Physical Therapist,
Speech Pathologist
Regular Teachers (Subject
Teachers)
Primary Function Of SPED Teacher:
To meet the goals and objectives
established in the IEP
Of Regular Teacher:
To teach the curriculum
Type of Classroom SPED Classroom, Self-contained
Room, Resource Room,
Mainstream Class
Regular Classroom

Class Size

Exceptionality One Grade Level Multi-grade or Multi-Level
Gifted/Fast Learner 30-35 15-20
Mentally Retarded 8-15 8-10
Blind 7-10 5-6
Deaf 7-15 6-8
Behavior Problems 15-20 7-12
Orthopedically Handicapped 10-15 10-15
Speech defective 10-15 10-15
Learning Disabled 7-10 5-6
Multiple Handicapped 5-8 3-6


Laws for Special Education (Philippines)
Republic Act 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons)
This act provides for the rights and privileges of the disabled persons and their integration into
the mainstream of the society. The State acknowledges the disabled persons as part of the society and
that their full potentials have to be developed and improved to achieve total well-being so that they will
become independent and functional into the mainstream of the society. For this reason Republic Act
7277 Magna Carta for the Disabled Persons has been adopted to ensure their rehabilitation, self-
development and self-reliance, thereby achieving necessary skills and capabilities to take their essential
part in the community.
Every citizen should be involved in giving equal rights to the disabled persons that of any other
person in the society. Like any other people, the disabled persons should live free and independent as
possible without the discrimination from the society where they belong. The rehabilitation of the
disabled persons should be geared towards community-based programs to encourage full support and
participation from the different sectors in the community. The private sectors are also encouraged to
extend their role as partners of the State in the society to foster welfare of disabled persons in programs
aimed to respond to their specific special needs. Thus, cultivating full capabilities of the disabled
persons and eventually attain productive and fulfilling life.
The State encourages everyone to uphold respect for the disabled persons to make possible their
integration into the mainstream society. It also makes all the efforts to eradicate hindrances that are
discriminating the capabilities and potentials of the disabled persons.

14th Congress
Senate Bill No. 2020
SPECIAL EDUCATION ACT OF 2008 (Filed on January 29, 2008 by Defensor Santiago, Miriam, Pimentel Jr.,
Aquilino Q., Honasan II, Gregorio B., Ejercito-Estrada, Jinggoy P., Gordon, Richard "Dick" J.)
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. Article
II, Section 17 provides that the state must give priority to education, while Article XIV, Section 1
guarantees that this education be accessible to all: appropriate steps must be taken.
Chapter II of Title II of the Magna Carta for Disable Persons, RA 7277, introduced some rules on
special education in the Philippines. Sec. 12 mandates that the "State shall take into consideration the
special requirements of disabled persons in the formulation of educational policies and programs." On
the other hand, learning institutions are encouraged "to take 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." Specifically, learning institutions are encouraged to provide
"auxiliary services that will facilitate the learning process for disabled persons." Sec. 14 of RA 7277
provides that the State "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 exceptional children in all regions of the country."

However, AFAIK, there is still no comprehensive law which mandates special education in the
Philippines. There are two pending Senate bills: SB No. 517, the Please register to see links., introduced
by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, and SB No. 2020, the Please register to see links., introduced by Sen. Miriam
Defensor Santiago. Both are still pending on the Committee Level. Sen. Estrada's bill proposes the
establishment of special education centers in strategic places to be able to provide accessible services
for children with special needs. It mandates that there should be at least one Special Education Center
for each school division, and at least three SpEd Centers for school divisions with Children with Special
Needs (CSN). Furthermore, it mandates that the State shall institutionalize an adequate and relevant
educational program for every child with special needs (Sec. 2). The bill seeks to empower the parents of
CSN, by providing them with information about the full continuum of services and possible placement
options (Sec. 3, para. d). It further seeks to empower the teachers and other caregivers by providing
them with the capability to identify, refer and intervene with developmental disorders and disabilities
(Sec. 3, para. e). (I hate the word "prevent" which is actually used in the bill.) But 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. (Sec. 3, para. g)."
The putative Special Education Act of 2007 identifies ten groups of Children with Special Needs (CSNs)
(Sec. 4, para. f):
1. gifted children and fast learners
2. mentally handicapped/mentally retarded
3. visually impaired
4. hearing impaired
5. children with behavior problems
6. orthopedically handicapped
7. children with special health problems
8. children with learning disabilities (perceptual handicap, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia and developmental aphasia)
9. speech impaired
10. persons with autism
Sen. Santiago's bill is substantially the same as Sen. Estrada's
However, these two bills just legislates something which DepEd had apparently been doing as
early as 1997. In DepEd Order No. 27, s. 1997, all divisions where required to organize at least one SPED
Center to cater to children with special needs. DepEd also has Please register to see links. under its
Bureau of Elementary Education.
The ultimate goal of special education in the public schools, according to the Special Education
Division of DepEd, is the integration or mainstreaming of learners with special needs into the regular
school system and eventually in the community, following the principles of The Salamanca Statement on
Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Education. Out of 84.4 million Filipinos, approximately 5.486
million (13%) are individuals with special needs. Around 4.8% are provided with appropriate educational
services, but the 95.2% of those with exceptionalities are unserved. In 1995 to 1996 about 80,000
special needs children enrolled. 156,270 by school year 2004 to 2005: 77,152 were mentally gifted and
79,118 were children with disabilities:
40, 260 learning disabilities
11,597 hearing impaired
2,670 visually impaired
12,456 intellectually disabled
5,112 behavior issues
760 orthopedically disabled
5,172 children with autism
912 speech defectives
142 chronically ill
32 children with cerebral palsy