Legal bases for inclusive Education

Legal Bases for Inclusive Education

• The right of all citizens to quality education at all levels is protected and promoted.
• Appropriate steps should be taken to make such education accessible to all.
• Free public education should be established and maintained at the elementary and high school levels.
• Elementary education is compulsory for all children of school age, without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children.
• Non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs that respond to community needs, should be encouraged.
• Adult citizens, the disabled, and out-of-school youth should be provided with training in civics, vocational efficiency, and other skills.

RA 10533 Enhanced Basic Education Act

• Programs designed to address the physical, intellectual, psychosocial, and cultural needs of learners should be implemented.
• These programs include those for the gifted and talented, learners with disabilities, Madrasah Program, Indigenous People (IP) Education Program, and learners under difficult circumstances.

RA 8371 Indigenous People's Right Act

• This act recognizes, protects, and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples.
• It also creates a national commission on Indigenous Peoples, establishes implementing mechanisms, and appropriates funds for these purposes.
• ICC/IP women shall enjoy equal rights and opportunities with men in the social, economic, political, and cultural spheres of life.
• Indigenous women's participation in decision-making at all levels and in the development of society should be respected and recognized.
• The State shall provide full access to education, maternal and child care, health and nutrition, and housing services to indigenous women.
• Vocational, technical, professional, and other forms of training should be provided to enable indigenous women to fully participate in all aspects of social life.
• The State shall ensure that indigenous women have access to all services in their own languages.
• The State shall recognize the vital role of the children and youth of ICC/IPs in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being.
• The State shall support all programs intended for the development and rearing of children and youth of ICCs/IPs for civic efficiency.
• An integrated system of education, relevant to the needs of ICCs/IPs, should be provided through the NCIP.

PD 603 - The Child and Youth Welfare Code

• All children shall be entitled to rights without distinction as to legitimacy, sex, social status, religion, political antecedents, and other factors.
• Every child is endowed with the dignity and worth of a human being from conception and has the right to be born well.
• Every child has the right to a wholesome family life that will provide love, care, understanding, guidance, counseling, and moral and material security.
• A dependent or abandoned child shall be provided with the nearest substitute for a home.
• Every child has the right to a well-rounded development of personality to become a happy, useful, and active member of society.
• Every child has the right to a balanced diet, adequate clothing, sufficient shelter, proper medical attention, and all the basic physical requirements for a healthy and vigorous life.
• Every child has the right to be brought up in an atmosphere of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of character.
• Every child has the right to an education commensurate with abilities and to the development of skills for the improvement of the capacity for service to self and fellowmen.
• Every child has the right to full opportunities for safe and wholesome recreation and activities, individual as well as social, for the wholesome use of leisure hours.
• Every child has the right to protection against exploitation, improper influences, hazards, and other conditions or circumstances prejudicial to physical, mental, emotional, social and moral development.
• Every child has the right to live in a community and a society that can offer an environment free from pernicious influences and conducive to the promotion of health and the cultivation of desirable traits and attributes.
• Every child has the right to the care, assistance, and protection of the State, particularly when parents or guardians fail or are unable to provide fundamental needs for growth, development, and improvement.
• Every child has the right to an efficient and honest government that will deepen faith in democracy and inspire him with the morality of the constituted authorities both in public and private lives.
• Every child has the right to grow up as a free individual, in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, tolerance, and universal brotherhood, and with the determination to contribute his share in the building of a better world.
• The schools and other entities engaged in non-formal education shall assist the parents in providing the best education for the child.

Child Welfare and Education

• The State shall see to it that no child is refused admission in public schools.
• All parents are required to enroll their children in schools to complete, at least, an elementary education.
• To implement effectively the compulsory education policy, all possible assistance shall be given to parents, especially indigent ones or those who need the services of children at home, so that they can acquire at least an elementary education.
• Where needs warrant, there shall be at least special classes in every province, and, if possible, special schools for the physically handicapped, the mentally retarded, the emotionally disturbed, and the specially gifted.
• The private sector shall be given all the necessary inducement and encouragement to establish such classes or schools.

RA 7610 Special Protection Against Child Abuse and Exploitation

• An act providing for stronger deterrence and special protection against child abuse, exploitation and discrimination, providing penalties for its violations.

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act

• Children of indigenous cultural communities shall be entitled to protection, survival and development consistent with the customs and traditions of their respective communities.
• The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall develop and institute an alternative system of education for children of indigenous cultural communities that is culture-specific and relevant to their needs and the existing situation in their communities.

RA 9344 Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act

• The family shall be responsible for the primary nurturing and rearing of children which is critical in delinquency prevention.
• A child in conflict with the law shall be maintained in his/her family as far as practicable.
• Educational institutions shall work together with families, community organizations and agencies in the prevention of juvenile delinquency and in the rehabilitation and reintegration of child in conflict with the law.
• Schools shall provide adequate, necessary and individualized educational schemes for children manifesting difficult behavior and children in conflict with the law.

RA 9442 Magna Carta for Disabled Persons

• Educational assistance should be provided to persons with disabilities to pursue primary, secondary, tertiary, post-tertiary, vocational or technical education in both public and private schools through scholarships, grants, financial aid, subsidies and other incentives.
• Persons with disability must meet the minimum admission requirements set by the Department of Education (DEPED), Commission on Higher Education Department (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), etc.

RA 10665 Open High School System Act

• The State aims to broaden access to relevant quality education through an alternative secondary education program that will enable the youth to overcome constraints.
• This is in line with the constitutional policy to encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs that respond to community needs.

RA 7277 Rehabilitation and Integration of Disabled Persons in Mainstream Society

• The State shall ensure that disabled persons are provided with adequate access to quality education and ample opportunities to develop their skills, they shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all disabled persons, and it shall be unlawful for any learning institutions to deny a disabled person admission to any course it offers by reason of their handicap or disability.
• The State shall establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of special education for visually impaired, hearing impaired, mentally retarded persons and other type of exceptional children in all regions of the country.

Process of Inclusion Philippines Model

• Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers, thus it involves collecting, collating and evaluating information from various sources for policy and practice improvement.
• The Philippines has been working on implementing various programs and initiatives to support inclusive education, such as the "Inclusive Education for All" program.
• The Alternative Learning System (ALS) in the Philippines is a parallel education program by DepEd for individuals who cannot access or complete formal schooling.
• Specialized Scholarships and Financial Assistance (SSFA) in the Philippines are government and private programs that support students from low-income, marginalized, or underserved communities.

Other Programs

• The Open High School Program (OHSP) in the Philippines offers a flexible alternative for those unable to attend regular classes, catering to those with personal, family, or work responsibilities, as well as those in remote areas, allowing them to continue their education through self-paced learning and study modules.
• Transition programs teach independent living skills, including vocational skills to students receiving special education.
• Indigenous People's Education (IPED) is DepEd's response to the right of Indigenous Peoples (IP) to basic education that is responsive to their context, respects their identities and promotes their indigenous knowledge.

Typology of Learners with Special Needs

• Intellectual disability is a condition that limits intelligence and disrupts abilities necessary for living independently; most people with this will need some degree of assistance throughout their lives.
• Someone with intellectual disability has limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors, and has varying levels such as Mild, Moderate, Severe, and more.
• Causes of intellectual disability include, but aren't limited to, genetics and inheritance, infections, teratogens, and medical conditions.
• Types of intellectual disability include Trisomy 21, Fragile X Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, etc.

Learners with Learning Disabilities

• Learning disabilities are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that can significantly hamper a person's ability to learn new things, thus there are problems that can affect the brain's ability to receive, process, analyze or store information.
• Types of learning disabilities include Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia.
• Causes of learning disabilities include heredity and genetics, problems during pregnancy and birth, and accident after birth.