THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) said Thursday it will submit a proposed Executive Order (EO) on modernized class suspensions and resumptions in basic education.

This comes after the Social Development Committee (SDC) Cabinet Cluster approved the proposal for the revised measure under Executive Order 66, series of 2012, following the presentation of DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara.

In a statement, Angara said this proposal seeks to uphold learning continuity through a granular approach in both suspension and resumption.

“Under President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos’ (Jr.) leadership, we are reframing our approach: we are not merely suspending classes; we are safeguarding learning continuity,” he said.

From June 8 to Aug. 31 alone, DepEd has already recorded about 20 to 40 days of instructional loss due to weather disturbances and disaster-related in-person class suspensions. This nears the 53 of 180 school days reported during School Year 2023-2024.

“By institutionalizing granular suspensions and resumptions, we give our local executives and school heads the legal backing and flexibility to make science-backed decisions tailored to real-time, ground conditions,” Angara said.

Under the proposed EO, three decision-making mechanisms will be established to make site-specific decisions subject to local government unit coordination. These cover automatic class suspensions based on national technical thresholds, localized class suspensions determined by local chief executives, and granular class suspensions and resumptions.

The proposed policy promotes a “more comprehensive, hazard-inclusive, and decentralized framework for the suspension and resumption of in-person classes and onsite work.” This approach is seen to balance both learners’ safety and the prevention of learning loss.

“When a hazard strikes, the safety of our students, teachers, and school personnel is non-negotiable,” Angara said.

“However, every unnecessary day a classroom stays closed costs our learners their potential and compromises our long-term economic productivity.”

The hazard coverage is also expanded beyond risks due to typhoons.

The proposal seeks to include heavy rainfall, flooding, earthquakes, storm surges, poor air quality, volcanic smog, volcanic hazards, and extreme heat reaching 40 degrees Celsius or a higher heat index in the updated provisions.

The policy, meanwhile, maintains the current school-level authority to suspend in-person classes based on documented site-specific assessments and the concurrence of their Schools Division Superintendent. (PNA)