PROBINSYANO Ako Party-list Rep. Rudys Caesar Fariñas I proposed a law that will institutionalize special education in the Philippines.

He filed House Bill 7475 or the proposed Special Education Act which mandates that in ordinary schools with no SPED centers, at least one SPED center must be built for each school division. Big school divisions must have at least three SPED centers.

“Every SPED center must have qualified instructors who can work with children with special needs, such as those with autism, visual impairment, hearing impairment, learning disabilities, behavioral issues, multiple disabilities, mental retardation or handicap, or mental giftedness, among others,” Fariñas said in his explanatory note.

Under the bill, parents, siblings and caregivers of children with special needs will be given a formal training and counseling program to help them learn about special education.

The bill mandates the creation of the Bureau of Special Education under the Department of Education whose tasks will include the conduct of research to assess and create programs for Children with Special Needs.

The BSPED will strengthen the right of teachers or instructors to professional advancement and make sure that the teaching staff will have adequate pay, scholarship, and training grants, incentives and allowances.