TINGOG Sinirangan Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre filed a measure that will include private elementary and secondary schools among the beneficiaries of the Special Education Fund.

House Bill 1583 or the Special Education Fund for Private Schools Act aims to amend Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.

The lawmakers said that public schools enjoy support from the government under the Local Government Code which creates inequities between public and private schools and their students.

“The inclusion of private elementary and secondary schools as beneficiaries of the SEF will uphold the mandate of the constitution to provide the citizens with equal access to quality education,” they said in their explanatory note.

Under the measure, part of the SEF shall be allotted for teacher-student development programs in private elementary and secondary schools, including but not limited to seminars, workshops, and scholarships for continuing education as determined and approved by the local school board.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Education will promulgate rules and regulations to implement the proposed law.