SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian sought the holding of a local education summit at least once a year to discuss issues, reforms and programs.

This proposal is contained in the 21st Century School Boards Act or Senate Bill 155, which aims to strengthen the role of local government units in improving the delivery and quality of education.

“Mahalaga ang pagsasagawa ng education summit sa ating mga local government units upang masuri natin ang mga hamong kinakaharap,” Gatchalian said.

“Magiging daan din ang mga summit na ito upang matalakay ang mga solusyon at mga repormang kinakailangan upang maabot natin ang bawat bata at matiyak na makatatanggap sila ng dekalidad na edukasyon,” he added.

The measure seeks to assign additional roles to the local school board, one of which is the holding of education summits to consult community members on issues and guide the prioritization of the Special Education Fund’s allocation.

Other proposed functions of the local school board under the measure are the formulation and institution of education reforms, which will be measured through the following indicators: participation rates of students; number of drop-outs and out-of-school youth; cohort survival rates; achievement scores in national tests or assessment tools and other standardized test scores; establishment of child development centers; and support to special needs education, Alternative Learning System, and the Parent Effectiveness Service Program, among others.

The bill also seeks to broaden the use of the SEF to cover the salaries and wages of teachers, non-teaching personnel and pre-school teachers.

The expanded use of the SEF will also cover educational research, the acquisition of books, learning materials, and information and communications technology packages, and the implementation of the ALS program, and the conduct of education summits, among others.