FOUNDATION OF

SPECIAL AND
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
MODULE 1
VISION, POLICY, GOALS
AND OBJECTIVES OF
SPECIAL DUCATION
Vision for Children with Special Needs
 The state, community and family hold a common
vision for the Filipino child with special needs. By
the 21st century, it is envisioned that he/she could be
adequately provided with basic education. This
education should fully realize his/her rights in
society. More importantly, he/she is God-loving and
proud of being a Filipino.
 It is also envisioned that the child with special needs
will get full parental and community support for
his/her education without discrimination of any kind.
This special child should also be provided with a
healthy environment along with leisure and recreation
and social security measures.
 Policy, Goals and Objectives of Special
Education
The policy on Inclusive Education for All is
adopted in the Philippines to accelerate access to
education among children and youth with special
needs. Inclusive education forms an integral
component of the overall educational system that is
committed to an appropriate education for all children
and youth with special needs.
The goal of the special education programs of the
Department of Education all over the country is to
provide children with special needs appropriate
Educational services within the mainstream of basic
education. The two-pronged goal includes the
development of key strategies on legislation, human
resource development, family involvement and active
participation of government and non-government
organizations. There are major issues to address on
attitudinal barriers of the general public and effort toward
 Implement a life-long curriculum to include early
intervention and parent education, basic education
and transition programs on vocational training or
preparation for college.
 Make available an array educational programs and
services: the Special Education Center built on “a
school within a school concept” as the resource
center for children and youth with special needs;
inclusive education in regular schools, special and
Residential schools, homebound instruction, hospital
instruction and community-based programs; alternative
modes of service delivery to reach the advantaged
children in far-flung towns, depressed areas and
underserved barangays.
 Historical Perspectives
 In 1907, the special education was formally started in
the Philippines. The Director of Public Education, Mr.
David Barrows, worked for the establishment of the
Insular School for the Deaf and the Blind in Manila.
 The Philippine Association for the Deaf (PAD)
composed mostly of hearing impaired members and
special education specialists was founded in 1926.
 In 1927, the government established the Welfareville
Children’s Village in Mandaluyong.
 In 1945, the National Orthopedic Hospital opened its
School for the Crippled Children (NOHSCC) for
young patients who had to be hospitalized for long
periods of time.
 In 1949, the Quezon City Science High School for the
gifted students was inaugurated and in the same
year, the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation
 of the Disabled (PFRD) was organized.
 In 1950, PAD opened a school for children with
hearing impairment.
 The Elsie Gaches Village (EGV) was established in
1953 in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Rizal to take care of the
abandoned and orphaned children and youth with
physical and mental handicaps.
 The first week of August in 1954 was declared as
Sight Saving Week.
 In 1956, the First Summer Institute on Teaching the
Deaf was held at the school for the deaf and the
Blind in Pasay City.
 In 1957 marked the beginning of the integration of
deaf pupils in regular classes and the Bureau of
Public Schools (BPS) of the Department of
Education and Culture (DEC) created the Special
Education Section of the Special Subjects and
Services Division.
 In 1958, the American Foundation for Overseas Blind
(AFOB) opened as regional office in Manila.
 In 1960, some private colleges and universities
started to offer special courses in their graduate
school curriculum.
 In 1962, the Manila Youth and Rehabilitation Center
(MYRC) was opened and in the same year the PFRD
sponsored the Second Pan Pacific Rehabilitation
Conference in Manila, and also it was the
 experimentation integration of blind children at the
Jose Rizal Elementary School in Pasay City and the
St. Joseph of Cupertino School for the Mentally
Retarded was founded.
 The training of DEC teacher scholars at the
University of the Philippines commenced in 1962 in
the areas of hearing impairment, mental retardation
and mental giftedness under RA 5250 and in the
same year the Philippine General Hospital opened
 classes for its school-age chronically ill patients.
 With the approval of RA 3562 in 1963, the training of
DEC teachers scholars for blind children started at
the Philippine Normal College.
 In 1964, the Quezon City Schools Division followed
suit with the establishment of the Quezon City
Science High School for gifted students.
 The year 1965 marked the start of the training
program for school administrators on the organization
 and supervision of special education classes.
 In 1967, BPS organized the National Committee on
special education.
 With the approval of RA 5250 in 1968 the teacher
training program for teachers of exceptional children
was held at the Philippine Normal College for the next
ten years and in the same year, the First Asian
Conference on Work for the Blind was held in Manila.
 In 1969, classes for socially maladjusted children
 were organized at the Manila Youth Reception Center
 The training of teachers for children with behavior
problems started at the University of the Philippines
in 1970 and in the same year the School for the Deaf
and the Blind established in 1907 was reorganized
into two separate residential schools: the Philippine
School for the Deaf (PSD) stayed in the original
building and the Philippine National School for the
Blind (PNSB) was built next to PSD. Also in the same
 year, a special school was established in San Pablo
City, the Paaraln ng Pag-ibig at Pag-asa.
 DEC issued a memorandum on Duties of the Special
Education Teacher for the blind in 1971.
 In 1973, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court
of Manila established the Tahanan Special School for
socially maladjusted children and youth. And in the
same year, the First Asian Conference on Mental
Retardation was held in Manila.
 In 1974, the First National Conference on the
Rehabilitation of the Disabled was held at the Social
Security Building in Quezon City and in the same year
the Southeast Asian Institute for Deaf (SAID) was
established.
 In 1976, Proclamation 1605 declared 177 to 1987 as
the Decade of the Filipino Child.
 In 1977, MEC issued Department Order No. 10 that
designated regional and division supervisors of
 special education programs. The West Visayas State
College of Iloilo City started its teacher training
program and offered scholarships to qualified
teachers.
 The year 1978 marked the creation of the National
Commission Concerning Disabled Persons (NCWDP)
through Presidential Decree 1509.
 In 1979, the Bureau of Elementary Education Special
Education Unit conducted a two-year nationwide
 Survey of unidentified exceptional children who were
in school
 The school for Crippled Children at the Southern
Island Hospital in Cebu City was organized in 1980.
 In 1981, the United Nations Assembly proclaimed the
observance of the International Year of Disabled
Persons.
 In 1982, three special schools were opened: the Cebu
State College Special High School for the Deaf, the
 Siaton Special Education Center in the Division of
Negros Oriental and the St. John Maria de Vianney
Special Education Learning Center in Quezon City.
 In 1983, Batas Pambansa Bilang 344 enacted the
Accessibility Law.
 In 1984, two special education programs were
inaugurated: the Labangon Special Education Center
Division of Cebu City and the Northern Luzon
Association’s Heinz Wolke School for the Blind at the
 Marcos Highway in Baguio City and on the next
Three years more SpEd Center opened: the Pedro
Acharon Special Education Center in the Division of
General Santos City, the Legazpi City Special
Education Center in Pag-asa, Legazpi City, and the
Datu Special Education Center in the Division of
Pampanga.
 In 1990, the Philippine Institute for the Deaf (PID) a
oral school for children with hearing impairment was
 established.
 In 1992, the Summer Training for Teachers of the
Visually Impaired started at the Philippine Normal
University an the program was sponsored by the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS),
the Resources for the Blind Incorporated (RBI), and
the Chriostoffel Blindenmission (CBM).
 In 1993, DECS issued Order No. 14 that directed
regional offices to organize the Regional Special
 Education Council (RSES).
 In 1996, the third week of January was declared as
Autism Consciousness Week.
 In 1997, DECS directed the organization of a
Regional Special Education Unit and the designation
of a Regional Supervisor for Special Education.
 In 1998, DECS ordered the reclassification of Regular
Teacher and principal items to Special Education
Teacher and Special School Principal items.
 Legal Bases of Special Education
 Articles 356 and 259 of Commonwealth Act No. 3203
asserted “the right of every child to live in an
atmosphere conducive to his physical, moral and
intellectual development” and the concomitant duty of
the government “to promote the full growth of the
faculties of every child”.
 RA 3562 “An act to promote the education of the blind
in the Philippines”.
 RA 5250 “An act establishing a ten-year teacher
Training program for teachers of special and
exceptional children” was signed into law in 1968.
 The 1973 Constitution of the Philippines, the
fundamental law of the land explicitly cited in Section
8, Article XV the provision of “a complete, adequate
and integrated system of education relevant to the
goals of national development.
 Presidential Decree No. 603 otherwise known as the
 Child and Youth Welfare Code. Article 3 on the rights
of the child provides among others that “the
emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted child
shall be treated with sympathy and understanding
and shall be given the education and care required by
his particular condition.
 Presidential Decree 1509 created the National
Commission Concerning Disabled Persons (NCCDP)
then renamed as National Council for the Welfare of
 Disabled Persons (NCWDP).
 The Education Act of 1982 or Batas Pambansa 232
states that “the state shall promote the right of every
individual to relevant quality education regardless of
sex, age, breed, socioeconomic status, physical and
mental condition, socio and ethnic origin, political and
other affiliations. The state shall therefore promote
and maintain equality of access to education as well
as enjoyment of the benefits of education by all its
citizens”.
 Section 24 “Special Education Service” of the same
Law affirms that “the state further recognizes its
responsibility to provide, within the context of the
formal education system services to meet special
needs of certain clientele.
 Batas Pambansa 344, The Accessibility Law. “An act
to enhance the mobility of disabled persons” requires
cars, buildings, institutions, establishments and
public utilities to install facilities and other devices
 for persons with disabilities.
 The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines cites the
rights of exceptional children to education in Article
XIV, Section 1 declares that the state shall protect
and promote the right of all citizens to quality
education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps
to make such education accessible to all. Section2
emphasizes that “the state shall provide adult citizens,
the disabled and out-of-school youth with training in
 Civics, vocational efficiency and other skills”.
 RA 6759 declaring August 1 of each year as “White
Cane Safety Day in the Philippines”.
 RA 7610, “An act providing for strong deterrence and
special protection against child abuse, exploitation
and discrimination, providing penalties for its violation
and other purposes”.
 Presidential Proclamation No. 361 set new dates for
the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation
 Week Celebration on the third week of July every
Year which shall culminate on the birth date of the
Sublime paralytic Apolinario Mabini.
 RA 9288 otherwise known as “The Newborn
Screening Act of 2004” is based in the premise that
retarded child could have been normal.