Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Definition of Terms. -As used in this Act, the following shall be defined as follows:

(a)Basic Educationrefers to a program of instruction intended to meet the basic learning needs which provide the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses kindergarten, elementary and secondary education of all learners, including those with disabilities, as well as Alternative Learning Systems (ALS) as provided in Republic Act No. 11510, ad Republic Act No. 10533, or the "Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013";

(b)Child Development Center (CDCs)are the day care centers established in every barangay under Republic Act No. 6972 or the "Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act" and converted to CDCs under Republic Act No. 10410. CDCs are implementing health, nutrition, early education, and social services development programs that provide for the basic holistic needs of learners with disabilities below five (5) years old to promote their optimum growth and development, These also include national CDCs as provided in Republic Act No. 10410;

(c)Child Find System (CFS)refers to the system of identification, location, and evaluation of all learners with disabilities not more than twenty-four (24) years of age who are not receiving basic education services for purposes of facilitating their inclusion into the general basic education system. It likewise covers learners with disabilities below five (5) years old who are not receiving early education services and program under Republic Act No. 10410;

(d)Inclusive Educationrefers to the process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all learners by moving towards the end-goal of full participation, presence and achievement in learning cultures and communities, which involves accommodation, modification, adaptation, and individualization in content, approaches, structures, and strategies. It involves equitable opportunities for learners with disabilities to receive educational services, and the needed support and related services with their age-appropriate peer groups and, as far as practicable, in such schools or ILRCs nearest their homes or residences, in order to prepare them to live as fully functional members of society;

(e)Inclusionrefers to a process where all learners, regardless of their background and abilities, are given an equal chance to play, learn, and interact together in the same learning environment and the community. It is an approach where every learner is valued, supported, and given access to equal opportunities and learning experiences within an Inclusive Learning Resource Center, CDC or school setting, and the community;

(f)Inclusive Learning Resource Center of Learners with Disabilities (ILRC)refers to a physical or virtual center that provides support and related services to teaching and learning, using appropriate, accessible, disability, linguistically-culturally-, and gender-sensitive instructional learning materials, tools, devices, gadgets, and equipment to facilitate and enhance learning, and assessment tools and instruments, to evaluate developmental domains and specific areas of concern to determine appropriate services and placement decisions, with support and related services from medical, health, and allied professionals for care, rehabilitation, and development of learners with disabilities;

(g)ILRC Personnelrefer to all personnel who are considered qualified by the Department of Education (DepEd) to administer special needs services as provided in this Act. These include, but not limited to, guidance counselors, all persons who are qualified to teach sign language or Braille, para-teachers, learning support aides, and other persons as may be qualified by the DepEd to teach learners with disabilities in he ILRC, CDC, a resource room, or inside or outside a classroom;

(h)Individualized Education Plan (IEP)refers to the systematic, purposive, and developmental educational programming of curricular and instructional priorities and contents designed to meet the educational requirements of a learner with disability and ensure mastery learning of skills and behaviors. It includes the services to be provided and the duration and frequency of such services, describes the learner's present level of performance, how the learner's disabilities affect academic performance, and specific accommodations and modifications. An IEP shall be designed to meet the unique educational needs of a learner with disability who shall receive appropriate services, have real opportunities for equality, and fully participate in the general education system and the community.

It shall likewise aim at developing the learner's strengths and talents to achieve the greatest possible self-sufficiency and independent living;

(i)Instructional Materials for Learners with Disabilitiesrefer to textbooks in Braille, large-type, audio, digital or Filipino sigh language (FSL) materials for deaf, augmentative and alternative instructional materials for learners with development disabilities, or any medium or apparatus that convey information to learners with disabilities or otherwise contributes to the learning process;

(j)Learners with Disabilitiesrefers to learners in general early and basic education system who require additional support and related services and adoptive pedagogic method due to their long or short-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others to develop them to their maximum capability;

(k)Learning Support Aidesrefer to qualified persons who work together in collaboration with special needs education teachers and para-teachers as defined in this Act, and contribute to the provision of services that promote achievement and progression of learners with disabilities. They may include those persons with experience in caring for learners with disabilities, graduates of a caregiving course under the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) or its accredited schools or training centers, and graduates of senior high school with caregiving as his or her specialized subject;

(l)Multidisciplinary Teamrefers to a group of health and allied health professionals who, through their specialized assessment, shall provide for the overall health and well-being of learners with disabilities;

(m) Multi-year Roadmaprefers to a document that shall serve as a guide to government agencies and private stakeholders for the optimal realization of the objectives of this Act. It shall be part of and aligned with the basic education roadmap as formulated by the DepEd. It shall likewise contain the current policy, practices, gaps, and challenges affecting the early and basic education of learners with disabilities, set detailed targets and outcomes for a minimum period of five (5) years and provide the public and private stakeholders specific actions or interventions including implementation and monitoring strategies and annual budgetary requirements. It shall be subject to a periodic review and updating to determine its implementation status and ensure that the delivert of services envisioned in this Act is sustained;

(n)Para-teachersrefer to those who have taken the licensure examination for teachers but were unable to qualify, and have been issued by the Board of Professional Teachers a special permit indicating their area of assignment and their completion of training programs on special needs education, or inclusive education to teach learners with disabilities in accordance with Republic Act No. 9293, otherwise known as "An Act Amending Certain Sections of Republic Act Numbered Seventy-Eight Hundred and Thirty Six (R.A. No. 7836), otherwise known as the "Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994";

(o)Private Sector Participationrefers to all forms of indispensable, substantial and meaningful participation of private individuals, partnerships, groups or entities, organizations of persons with disabilities, community-based organizations or nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and business and industry groups in the delivery f educational and rehabilitative services for learners with disabilities;

(p)Related Servicesrefer to provisions which include, but not limited to, linguistic solutions for deaf learners' concerns, speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, intervenor services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, social services, school health services, orientation and mobility services, medical services, and transportation services, as may be required to assist a learner with disability to fully enjoy the rights and benefits from education services;

(q)Reasonable Accommodationrefers to the necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure learners with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms including their right to quality education;

(r)Special Needs Educationsrefers to the customized instructional program or service designed to meet the diverse needs of an individual with disability, which may necessitate supplementary aids and services and teaching strategies in the classroom or non-academic settings. They include instructions on physical and vocational education, social skills development, and basic survival needs, and providing reasonable accommodations, modifications, adaptations, and individualization, as needed. It includes learners with disabilities in the general education system to enable them to realize their full potential and prepare them as independent functioning members of society. The term "Special Needs Education" shall replace the term "Special Education (SPED)";

(s)Special Needs education Teacherrefers to an individual who teaches academic and life skills to basic education learners who have a range of disabilities and learning difficulties using various strategies targeting the learners' holistic development. A special needs education teacher works in partnership with a general education teacher in planning, teaching and providing support to learners with disabilities. He or she has a degree in any of the following: Bachelor of Special Needs Education, Bachelor of Elementary or Secondary Education with Specialization in Special Needs Education, or Allied Undergraduate and Graduate degrees with eighteen (18) units in Special Needs Education, and is qualified to teach Special Needs Education as provided in existing rules and regulation of the DepEd.

(t)Support Servicesrefer to services provided to learners with disabilities by the ILRCs, schools, other facilities, group of medical and allied medical professionals or by the community in general that facilitate, aid, and support the early and basic education of learners with disabilities in the potential toward self-sufficiency and become fully participative members of society. These include related services as defined herein;

(u)Universal Designas defined in the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities", refers to to the design of product, environments, programs, and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. "Universal design" shall not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed; and

(v)Universal Design for Learning (UDL)refers to a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that:

(1) Provides flexibility in the way information is presented, students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and their engagement; and

(2) Reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, support mental and physical challenges, and maintain high achievement expectations for all students, including learners with disabilities.

It also refers to a set of principles that guides the design of inclusive classroom instruction and accessible course materials. The three (3) principles of UDL are:

(i) Recognition - refers to multiple methods of representation that give learners a variety of ways to acquire information and build knowledge;

(ii) Strategic Learning - refers to multiple means of student action and expression that provide learners, alternative modes for demonstration what they have learned; and

(iii) Affective Learning - refers to multiple modes of student engagement that tap into learners interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn.