Section 8Sec./Art. 8

Hiring of ILRC Personnel; Functions. -In addition to teachers with special training, special needs education teachers, para-teachers, learning support aides, licensed social worker, and other allied professionals with the knowledge, skills, and special training in interacting and dealing with learners with disabilities, the DepEd shall hire the necessary personnel and support staff, including qualified persons with disabilities, to operate, administer, and oversee the ILRC.

Each ILRC shall have an ILRC Supervisor and a multidisciplinary team, and supported by mobile teachers, a mobile multidisciplinary team, and supported by mobile teachers, a mobile multidisciplinary team, and para-teachers wherever necessary. They shall have the following functions:

(a) Supervisor.- The Supervisor shall:

(1) administer and supervise the ILRC Programs and oversee its other components;

(2) monitor and supervise the provision of technical assistance, training, and enhancement programs of the ILRC personnel;

(3) prepare reports regularly on the operations of the ILRC to include the progress of learners with disabilities, and submit the same to the Secretary of the Department of Education (Secretary) through the Schools Division Office.

(4) ensure the performance of the functions of the ILRC and the implementation of the objectives of this Act; and

(5) perform such other related functions as may be provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

(b) Multidisciplinary Team.- The multidisciplinary team shall prepare, the IEPs of all learners with disabilities based on the tram's assessments and diagnoses, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of the IEP, and ensure that learners with disabilities are included within the general education system by appropriate and qualified personnel as close as possible to their homes and and alongside their age-appropriate peer groups with or without disabilities.

The multidisciplinary team shall be composed of any or all of the following professionals and specialists, as may be necessary:

(1) Educational Psychologist;

(2) Guidance Counselor;

(3) Psychometrician;

(4) Developmental Pediatrician;

(5) Neurological Psychiatrist;

(6) Physical Therapist;

(7) Occupational Therapist;

(8) Speech and Language Therapist or Speech Correction Teacher;

(9) Speech Language Pathologist;

(10) Reading Specialist;

(11) Specialist for Braille and other augmentative and alternative modes of communication;

(12) FSL Specialist;

(13) FSL Interpreter;

(14) Sign Communication or Visual Specialist;

(15) Special needs teacher, who shall be the lead interventionist and implementor of the IEP; and

(16) ILRC Supervisor.

The school head for school-based ILRC and the general educational teachers are likewise members of the multidisciplinary team.

(c) Mobile Teachers. - Mobile teachers shall be hired, unless the ILRC Supervisor deems otherwise. Their principal task is to assist in the CFS and determine appropriate learning modalities using the services of the ILRC. They shall likewise share responsibility with the multidisciplinary team for planning and scheduling, assist isolated or remote schools with specialized equipment, individuals programs, curriculum adjustment, and teaching aids, and perform other related functions. Mobile teachers shall either be special needs teachers or teachers who have finished the necessary training programs on special needs education to be provided by the DepEd.

(d) Mobile Multidisciplinary Team. - At least one (1) mobile multidisciplinary team in every municipality and city, or schools district with an existing ILRC, shall be organized as determined by the ILRC Supervisor. The team members shall serve as mobile consultants of the schools, the ILRCs and the LGUs. They may be drawn from professional organizations based in the region or nearby regions where the division is based. It shall be composed of necessary professionals and specialists in the multidisciplinary team as stated in paragraph (b) of this section.

The mobile multidisciplinary team shall be prioritized for deployment to efficiently reach as many LGUs as possible. Pursuant to this, the DepEd, in consultation with the Advisory Committee for the Education of Learners with Disabilities under Section 15 hereof, and appropriate professional organizations, shall consider various programs to allow allied medical professionals in relevant field to join the mobile multidisciplinary teams.

(e)Para-teachers. - Para-teachers. -Para-teachers shall be hired and assigned to areas where there is a shortage or absence of a special needs teacher, as identified and provided by the DepEd. They shall perform the same tasks as special needs teachers within their areas of assignment:Provided,That they shall have completed the necessary training programs on inclusive education to teach learners with disabilities prior to the performance of their tasks:Provided, further,That the completion of such training programs shall be indicated in the special permit.

After the expiration of their special permits, para-teachers shall be prioritized for employment as learning support aides, or for other plantilla positions suitable to their qualifications within the ILRC in order to utilize their experience. The DepEd shall provide opportunities for para-teachers to further develop their skills in special needs education.

To ensure the effective implementation of this Act, the DepEd, Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) may hire other necessary personnel and support staff for the ILRC such as learning support aides.