Last Miles Schools Act

Sonate Othm of the @retar TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) First Regular Session 26 FEB 11 P4:35 SENATE RECEIVED BY: 1842 S. No. _ Introduced by Senator FRANCIS N. PANGILINAN AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PUBLIC BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED AND DISADVANTAGED AND CONFLICT- AFFECTED AREAS, PROVIDING ACCESS ROADS LEADING TO LAST MILE SCHOOLS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE The 1987 Constitution mandates the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education and to make such education accessible to all. However, despite sustained public investment in basic education, learners in Geographically- Isolated, Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) and conflict-affected areas continue to face severe constraints arising from distance, inadequate facilities, and lack of essential public services. Many public schools operate under last mile conditions, marked by difficult terrain, makeshift or undersized classrooms, lack of electricity and connectivity, multigrade teaching, limited personnel, and small or dispersed learner populations, often including Indigenous Peoples. These structural constraints materially impair learning outcomes and perpetuate inequities in access to quality basic education. This measure seeks to institutionalize Last Mile Schools within the public basic education system by establishing clear identification criteria and mandating the Department of Education (DepEd) to adopt differentiated policies responsive to their distinct operational realities. It directs the development of tailored approaches to learning delivery, teacher deployment, infrastructure standards, learner support services, and performance monitoring. Recognizing that educational access in last-mile areas is inseparable from basic infrastructure, the bill mandates inter-agency coordination among concerned national government agencies, local government units, and Local School Boards to align and prioritize programs for access roads, electrification, and digital connectivity in support of Last Mile Schools.

To ensure accountability, the measure requires periodic reporting on school conditions and learning outcomes and provides for the regular review of implementing policies. It also establishes a medium-term school building and facilities program dedicated to Last Mile Schools, to be undertaken in coordination with relevant agencies and local governments. By institutionalizing a coherent policy framework for Last Mile Schools, this bill seeks to correct persistent access gaps and ensure that quality basic education reaches learners in the most remote and underserved communities. In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. FRANCIS A PANGILINAN Senation

Office of thie decretach TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FEB 11 P4:35 First Regular Session ) SENATE RECEIVED BY: 1842 S. No. Introduced by Senator FRANCIS N. PANGILINAN AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PUBLIC BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED AND DISADVANTAGED AND CONFLICT- AFFECTED AREAS, PROVIDING ACCESS ROADS LEADING TO LAST MILE SCHOOLS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Last Mile Schools

Act."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to

protect and promote the right of all Filipinos to quality education at all levels and to take appropriate measures to ensure that basic education is accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of all learners. The State recognizes and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities within the framework of national unity and development and affirms the 9 right of Indigenous families and communities to shared responsibility for the upbringing, education, and well-being of their children, consistent with their rights. In pursuit of equity in education, the State shall improve the quality of and access to basic education for learners in far flung, geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict affected areas, including those enrolled in Last Mile Schools, through targeted investments in school infrastructure, access roads, and programs responsive to their respective circumstances.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

(a) Basic Education refers to the intended basic learning needs which provide the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It includes kindergarten, elementary and secondary education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school learners and those with special needs;

(b) Basic Education School refers to learning institutions accredited by the Department of Education (DepEd) to deliver services addressing the intended basic learning needs of students; (c) Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged and Conflict-Affected Areas (GIDCA) refer to schools or communities situated in remote or marginalized locations, with limited access to essential services and infrastructure, or impacted by conflict or insecurity; (d) Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCS)/Indigenous Peoples (IPs) refer to the same definition stated in Section 3h, Chapter 2 of Republic Act No. 8371, or The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997, which describes it as "group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains"; and (e) Last Mile Schools refer to public basic education schools with gaps in resources and facilities, which are located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged and conflict-affected areas (GIDCA)

SEC. 4. Establishment of Last Mile Schools. - The Last Mile Schools are hereby

established, under the administration of the DepEd, to cater to the basic education of learners throughout the country's GIDCA. The establishment of Last Mile Schools in locations situated by the ICCs shall be undertaken in consideration of the rights of the IPs, in accordance with Republic 36 Act No. 8371.

SEC. 5. Access to Education. - The DepEd shall collaborate with concerned

national government agencies for the delivery of the infrastructures necessary to ensure access to education in the Last Mile Schools, namely: (a) Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for the construction of access roads leading to the location of Last Mile Schools; (b) Department of Energy (DOE) and National Electrification Administration (NEA), for the installation of electricity; and (c) Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), for the installation of information and communications technology.

SEC. 6. Criteria. - The indicators used in identifying a public school to be

considered a Last Mile School may include any of the following: (a) Having fewer than four (4) classrooms; (b) With makeshift or nonstandard rooms; (c) Absence of or irregular electricity; (d) Have not been allocated funds for repairs or new construction projects in the last four (4) years unless destroyed (e) With travel distance of more than one hour from the center of a city or municipality, or with difficulty of terrain or of such nature as to be considered having difficulty of access to existing educational institutions (f) Having multigrade classes or rooms; (g) With less than five (5) teachers; (h) Having a student population of less than one hundred (100) learners; (i) With more than seventy-five percent(75%) IP learners; and ) Having such other circumstances that make it difficult for learners to access school facilities.

SEC. 7. Tailored Programs for Last Mile Schools. - The DepEd shall formulate

and implement programs responsive to the unique context of Last Mile Schools, teachers, and learners, including but not limited to: (a) Learning delivery and intervention mechanisms; (b) School staffing standards, given the unique needs of learners in Last Mile Schools (c) Formula for school maintenance and other operating expenses, in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); (d) Learning tools and equipment; (e) Learner support services; (f) Relevant pre-service teacher education curriculum and assessment with the Teacher Education Council, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Professional Regulation Commission; (g) Relevant in-service training, through the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP); and (h) Teacher, school head, and school evaluations, in coordination with the Civil Service Commission.

SEC. 8. Implementation. - The school building program for Last Mile Schools

shall be established and completed within a period of five (5) years after the effectivity of this Act. To facilitate synchronicity, harmony and complementarity of plans, resources, and efforts of both the national government and the local government units (LGUs) towards the attainment of the objectives of this Act, the DepEd shall plan and implement the programs, projects, and activities that address the needs of the Last Mile Schools, in coordination and collaboration with the National Commission on

Indigenous Peoples (NIP), DPWH, DICT, DOE, NEA, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), DBM, CSC, TEC, and concerned LGUs.

SEC. 9. Reporting on Learner Outcomes. -The DepEd shall assess and report

6 on learning outcomes separately for students enrolled in Last Mile Schools, to ensure that progress and gaps are systematically monitored and addressed.

SEC. 10. Policy Review. - The DepEd shall review and revise existing relevant

9 policies, standards, and guidelines to directly address the specific conditions and contexts of Last Mile Schools.

SEC. 11. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of this

12 Act shall be included in the budgets of the concerned departments, agencies and 13 Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations in the annual General Appropriations 14 Act.

SEC. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations.- Within ninety (90) days from

the approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall, in consultation with the NCIP, DPWH, DICT, DOE, NEA, DSWD, DENR, NDRRMC, DBM, CSC, TEC, and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, formulate the rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 13. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared

unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect.

Sec. 14. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive

order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 15. Effectivity. - Notwithstanding the non-issuance of the implementing

rules and regulations, this Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its complete 28 publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,