Amending Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994 (Creation and Composition of the Board)

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 JUL -2 P5:57 SENATE RICH -..- S.B. No. Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN AN ACT FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "PHILIPPINE TEACHERS PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF 1994", AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9293 EXPLANATORY NOTE The 1987 Constitution provides that the State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions. In pursuit of these objectives, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7836 or the "Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994" was enacted for the promotion, development, and professionalization of teachers and the teaching profession, and the supervision and regulation of the licensure examination. The law was amended in 2004 by R.A. No. 9293, amending in particular Sections 15, 16, and 31. Schools all over the world regard licenses as an essential employment entry in the teaching field.! In the Philippines, the licensure examination 1 Yauney, J.M. (2022). K-12 CS teacher licensing in the US. In Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2, 1171. Available at: https:// doi.org/10.1145/3478432.3499202

became one of the factors that signaled the quality of educators and the instruction they provided. It has become a key safeguard for the caliber of a teacher to be employed in schools and offers a standard by which to judge whether a graduate has the minimal proficiency necessary to engage in the teaching profession.2 The Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT) is the measure by which the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional Teachers (Board) ascertain the educational preparedness of future educators. From 2017 to 2019, the average national passing rates for elementary and secondary education examinees were below 50%. 3 A World Bank study examined data from 2009 to 2017 with findings implying the need to improve teacher preparation as teachers performed poorly on tests measuring teacher content knowledge. Considering the importance of the BLEPT in determining teaching quality, the need to revisit the "Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994" is necessary. In support of strengthening the professional standards and pool of qualified teachers while enabling the Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) to reinforce the constructive alignment between the curriculum, teacher training, and licensure examination, this bill seeks to amend Sections 5, 7, 8, and 13 to 16, through the following provisions: (1) Expanding the number of the members of the Board and the nominations for the members of the Board, and mandating the posting of the final list of nominees on the PRC official website; 2 Abao EL, Petancio JAM, Sanchez JMP and Sumalinog GG (2023) Performance of beginning teachers in the licensure examination for teachers: a national study. Front. Educ. 8:1240658. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1240658 3 Ibid. 4 World Bank. (2019). Philippines basic education: public expenditure review. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/3d726a60-03c8-55 3f- 8de8-214e29234b45/content

(2) Providing that the members of the Board who are employees or officials of government entities be seconded to the PRC for the duration of their term; (3) Setting additional qualifications and necessary expertise of the Board members, and the prohibition on the conflict of interest in the conduct and release of the licensure examination to be set by the PRC; (4) Prescribing the scope of examinations for the early childhood, special needs education, elementary, and secondary levels; (5) Proposing other applicable fields of specialization with qualifications as may be determined by the PRC, in coordination with the TEC; (6) Requiring the completion of a refresher course for those who failed to pass the licensure examination two (2) times; (7) Including the submission of and passing the portfolio of attainment of the professional standards for teaching as one of the requirements in taking the BLEPT; (8) Mandating the release of BLEPT questions and answers by the PRC within five (5) days after the day of the administration of the examination; and (9) Requiring the report of the ratings obtained by each candidate in each component to the PRC and mandating the Board to make public the licensure examination performance of TEls within 15 days after the release of examination results. This bill also introduces a new Section 15-A, which capacitates the TEC to develop and issue appropriate guidelines for the preparation, assessment, and evaluation of the portfolio of attainment of professional standards for teaching. With the end goal of providing transformative education through refocused and qualified educators, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session JUL -2 P5:57 R623 SENATE S.B. No. 52 Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN AN ACT FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "PHILIPPINE TEACHERS PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF 1994", AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9293 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Section 5 of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7836 is hereby amended

to read as follows: "Sec. 5. Creation and Composition of the Board. - There is hereby created under this Act a Board for Professional Teachers, hereinafter called the Board, a collegial body under the general supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulation Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed of [five (5)) SEVEN (7) members who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from among the recommendees chosen by the Commission. (The recommendees shall be chosen from the list of nominees selected by the accredited association of teachers, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED), COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION (CHED), TEACHER EDUCATION COUNCIL (TEC), EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT

COUNCIL (ECCDC), ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (ALCU), PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES (PASUC), COORDINATING COUNCIL OF PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE PHILIPPINES (COCOPEA), AND AN ACCREDITED ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS SHALL EACH RECOMMEND NOT MORE THAN TWO (2) NOMINEES WHO SHALL BE EVALUATED BY THE COMMISSION BASED ON (who duly possess all] the qualifications prescribed in Section [8] 3 of this Act. THE FINAL LIST OF NOMINEES SHALL BE PUBLISHED IN A NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION AND POSTED ON THE COMMISSION'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE. The chairman|PERSON and vice-chair|man|PERSON of the Board shall be appointed from these [five (5)] SEVEN (7) members by the President: Provided, That the members of the first Board appointed under this Act shall be automatically registered as professional teachers and issued with the certificate of registration and professional license upon payment of the fees for examination, registration, and other fees prescribed by the Commission. FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECOMMENDING NOMINEES UNDER THIS SECTION, THE ACCREDITED ASSOCIATION SHALL REFER TO A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION DULY RECOGNIZED BY THE COMMISSION AND COMPOSED OF AT LEAST 20% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS WITH VALID PROFESSIONAL LICENSE."

Sec. 2. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:

"Sec. 7. Term of Office. - The members of the Board shall hold office for a term of three (3) years from the date they assume office|: Provided, That the first appointees to the Beard under this Act shall hold office according to the following terms: one (1) member shall serve for one (1) year; one (1 member for two (2) years; the chairman, vice chairman, and one (1) member for three (3) years).

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO ARE OFFICIALS OR EMPLOYEES OF GOVERNMENT ENTITIES SHALL BE SECONDED TO THE COMMISSION FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR TERM SUBJECT TO EXISTING CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS. Vacancies shall be served for the unexpired term only. No person who has served AS MEMBER OF THE BOARD for two (2) consecutive terms shall be eligible for reappointment. Appointment to fill an unexpired term shall be considered an appointment to a complete term. The chairman or any member shall take his oath of office prior to the performance of his duties."

Sec. 3. Section 8 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:

"Sec. 8. Qualifications of Board Members. - Each Board member must at the time of his OR HER appointment: (a) Be a citizen and resident of the Philippines; (b) Be at least thirty-five (35) years of age, of proven integrity, and possessed of high moral values in his OR HER personal as well as professional conduct and has not been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude; (c) Be a holder of [the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bacheler of Science in Education and preferably a holder of a master's of doctorate degree in education, or their equivalents,] AT LEAST A MASTER'S DEGREE, PREFERABLY AN EARNED DOCTORATE DEGREE, IN TEACHER EDUCATION OR OTHER ALLIED DISCIPLINES from a REPUTABLE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION|, duly recognized and/or accredited by the Philippine government]; (d) Be a professional teacher with a valid certificate of registration and valid professional license, save those members who shall compose the first Board for Professional Teachers; (e) Has been a professional teacher in the active practice of the teaching profession for at least ten (10) years in EARLY

CHILDHOOD, elementary, [and] OR secondary LEVEL, OR IN THE TERTIARY LEVEL AS A FULL-TIME FACULTY IN A TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (TEI); and (1) Not be, AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT, an official member of the faculty of, nor have pecuniary interest in any (university, college, school, or institution] HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION conferring a bachelor's degree in education or its equivalents [for at least three (3) years prior to his appeintment,), and NOT connected with a review center or with any group or association where review classes or lectures in preparation for the licensure examination are offered or conducted, NOR HAVE PECUNIARY INTEREST IN SUCH. PROVIDED, THAT THE COMMISSION SHALL ISSUE THE APPROPRIATE RULES TO GOVERN THE PRACTICE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TO ENSURE THAT NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST SHALL ARISE IN THEIR FUNCTIONS RELATED TO THE CONDUCT OF THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION AND RELEASE OF THE RESULTS. Provided, [however] FURTHER, That the membership to the Board shall be evenly distributed to cover all levels of education, including equitable representation of the different fields of specialization. PROVIDED, FINALLY, THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD SHALL ALSO HAVE THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE IN IMPLEMENTING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE PRESCRIBED BY THE TEC AND REGULATED BY THE CHED, TEST DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS, AND LOGISTICS IN IMPLEMENTING LARGE-SCALE ASSESSMENTS AND SYSTEM EVALUATION."

Sec. 4. Section 13 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:

"Sec. 13. Examination, Registration and License Required. - Except as otherwise specifically allowed under the provisions of this

Act, all applicants for registration as professional teachers shall be required to undergo a written examination which shall be given at least once a year in such places and date as the Board may determine upon approval by the Commission. A valid certificate of registration and a valid professional license from the Commission are required before any person is allowed to practice as a professional teacher in the Philippines, except as otherwise allowed under [this Act] SECTION 8 OF R.A. NO. 10533, OR THE "ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013": PROVIDED, THAT THEY PASS THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION WITHIN FIVE (5) YEARS FROM THE DATE OF HIRING."

Sec. 5. Section 14 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 14. Scope of Examination. - The examinations for the EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION, elementary, and secondary school teachers shall be separatel-l, AND The examination for teachers in the elementary level] shall consist of [two (2)] THE FOLLOWING parts, namely: (professional] GENERAL (and] (genera.) education, PROFESSIONAL education, and/OR field of specialization, As APPLICABLE (The examination for teachers in the secondary level shall consist of three (3) parts, namely: professional education, general education, and field of specialization]." FOR APPLICANTS WITH THE REQUIRED UNITS IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, AS PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 6 OF THIS ACT, THE EXAMINATIONS SHALL CONSIST OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND FIELD OF SPECIALIZATION, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION, IN COORDINATION WITH THE TEC."

Sec. 6. Section 15 of the same Act is hereby further amended to read

as follows: "Sec. 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicant. - No applicant

shall be admitted to take the examination unless, on the date of the filing of the application, he OR SHE shall have complied with the following requirements: (a) A citizen of the Philippines or an alien whose country has reciprocity with the Philippines in the practice of the teaching profession; (b) At least eighteen (18) years of age; (c) In good health and of good reputation with high moral values; (d) Has not been convicted by final judgment by a court for an offense involving moral turpitude; (e) A graduate of a [school, college or university] HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION DULY recognized by the government and possesses the minimum educational qualifications, as follows: THE EARLY (1) For teachers in (preschool] CHILDHOOD LEVEL, a bachelor's degree in early childhood education (BECED) or its equivalent; (2) FOR TEACHERS IN SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION PURSUANT TO R.A. NO. 11650, OR THE "INSTITUTING A POLICY OF INCLUSION AND SERVICES FOR LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES IN SUPPORT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ACT", A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION (BSNED) OR ITS EQUIVALENT; (3) For teachers in the elementary grades, a bachelor's degree in elementary education (B|SJEED) or its equivalent; (4) For teachers in the secondary grades, a bachelor's degree in education or its equivalent with a major land miner,] or a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences with THE REQUIRED UNITS IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AS DETERMINED BY THE TEC |at least eighteen (18) units in professional education]; (5) For teachers of vocational and two-year technical courses, a bachelor's degree in the field of specialization or

its equivalent, with THE REQUIRED UNITS IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AS DETERMINED BY THE TEC (at least eighteen (18) units in professional education]; and (6) FOR THOSE WITH OTHER APPLICABLE FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION, THE MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION, IN COORDINATION WITH THE TEC. (1) HAS SUBMITTED AND PASSED THE PORTFOLIO OF ATTAINMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHING AS PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 7 OF THIS ACT; AND (g) HAS COMPLETED A REFRESHER COURSE IN A GOVERNMENT-RECOGNIZED TEI AS DEFINED UNDER R.A. NO. 11713, OR THE "EXCELLENCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION ACT" WITHIN ONE YEAR PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE EXAMINATION FOR APPLICANTS WHO FAILED TO PASS THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION TWO (2) TIMES."

Sec. 7. A new Section 15-A is hereby inserted to read as follows:

"SEC. 15-A. SUBMISSION OF PORTFOLIO OF ATTAINMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS. - GRADUATES OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS WHO SHALL BE TAKING THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION SHALL BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A TEACHING PORTFOLIO AS EVIDENCE OF THEIR ATTAINMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS. THE TEC SHALL BE CAPACITATED TO DEVELOP AND ISSUE APPROPRIATE GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION, ASSESSMENT, AND EVALUATION OF THE PORTFOLIO OF ATTAINMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHING. THESE GUIDELINES SHALL ENSURE ALIGNMENT WITH THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND UPHOLD THE

QUALITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS ACROSS INSTITUTIONS."

Sec. 8. Section 16 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 16. RELEASE OF THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS; Report of the EXAMINATION RESULTS. - THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS AND CORRESPONDING ANSWERS SHALL BE RELEASED BY THE COMMISSION TO THE TEC WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE EXAMINATION. FURTHER, the Board shall, within one hundred twenty (120) days after the examination, report the ratings obtained by each candidate IN EACH COMPONENT to the COMMISSION for approval and appropriate action. THE COMMISSION SHALL ALSO MAKE PUBLIC THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION TEST QUESTIONS AND CORRESPONDING ANSWERS, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF TEIS WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE EXAMINATION RESULTS."

Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - Within sixty (60)

days from the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall update its IRR necessary for the full and effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 10. Transitory Provision. - The Commission and the Board shall

update their existing policies and issuances to ensure their alignment with this Act within a period of six (6) months from its effectivity, and report the same to Congress on the first year of its implementation.

Sec. 11. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is

declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 12.

Repealing Clause. - All other laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, administrative orders, rules and regulations, issuances, 3 or parts thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are 4 hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Sec. 13. Effectivity. - Notwithstanding the non-issuance of the IRR, this

Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,