Initiatives for special education in the Philippines began as early as 1902. Almost a century and two decades have passed; however, until now, our country does not have a version of the famous IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. However, there is a Senate Bill that drives this need, Senate Bill 1298 sponsored by Senator Joel Villanueva. In the absence of IDEA, our special education system does not have specific parameters for its practice. Unfortunately, there are no laws that require the other elementary resources that will be of great help to teachers.

Despite the fact that a fundamental building block is missing, our Department of Education has recently made clear its desire for inclusive education. Inclusive education refers to a child with special needs fully participating in a regular school. We also have a Senate bill waiting to become law on inclusive education, Senate Bill 996 adopted by Senator Win Gathchalian.

Most school teachers, both in public and private schools, have expressed apprehension about their readiness to tackle the inclusion agenda. They are expressing a lack of competent training for the task. Regular classroom teachers are already anticipating the pressure and difficulty of running their classrooms. They are overwhelmed as of now.

If we had an IDEA, our children with special education needs would have a plethora of professionals and proper evaluation available to them. Diagnosis alone will not really be enough. It is best to have an evaluation for each child’s developmentally appropriate concern. Also, for your educational need, an evaluation by a professional who is also familiar with the instruction and curriculum will be helpful. With this detailed educational assessment, our regular classroom teachers who manage children with special needs will have better information and a picture of the child’s current level of achievement.

If we had an IDEA, our regular classroom teachers who handle children with special needs would have resources to ease the labor pains of the sought after program of inclusion. Ideally, it will allow each school or district to have its own special education department. This is the first and best resource for regular teachers. The special education department will be a well of expertise and experience. This department will also have teachers and paraprofessionals who are properly trained for children with special education needs. They will assist in modifying the lesson material to suit the needs of the child. A regular classroom teacher may ask you for ideas for modifying activities and assessments.

If we had an IDEA, the regular classroom teachers would have a copy of the special needs child’s IEP or individualized lesson plan. You will have the list of very specific goals and objectives for the child with special needs. It also includes lists of possible activities and strategies to achieve the objectives described in it. This is a very important and indispensable tool designed to help the classroom teacher know how best to meet the needs of a particular child. The regular classroom teachers should have received a copy of each special needs child’s IEP in a confidential folder. But unfortunately, many classroom teachers never laid eyes on that important document so full of information about the child. This is because no law mandates it and some see it as irrelevant and rule out preparing it.

If we had an IDEA, children with special educational needs would have access to free education in the public school system.

Every child with special needs is capable of success. Each will succeed according to her individual ability. Focus on the child’s strengths and support her weaknesses. Let each child feel and know that you believe in him or her. The rewards will be beyond words for both you and the child.