To: Bureau Directors
Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents

1. Pursuant to DECS Order No. 26, s. 1997 entitled “Institutionalization of SPED Programs in All Schools”, there should be at least one SPED Center organized in every school division. The establishment of this Center aims to provide access to basic education among children with special needs, namely: the gifted/talented, the mentally retarded, the visually impaired, the hearing impaired, the orthopedically handicapped, the learning disabled, the speech defectives, the children with behavior problems, the autistic children and those with health problems through the formal system and other alternative delivery services in education.
2. The Center shall also function as a Resource Center for Inclusive Education which shall support children with special needs integrated in regular schools, assist in the conduct of school-based in-service training, produce appropriate teaching materials, and conduct continuous assessment of children with special needs.
3. As of SY 1999-2000, the recognized public SPED Centers in the country are listed in the enclosure.
4. For school divisions which have not organized their SPED Centers, the following guidelines are set:
   1. The Center shall be organized within a regular school;
   2. It shall provide educational services to at least three (3) types of children with special needs;
   3. The teachers who will be involved in the program shall have training in the education of children with special needs; and
   4. The recognition for the SPED Center shall be sought by the School Principal from the Regional Director (thru channels) submitting the following documents:
      > Brief description of the proposed SPED Center: it goals and objectives and programs and services offered;
      > Enrolment of Children with Special Needs for the Current Year; and
      > List of SPED teachers and their qualifications.
   5. The Regional Office shall submit to the Bureau of Elementary Education the SPED Center recognized by the Region.
5. Immediate dissemination of and compliance with this Order is desired.

Encl.:
As stated
Reference:
DECS Order: (No. 26, s. 1997)
Allotment: 1—(D.0.60-97)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
CENTERS
SPECIAL EDUCATION

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