Child Rights Network CRN, the largest alliance of organizations and agencies pushing for children’s rights legislation in the Philippines, thanked the House for passing the bill on Dec. 2, a day before the International Day of Persons with Disabilities celebrated worldwide on Dec. 3.
The HB 8080 institutes a wide range of services for learners with disabilities in support of inclusive education and establishing inclusive learning resource centers in all school districts in the country. If passed into law, HB 8080 would significantly address the limited access to public education of the majority of the 5.5 million LWDs reported by the Department of Education .
CRN said that one of the highlights of the bill is the landmark recognition that LWDs need to be mainstreamed in regular age-appropriate school settings with the provision of needed supplementary aid and “in order to prepare them to live as fully functioning members of society.”