The rising number of Filipino children diagnosed with developmental disabilities underscores an urgent challenge for the education system: ensuring that all learners with disabilities receive quality, equitable, and affordable education. While the Department of Education (DepEd) has issued clear guidelines for Special Education (SPED) under the K to 12 program, a critical gap remains, and that is the absence of a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism for private schools offering SPED programs. This gap has serious implications for inclusivity, service quality, and financial sustainability for families.
Private schools play an important role in responding to the growing demand for SPED services, yet their academic freedom has resulted in uneven program implementation. Without consistent oversight, disparities emerge in curriculum delivery, teacher qualifications, student assessment, and support services. For learners with disabilities, these inconsistencies can mean prolonged stays in non-graded programs, unclear learning milestones, and limited opportunities to transition to mainstream education or employment.
The lack of regulation also places a heavy financial burden on families. Tuition fees in private SPED schools are often compounded by additional costs such as therapy sessions and shadow teachers, and these are expenses not covered by existing PWD discounts. Studies show that families of children with disabilities may spend significantly more than those with typically developing children, further entrenching inequality and restricting access to education for low- and middle-income households.
From a development perspective, this issue cuts across economic, rights-based, and governance dimensions. Limited access to quality SPED constrains the future productivity and social mobility of learners with disabilities, undermines their right to education, and weakens the country’s commitment to inclusive growth and the Sustainable Development Goals. Effective governance demands that DepEd balance private schools’ autonomy with its mandate to protect learners’ rights and ensure minimum standards.
To address these challenges, DepEd must establish a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system specifically for private SPED implementers. Such a system would promote compliance with national standards, ensure qualified teaching personnel, support evidence-based policy reforms, and prevent exploitative practices. Regular monitoring would also help identify best practices and gaps, strengthening both public and private SPED provision.
Equally important is sustained collaboration among DepEd, parents, private schools, other government agencies, civil society, and international partners. Through coordinated action, capacity-building, and shared accountability, the education sector can move closer to a truly inclusive system—one that gives learners with disabilities not just access to schooling, but a fair chance to thrive and participate fully in society.
Note: This column is a condensed version of a draft policy brief submitted in my previous Development Perspectives class.
