Children with Special Needs (CSNs) in Quezon City must enjoy equal opportunities with ordinary children in the city by providing facilities that cater to their particular needs like district centers for special education (SPED).
For the benefit of the CSNs, Councilor Jullienne Alyson Rae V. Medalla filed a proposed resolution mandating the city government to establish at least one Special Education (SPED) District Center for each of the city’s four districts to enable children with special needs to fully develop their abilities, talents, and interests.
According to Medalla, a SPED center is a great avenue for CNS to fully develop their abilities to enable them to become more responsible citizens and effective partners of society.
Recently, by virtue of an ordinance approved by the city council on April 2, 2010, Quezon City Mayor Herbert M. Bautista ordered the creation of the Special Children’s Board to protect and promote the well being of CSNs in the city.
Ordinance SP-1995, S-2009 provides for the establishment of a sustainable program for special children in the city to ensure that they will have the benefits that an ordinary student enjoys.
Bautista directed the establishment of special coordinating day care centers to make sure that accessible education will be provided to the CSNs and to ensure that a sustainable program for children with disabilities is developed.
An over-all accounting of all special children in Quezon City is to be undertaken in order to determine the CSN head counts and to assess the proportionate student-teacher ratio, and to hire more SPED teachers if needed to fit the total number of CSNs in the city.
Members of the Special Children’s Board include representatives from Social Services Development Department, Public Affairs and Information Services Office, Division of City Schools, Recognized Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and Chairman of the Committee on Education of the City Council.-30- Maureen Quinones, PAISO.
