AFTER two years, the House of Representatives committee on basic education and culture has approved the proposed “Teacher Protection Act.”
House Bill 58 seeks to institute support mechanisms for public school teachers and school personnel in matters of student discipline and mechanisms for classroom management, and provide for their protection against cases related to such.
ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio authored the “Teacher Protection Act of 2016.”
Under the bill, the State shall implement in all public schools clearly defined regulations on appropriate student behavior towards other students, teachers, and school staff, during classes, and within and outside school premises.
The proposed measure further declares that the State shall promote and improve the working conditions of public school teachers and other school personnel, which are understood to determine whether or not the physical and emotional environments of children and teachers are conducive to learning and teaching.
The Department of Education, for its part, shall issue policies and principles on student discipline and classroom management, which shall govern all division-level student manuals.
Any act committed by a teacher or school staff pursuant to the disciplinary rules and procedures issued by the DepEd shall not be deemed as child abuse, cruelty, or exploitation as defined in Republic Act No. 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discriminatory Act.”
School personnel, most especially teachers, are at the forefront of delivery of education services to millions of students every day, Tinio said.
“While child protection is indispensable, teacher protection is also a must. To this end, my bill seeks to amend RA 7610, commonly known as the Child Abuse Law, insofar as any act committed by a teacher or school staff pursuant to the disciplinary rules and procedures issued by the DepEd shall not be deemed as child abuse,” he noted.