The Department of Education (DepEd) is preparing to submit a proposed executive order that would overhaul how basic education classes are suspended and resumed during disasters and other hazards.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said Thursday the proposed measure, which was approved by the Social Development Committee (SDC) Cabinet Cluster, aims to protect learners while minimizing unnecessary disruptions to classroom instruction.
“Under President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos’ (Jr.) leadership, we are reframing our approach: we are not merely suspending classes; we are safeguarding learning continuity,” Angara said.
The proposal seeks to revise Executive Order 66, series of 2012, by introducing a more localized and flexible system for deciding when classes should be suspended or resumed.
DepEd said it recorded around 20 to 40 days of instructional loss from June 8 to Aug. 31 due to weather disturbances and disasters that forced the suspension of in-person classes.
The figure is approaching the 53 days of instructional loss recorded out of 180 school days during School Year 2023-2024.
Angara said the proposed system would give local officials and school heads greater authority to respond to actual conditions in their respective areas.
“By institutionalizing granular suspensions and resumptions, we give our local executives and school heads the legal backing and flexibility to make science-backed decisions tailored to real-time, ground conditions,” he said.
The proposed EO would establish three decision-making mechanisms, subject to coordination with local government units.
These would include automatic suspension based on national technical thresholds, localized suspension ordered by local chief executives, and granular suspension and resumption decisions based on specific conditions at the affected areas.
DepEd said the revised framework would be more hazard-inclusive and decentralized, allowing authorities to weigh safety risks against the need to keep students learning.
“When a hazard strikes, the safety of our students, teachers, and school personnel is non-negotiable,” Angara said.
“However, every unnecessary day a classroom stays closed costs our learners their potential and compromises our long-term economic productivity.”
The proposed policy would also broaden the hazards covered by the existing rules, which currently focus largely on typhoons and related weather disturbances.
The expanded provisions would cover heavy rainfall, flooding, earthquakes, storm surges, poor air quality, volcanic smog, volcanic hazards and extreme heat.
Extreme heat reaching 40 degrees Celsius or a higher heat index would also be included among the conditions considered for class suspension and resumption decisions.
The proposal would retain the authority of schools to suspend in-person classes based on documented, site-specific assessments, provided these are concurred in by the Schools Division Superintendent.
DepEd said the proposed changes are intended to provide a legal framework for more precise decisions, allowing classes to resume when conditions are safe instead of relying solely on broad, area-wide suspensions.
The department will submit the proposed EO following the SDC Cabinet Cluster’s approval of the revised measure.
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