DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones issued DepEd Order No. 1, series 2022 – Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program to strengthen its homeschooling program in the Philippines as an alternative delivery mode (ADM) to help learners who need more regular parental support and supervision especially with the current public health situation. The revised DepEd Homeschooling Program policy guidelines are consistent with DepEd’s mandate to establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education, guided by the constitutional directive to support the natural and primary right and duty of parents in rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and development of moral character.

The DepEd Homeschooling Program is designed as one among the Alternative Delivery Modes  which may be offered by any public or private school as a response to the needs of learners who cannot regularly report to school due to:

• medical conditions,
• family situations and difficult circumstances that require more regular parental support and supervision and
• for learners whose parents “opt them to be educated at home by themselves.

The Home Schooling Program in the Philippines offers families flexibility in deciding and addressing their children’s access issues and provides an opportunity for them to contribute to making the curriculum learner-centered, inclusive, developmentally-appropriate, responsive and relevant, while applying pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative.

The Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program provides:

• substantive guidance on the implementation of the Homeschooling Program
• discusses its underlying principles, objectives and target learners.
• defines the program standards which include program management, the curriculum, learning delivery modalities, parent/guardian as a learning facilitator, learning resources, learning environment and classroom assessment to be used.
• implementation protocols and procedures to guide the field implementation,”

Highlights of the Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program are the following:

• the homeschool program may be offered by both public and private schools as an ADM.
• private schools are required to obtain a permit to offer the program while public schools should obtain the authorization of the regional
• school heads are instructed to assign a homeschool coordinator who will be in charge of enrolling learners, monitoring their progress, and providing support to parents or guardians during the implementation.
• the parents or guardians are responsible for monitoring their children’s work and progress and are the primary agents of the teacher-learning process, including its design and execution.
• homeschool learners should be provided with textbooks and modules in print or digital format, as well as a conducive learning space at home and a learning plan that indicates the learning area, learning competencies, and learning tasks.
• all learners enrolled in the program shall take the National Career Assessment Examination and the National Achievement Test to identify their academic level, strengths and weaknesses, and knowledge learned throughout the year
• classroom assessment shall follow the provisions of DepEd Order No.8 , s. 29015 or the Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program.
• formative assessment shall be administered primarily by the parents or guardians.
• Homeschool learners shall take summative assessments at the school where they are officially enrolled. Depending on the situation, this can be done online or the homeschool coordinators may visit the learner’s home.
• if the country remains in a state of emergency, the focus of the instruction shall be on the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs).
• If the MELCs are no longer used in subsequent school years, the K to 12 Curriculum will be implemented for the program.

How to enroll in DepEd Homeschooling Program

1. Parents of learners enrolled in public or private school shall signify their intent to avail the Homeschooling Program through a Homeschooling Program Letter of Intent addressed to the school head together with the accomplished Homeschooling  Program Form
   • (see  Annex 3 – Homeschooling Program Letter of Intent)
     • 
   • (see Annex 2 Homeschooling Program Form
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2. Only learners residing in the Philippines shall be allowed to enroll in the Homeschooling Program
3. Once qualified, the Homeschooling Program Agreement shall be crafted and agreed upon by the learner, parents/guardians, and the implementing school.
   (see Annex 4 Homeschooling Program Agreement )
   • 
4. Learners with disabilities, who upon recommendations by the family physician, developmental pediatrician, psychometrician, or Guidance Counselor are recommended to be homeschooled, may include in their choice of schools a nearby private or public school offering Special Education Program (SPED) with permit or authority to offer Homeschooling Program.

Parents’ or Guardians’ Roles in the Homeschooling Program

Schools implementing the Homeschooling Program shall ensure that the Parents / Guardians:

1. are willing to assume responsibility for their children’s education at home and
2. are capable of providing instruction to their children or are willing to hire a tutor to do so.
3. adhere to the requirements in the implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education Program.
4. ensure the availability of learning materials and other supplementary materials at home.
5. are oriented on the K to 12 Basic Education Program.
6. are trained on assessment in the K to 12 Basic Education Program
7. are familiar with the process of accessing the DepEd LR Portal, DepEd Commons, and other online platforms and the utilization of the learning materials from these platforms.
8. adhere to the policy of zero tolerance for any form of child abuse, exploitation, discrimination, violence, bullying and other forms of abuse under DepEd Order No. 40 s.2012 or the DepEd Child Protection Policy in managing the learning of their child.
9. agree to the crafted coordination plan with the school and homeschool coordinator who shall monitor the homeschool program implementation, conduct home visitation when necessary, and administer quarterly assessments.

The Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program shall take effect beginning School Year (SY) 2022-2023.

Source:

• Department of Education
• DepEd Order 001, s. 2022 – “Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program”