TO curb critical learning losses caused by frequent emergency suspensions, the Department of Education (DepEd) is pushing for an executive order allowing individual schools to declare school-level class resumptions following disasters and severe weather.
Under the proposed policy updating Executive Order No. 66, s. 2012, campuses that remain safe or recover rapidly may resume face-to-face instruction even while broader municipal or citywide suspensions remain active.
The framework covers various natural and human-induced hazards, including typhoons, extreme heat, earthquakes, power outages, and poor air quality.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that broad, blanket class cancellations severely disrupt basic education, noting that public schools lost up to 53 teaching days during School Year 2023–2024 alone.
“In line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to protect learner safety while recovering lost learning time, we need a policy that reflects ground realities,” Angara stated. “While safety will always remain our non-negotiable priority, we can no longer rely on broad, blanket suspensions where an entire city shuts down even when individual campuses are dry, safe, and ready to teach.”
The updated framework introduces school-level granular resumption as its central innovation.
When localized suspensions are active, public school heads can initiate class resumptions based on documented site-specific assessments, subject to concurrence from the local chief executive (LCE).
Private schools may declare resumptions in prompt coordination with the LCE.
To maintain efficiency, LGUs and Schools Division Offices will operate within a structured one-hour concurrence window upon receiving a school’s safety assessment.
The draft also preserves school-level suspension powers under DepEd Order No. 22, s. 2024, allowing school heads to suspend classes for isolated campus hazards with the concurrence of their Schools Division Superintendent.
The proposal follows extensive nationwide consultations with local officials, superintendents, school heads, teachers, parents, and learners, who voiced strong support for decisions based on actual ground conditions.
DepEd expressed optimism that President Marcos will sign the proposed executive order before the end of the year to bring long-term stability to basic education.
