Alfredo Tolentino

The Department of Education (DepEd) is set to boost Filipino Sign Language (FSL) use in schools to enhance learning for deaf students and promote inclusive education.


Following the release of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA No. 11106, or the FSL Act on May 9, schools are required to use FSL as the official medium of instruction for deaf learners.

This policy ensures that deaf learners can access lessons, materials, and communication in a language that is natural and fully understandable.

“The dissemination… highlights (DepEd’s) commitment to fostering inclusivity and accessibility for deaf learners. This… ensures equitable access to quality education by promoting the use of FSL as a vital tool for communication and learning,” the DepEd memorandum stated.

DepEd will hire deaf teachers and designate qualified FSL interpreters to assist in classrooms, trained to meet FSL competency standards, with pre-service and in-service training aligned with national guidelines, ensuring that instruction is clear and accessible.

Teachers will no longer be assigned to interpret in non-teaching activities such as court proceedings or law enforcement interviews, so they can focus solely on instruction, clarifying the separate roles of teachers and interpreters in schools.

DepEd will also produce and distribute learning materials in FSL, including print and video content, for use in schools, day care centers, and child development centers nationwide.

The policy also integrates FSL into the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program that will serve as the deaf students’ first language, with English and Filipino taught as second languages for literacy and support.

Schools are also encouraged to work with deaf consultants, researchers, and organizations to ensure that the implementation respects the culture and communication needs of the Filipino deaf community.

DepEd has instructed all regional and division offices to ensure full compliance with the FSL Act across all public and private schools, state universities and colleges, and teacher training institutions.

FSL is a visual-spatial language rule-governed at the structural levels of phonology, morphology, syntax, and discourse, influenced by American Sign Language (ASL) used by Deaf Filipinos to refer to their visual language.
RA 11106 was enacted in 2018 to recognize FSL as the national sign language of the Filipino deaf and to uphold their linguistic rights, particularly in education, legal settings, and broadcast media.