Key points of the brief: (1) Empowering local schools for inclusion means providing them access to assessments that support the inclusion of learners with special educational needs (LSENs) in the regular classroom. (2) Foundational learning skills are the skills that should be assessed for the purpose of inclusion. (3) Assessments that use learning progressions enable teachers to know what the students know and can do and what they are ready to learn. (4) The SWANs Assessment and Reporting Program can complement DepEd’s existing instruments, such as the Multi-Factored Assessment Tool (MFAT).