Puerto Rico Department of Education

The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE) is one of only four state/territory wide public education system in the United States (Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa being the other). The PRDOE is the state education agency responsible of managing state-operated schools in Puerto Rico as well as its education system and curricula.[1] The department, headquartered in the Hato Rey area of San Juan,[2] is the result of a United States state department of education. It is also the largest agency of the executive branch of Puerto Rico, with, as of 2013, an annual budget of more than $3.5 billion USD and over 72,000 staff—including more than 41,000 teachers,[3][4] and as of 2020 the department is the third-largest school district in the United States by enrollment, with over 473,000 students and over 1,500 schools.[5][6]

Puerto Rico Department of Education
Agency overview
FormedApril 12, 1900 (1900-04-12)
Preceding agency
  • Department of Public Instruction of Puerto Rico
TypeExecutive department
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Puerto Rico
HeadquartersSan Juan, PR
Employees75,000
Annual budget$3.5 billion USD
Agency executive
Key documents
Websitewww.de.pr.gov
Part of a series on
Education in Puerto Rico
Primary and secondary school
Higher education
Non-profit organizations
Part of a series on the
Executive branch of the
government of Puerto Rico

The department was formerly known as the Department of Public Instruction of Puerto Rico. Under local law, all public schools are required to be licensed by the Puerto Rico Education Council. The existence of a physical plant, the presence of labs and a library, and sanitary conditions, a well as a satisfactory curriculum and properly trained teachers, are all factors considered in the process. The licensing is an important consumer rights issues for parents in both public and private schools. The licensing makes it more straightforward for parents when evaluating schools for their children relating to both quality and compliance. It also clarifies the remedies available to parents where their children's education falls below the expected standard. It was legislated to provide parents of students attending public schools the same level of protection as parents in private schools, by requiring the minimum standards of quality applicable to private school attendees.

History

In 1950, there were 74 districts each managed by a superintendent. Juan Bernardo Huyke who was the superintendent of the Bayamón district in 1950, and also served as the Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico; he wrote a number of books and was a strong proponent of bilingual education for the island public school students.[7]

In 2017, Julia Keleher became the department's secretary. That year, due to the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis, the department announced that 187 schools would close and that number was revised to 179 shortly afterwards.[8] Receiving no maintenance once shuttered, the school buildings caused blight in many communities that subsequently hoped to use the school buildings and premises for other purposes.[9] In Lares, it was decided that unused public schools, including one in Piletas Arce (on Puerto Rico Highway 129), would be transformed for use by the agricultural industry of Lares.[10]

School uniforms

The department requires all students to wear school uniforms and only disallows them for medical exemptions.[11]

Secretaries
Main articles: Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico and List of Secretaries of Education of Puerto Rico
  • 1900–1902: Martin G. Brumbaugh
  • 1902–1904: Samuel McCune Lindsay
  • 1904–1907: Ronald R. Falkner
  • 1907–1912: Edwin G. Dexter
  • 1912–1915: Edward M. Bainter
  • 1915–1921: Paul G. Miller
  • 1921–1929: Juan B. Huyke
  • 1930–1936: José Padín
  • 1937–1937: H. A. Martin
  • 1937–1945: José M. Gallardo
  • 1946–1947: Mariano Villaronga Toro
  • 1947–1948: Francisco Collazo
  • 1949–1957: Mariano Villaronga Toro
  • 1957–1960: Efraín Sánchez Hidalgo
  • 1960–1964: Cándido Oliveras
  • 1965–1968: Ángel Quintero Alfaro
  • 1969–1971: Ramón Mellado Parsons
  • 1972–1972: Tania Viera
  • 1973–1973: Celeste Benítez
  • 1973–1976: Ramón A. Cruz Aponte
  • 1977–1977: Herman Sulsona
  • 1977–1980: Carlos A. Chardón López
  • 1980–1984: María Socorro Lacot
  • 1985–1988: Awilda Aponte Roque
  • 1989–1989: Rafael Cartagena
  • 1989–1991: José Lema Moya
  • 1991–1992: Celeste Benítez Rivera
  • 1993–1993: Annabelle Padilla Rodríguez
  • 1993–1994: José Arsenio Torres
  • 1994–2000: Víctor Fajardo
  • 2001–2004: César Rey Hernández
  • 2005–2005: Adalexis Ríos Orlandi
  • 2005–2005: Gloria Baquero Lleras
  • 2005–2008: Rafael Aragunde Torres
  • 2009–2009: Carlos A. Chardón López
  • 2009–2010: Odette Piñeiro Caballero
  • 2010–2011: Jesús Rivera Sánchez
  • 2011–2013: Edward Moreno
  • 2013–2017: Rafael Román Meléndez
  • 2017–2019: Julia Keleher
  • 2019–present: Eligio Hernández Pérez

References
  1. "Data for the Biennial Report to Congress on Violence and Drug Use in Elementary and Secondary Schools in Puerto Rico Archived 2014-05-27 at the Wayback Machine." Puerto Rico Department of Education
  2. Home page. Department of Education of Puerto Rico. Retrieved on May 6, 2017. "Dirección Física: Ave. Tnte. César González, esq. Calle Juan Calaf, Urb. Industrial Tres Monjitas, Hato Rey, P.R. 00917"
  3. ¿Cómo negociar con el Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico? (in Spanish), Department of Education of Puerto Rico, archived from the original on 2014-05-28, retrieved August 5, 2013, El Departamento de Educación es la agencia más grande de toda la Rama Ejecutiva del Gobierno del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Esta agencia cuenta con alrededor de setenta y dos mil (72,000) empleados, distribuidos en 1,538 escuelas, ochenta y cuatro (84) distritos escolares, diez (10) regiones educativas y una oficina central,
  4. Presupuesto Aprobado 2012–2013 Departamento de Educación (in Spanish), Office of Management and Budget of Puerto Rico, retrieved August 5, 2013
  5. Sable, Jennifer; Plotts, Chris; Mitchell, Lindsey; Chen, Chen-Su (November 2010), Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2008–09 (PDF), Institute of Education Sciences, retrieved August 5, 2013
  6. Miller, Gary; Lugo, Ariel (June 2009), Guide to the Ecological Systems of Puerto Rico. (PDF), International Institute of Tropical Forestry, retrieved August 4, 2013, ... making it the third largest school district in the United States.
  7. United States. Federal Security Agency; United States. Office of Education (1950). Education Directory. DHEW publication. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5-PA65. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  8. Coto, Danica (2017-05-05). "Puerto Rico to close 184 public schools amid crisis". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  9. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2019/06/11/bayamon-busca-se-declaren-estorbo-10-escuelas-cerradas.html
  10. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2017/04/21/dtop-traspasa-escuelas-desuso-municipio-lares.html
  11. Reglamento de Estudiantes (PDF) (in Spanish), Department of Education of Puerto Rico, archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-28, retrieved March 22, 2009
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