Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico

How to enroll a student in public school in Puerto Rico

Online enrollment, the seven regional offices with their email addresses, and who to ask about documents.

August 13, 2026

School bullying: what the law requires and how to complain at school

Act 85-2017 requires every school and university to have an anti-bullying Protocol. What it must include and how to use it if your child is bullied.

August 16, 2026

School absenteeism: attendance is compulsory from age 5 to 18

School attendance is compulsory from age 5 to 18. What happens after three consecutive unexcused days and what a parent or guardian risks.

Diabetes at school: the management plan and the deadlines the law sets

Act 199-2015 requires public and private schools to draft a School Diabetes Management Plan, with trained staff and at no charge to parents.

Hospital education: keeping school going during a hospitalization

Act 164-2024 creates the right of students aged 5 to 18 to keep studying during a hospitalization or prolonged treatment, with an individualized plan.

Rights of deaf or hard-of-hearing students at school

Act 173-2018 recognizes the right to freely choose between sign language and oral communication, and requires the Education Department to provide the resources.

Classes suspended by emergency: four weeks of printed assignments

Act 2-2019 triggers an automatic protocol when the Governor decrees an emergency: printed assignments for four weeks, handed in and graded on return.

Pregnant student: seven rights in public school

Act 220-2004 gives you the right to stay a regular student, to counseling, to guidance on aid, and to a lactation area that cannot be the restroom.

Gifted student: acceleration, university courses and accommodations

Act 146-2018 lists 32 rights: academic acceleration, university courses while in high school, credit convalidation and admission without age discrimination.

Work & Unemployment

Teachers: evaluation, autonomy and the one-year cap out of the classroom

Act 160-2020 gives public school teachers 31 rights: 5-day evaluation notice, pedagogical autonomy, and a one-year cap on precautionary measures.

School safety: the security level before enrolling and the incident report

Act 110-2006 gives you the right to know a school’s security level before enrolling and to receive the semester report of violent incidents.

Special education: the complaint and the Provisional Remedy

If the Department cannot provide a service that is in the IEP, the Provisional Remedy lets you contract it. And complaints go to a centralised unit.

School vouchers: the Free School Selection Programme

Two years in public school, application in May, and allocation by lottery. You arrange admission with the school yourself.

Validating studies done outside Puerto Rico

The Equivalency Studies Unit validates transcripts, authorises provisional enrolment and guides homeschooling students.

School transport: regular and individualised

It is not one thing. The individualised type can collect the student at home and take them to school, a centre or a place of therapy.

Enrollment and textbooks: the public school cannot charge you for either

Act 5-1952 forbids charging any enrollment fee at public schools and orders textbooks and school supplies provided free of charge.

Head injury at school or on the team: the protocol they must follow

Act 202-2012 requires immediately removing a minor suspected of concussion and no return without a release, with written physician authorization if referred.

Braille in public school: it is the default method and departing from it must be justified

Act 240-2002 provides that a blind student’s education be given fundamentally in Braille, unless the Multidisciplinary Committee certifies otherwise.

Sending children to collect money or sell tickets door to door is prohibited

Act 216 of 1945 bans using public school children in money collections or in the door-to-door sale of tickets for public shows.

Your child’s BMI was measured at school: consent, privacy and the letter

Act 172-2016 requires a consent procedure, measurement in a private setting, confidentiality of the BMI code and an explanatory letter to parents.

Your child has the right to use their inhaler or medication at school

Act 56-2006 gives every public or private school student the right to self-administer medication, with a medical certification and parental consent.

The 40 community service hours to graduate from high school

Act 26-2009 makes 40 hours of community work a graduation requirement, and Act 88-2017 added mentoring in special education.

Cell phones in public school: the ban through eighth grade

Act 185-2025 bans phones and other devices through eighth grade all school day, with three exceptions and duties the Education Department must meet.

August 25, 2026

Victoria Act: rights of bedridden or wheelchair-using students

Act 109-2025 gives rights to bedridden, wheelchair-using or life-support students, and an expedited remedy in the Municipal Court.

August 25, 2026

Student Assistance Program: mental health in public school

Act 94-2025 sets minimum services: eight psychologist and eight psychiatrist visits a year, 24/7 access and disputes resolved within 24 hours.

August 25, 2026

Automatic admission to UPR for the top 20% of the class

Act 113-2025 automatically admits to UPR every eleventh-grade student in the top 20% of their class, with notice before the first Monday of October.

The twelve emergency codes at Puerto Rico public schools

Act 175-2026 creates twelve uniform emergency codes for schools: what ROJO, GRIS, VERDE, AZUL, H2O and the rest mean.

School Action Plan for an Epileptic Crisis: how to request it

Act 76-2026 gives every student with epilepsy the right to a School Action Plan, trained staff, and reasonable accommodations at school.

School transfer for domestic violence victims

Act 47-2026 lets you enroll a dependent in a closer school at any point in the year if the family is a domestic violence victim.

High school diploma: the same day or within 30 days

Act 125-2026 requires the Regional Superintendent to hand over the diploma on graduation day or within 30 days, and otherwise to issue a grade certification.

College credits from high school to join the Police

Act 125-2026 orders the Education Secretary to create, with the Police, associate-degree courses for high schoolers planning the Academy.

Contacto Verde: nature and agriculture hours every semester

Act 141-2026 brought agriculture into the Contacto Verde Programme and guarantees minimum contact hours each semester, with workshops and farm visits.

Reasonable accommodation and extended admission at university

Act 250-2012 asks for the accommodation request a year before the College Board, and requires universities to offer extended admission if the exam fails you.

August 29, 2026

Where government scholarships and educational aid come from

Act 170-2002 splits scholarship funds among UPR, ADFAN and Education under two opposite rules: grades regardless of income, talent regardless of grades.

August 29, 2026

The school’s emergency plan: what they must hand you

Act 46-2019 requires every school, college or care centre, public or private, to hand you a copy of the emergency plan during enrolment.

August 29, 2026

The Free Schools of Music

Act 365-1946 creates three free schools of music in San Juan, Ponce and Mayagüez and names the courses. It publishes no admission requirements or tuition cost.

August 30, 2026