School transfer for domestic violence victims

It is a route within the School Choice Program meant for when a family needs to move a dependent to a different school for safety reasons, not academic preference. Unlike the program's ordinary process, there is no need to wait for the year's application window: it can be requested at any point, and is processed on an expedited basis.

A parent or guardian who is a domestic violence victim, or whose minor dependent is one. It is proven with any one of these three documents: an active protection order; evidence of an ongoing judicial domestic-violence process; or a certification issued by a shelter, a victim-services provider, or a support professional (for example, a legal advocate or social worker) attesting to the situation.

• Present an active protection order, OR evidence of an ongoing judicial domestic-violence process, OR a certification from a shelter, victim-services provider or support professional — only one of these three documents is needed.Verified against the official source

• Any one of the three eligibility documents (protection order, evidence of the judicial process, or certification from a shelter or support professional).

1. 1

   Step 1: Gather just one of the three proof documents

   You do not need all three: an active protection order, or evidence that a judicial domestic-violence process is underway, or a certification from a shelter, victim-services provider or support professional is enough on its own.

2. 2

   Step 2: Request it any time of year, not only during the ordinary window

   This modality exists precisely so the family does not have to wait for the School Choice Program's ordinary calendar: it can be requested at any point in the school year.

3. 3

   Step 3: The receiving school must adapt its academic requirements

   A mid-year transfer usually runs into minimum-attendance or credit-transfer rules. The law requires those requirements to be adapted or waived, considering the student's individual circumstances, their mental health, and any recommendation from school personnel evaluating the case.

4. 4

   Step 4: Your information stays confidential from the alleged aggressor

   All information related to the request and the family's new location is confidential and cannot be disclosed to the person identified as the aggressor.

Before the Department of Education, within the School Choice Program it already administers under Act 85-2018. We did not read a specific form for this modality; contact the Department of Education's regional office or the school closest to the safe location to start the request.

• Thinking all three documents are needed: any one of the three is enough.
• Waiting for the School Choice Program's ordinary application window: this modality is requested at any point in the year.
• Not mentioning the domestic-violence situation to the receiving school, which prevents triggering the confidentiality and academic-requirement adaptation the law requires.
• Believing the student will lose credits or be penalized for the transfer: the law requires those requirements to be adapted considering their circumstances.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico

  Educación

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