Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Witnesses warn MIPE and policy memos could mask service gaps and strain provisional remedy; union calls to regularize thousands of assistant posts
Loading...
Summary
Attorney and union testimony at the May 14 hearing described an automated MIPE process that can create provisional‑remedy authorizations without parents' consent, and a workforce model that leaves nearly 900 vacancies and thousands of irregular contracts, prompting calls to convert roles to regular status and improve pay and training.
In testimony to the Senate special commission, attorney Osvaldo Burgos Pérez said an electronic placement tool the department uses — identified at the hearing as MIPE — can automatically flag students as receiving remedio provisional once internal time limits pass, creating the statistical appearance that a child is served even when families were not informed or an adequate provider is in place. "Cuando pasan los treinta días... el sistema MIPEI automáticamente genera el remedio provisional," Burgos said.
Burgos and others said that practice risks understating service gaps to monitors of the class action (Rosalía Vélez) and that transferring remedio provisional responsibilities into the Secretariat for special education could make services less accessible, increase provider churn and cause regressions for students who lose established providers.
Karen de León Otaña, second vice president of the Sindicato Puertorriqueño de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras, told senators the department has identified 5,897 assistant positions needed; roughly 2,596 are regular employees and the remainder are irregular contract positions or vacancies. She warned that the department’s use of short‑term contracts erodes continuity: "Cuando son contratados y asignados nuevos y nuevas asistentes, las partes se ven obligadas a un periodo de transición y ajuste que... afecta adversamente al estudiante." The union urged filling vacancies, converting irregular contracts to regular positions and investing in training and telework tools.
Witnesses also described pay and payment irregularities in the therapy market. Burgos said some therapists working through corporations were paid as little as about $10 an hour while the corporation billed much higher amounts, creating incentives to deliver group rather than individualized therapies.
Senators asked how remedio provisional is requested and whether the department can impose it without parental consent. Burgos said remedio provisional is "potestativo de los padres" and must be requested by families, but he also described cases where automated records and internal letters surfaced in administrative complaints and litigation before families had seen them.
No department official was present to defend the memos or explain the MIPE configuration; the commission accepted written submissions and signaled it will continue monitoring the matter and summon agency officials for follow-up.
