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Senate special commission hears that Education Department amendments could narrow access to classroom assistants for students with disabilities
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Summary
Witnesses at a May 14 Senate special commission hearing warned that proposed Department of Education amendments would tighten eligibility for student assistants ("T uno"), insert vague behavioral criteria, and risk denying services during summer and pandemic recovery, urging audits, clearer rules and staff training.
María de los Ángeles Garal, a clinical instructor at the University of Puerto Rico’s Special Education Clinic, told a Senate special commission on May 14 that proposed department amendments would narrow who qualifies for in-class assistants and leave out supports during therapy, transport and other parts of the school day. "La enmienda como tal habla de los servicios que ofrece un asistente al estudiante con diversidad funcional... ¿y qué pasa con la parte de las terapias?" she asked.
Garal and two law students who also testified said the draft language treats assistants as "suplementarios" limited to classroom help and certain activities and introduces vague terms such as "conductas inapropiadas" without defining who decides what that means. "¿Quién va a estar a cargo de decir una conducta inapropiada?" Garal asked, urging the commission to remove stigmatizing words like "trastorno" from eligibility rules.
Paola Nicole Rodríguez Avilés, a third-year student from the clinic, said some amendments make mobility and health eligibility stricter. She warned that new documentation and annual-certification requirements could burden families already facing poverty: requiring parents to produce medical proof every year, she said, "podría resultar una carga para los padres." Rodríguez added that changing eligibility criteria for communication and interpretation services risks excluding students who use sign language but do not meet both newly listed requirements.
Attorney Osvaldo Burgos Pérez, who represents families in special-education cases, told the committee the remedio provisional mechanism created by the Rosalía Vélez class action is essential for uninterrupted services when the department cannot place a student. Burgos said the department’s recent memos (including notices dated April 15, May 3 and May 6) and a March 17 procedure risk shifting decisions away from the PEI committee to centralized office rules. "El remedio provisional no es otra cosa que una autorización a ese padre madre a buscar el servicio en el mercado privado y que el departamento pague una vez identifica el recurso," he said, while warning that an electronic system called MIPE can automatically mark students as served even when families were never notified.
Senator Rafael Bernabé echoed witnesses’ concerns, telling Garal the proposed redefinitions could reduce services and the number of students entitled to them. Committee members pressed for an inventory of problems, including training gaps for assistants and delays in PEI processing during the pandemic.
Witnesses urged the commission to require the department to define "conductas inapropiadas," to clarify each step of the eligibility and referral process, and to provide a plan for summer programs and PEI schedules so students who need assistants are not excluded. Garal and the students recommended audits of regional offices, better staff training and written notice procedures so parents are not surprised by automated system actions.
The commission recessed and scheduled additional testimony; senators said the panel will continue monitoring the department’s proposals and accept written materials to inform the commission report.
