Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Senate education commission hears update on Carrera Magisterial payments; department cites phased processing and pending approvals
Loading...
Summary
Department of Education officials told the Senate commission Feb. 26 that payments under the Carrera Magisterial program are being processed in phases, that a request for additional authorizations was filed last week, and that an estimated retroactive liability of about $26 million awaits external approval; lawmakers pressed the department on platform problems and case follow-ups.
The Commission on Education, Tourism and Culture of the Senate of Puerto Rico heard a status update Feb. 26 on payments and administrative steps under the Carrera Magisterial program, the panel established by Senate Resolution No. 114.
In a prepared presentation read aloud by Jimi Cavant Rodríguez, the department reported cumulative disbursements since the law’s reactivation and outlined recent activity. "Primer año fiscal fue el veintiuno veintidós, cinco punto siete millones; año veintidós veintitrés, uno punto ocho millones; año veintitrés veinticuatro, casi seis punto un millón," Cavant said while summarizing the tables included in the department’s submission. He told the commission the department has requested authorization of funds "ascendentes a uno punto dos millones" for prospective payments and that conversations are underway with the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) and fiscal advisers to identify funding for retroactive obligations.
Officials told senators the department has reopened parts of the program in phases. Cavant said the office approved 2,771 reactivations and that some 7,269 teachers have benefited from related administrative actions. He also said the department convened a phased effort to cite and attend teachers beginning Feb. 1, with the second phase reported as about 61 percent complete.
On the question of retroactive liability, Cavant gave an estimate used for planning: "Es un aproximado de veintiséis millones," and added that the law establishes June 30 as the deadline to address retroactive payments. He emphasized that, although funds may be identified in agency accounts, any use of those monies requires approval from the relevant financial authorities.
Lawmakers pressed for operational details: how many teachers were covered by each budget line, how many cases had been approved, how many were pending and the timetable for completing reviews. The department said 1,612 teachers from the 2014–15 cohort had been served in the first phases and that follow-up work would continue into March to complete regional reviews and issue individualized letters to teachers with final determinations.
A central focus of the hearing was recurring complaints from teachers that documents uploaded to the program’s platform later could not be found. Senator Rafael Bernabé summarized constituent reports that "subí el documento y no está," characterizing them as accusations the commission wanted answered. Cavant replied that the department carried out technical validations and tests and "no encontramos" evidence that documents systematically disappeared, but he offered to review individual cases if the commission provided them. The department also said it is working on platform improvements and additional user training and testing to reduce upload errors and size-related limits.
Members asked about the platform’s contractor and contract value. The commission was told the department provided the full contract and invoices to the committee for verification and that the platform’s next version will include additional safeguards and guarantees.
Senators and department officials discussed decentralization of case processing: the department said new procedures move many tasks from central offices to regional offices, where regional "facilitadores" review cases with teachers in person. The department identified variable regional staffing levels (an example cited: 30 facilitators in Mayagüez) and said regions choose how many platform-access accounts to request; some regions asked for up to five accounts to support local teams.
The commission requested additional documentation, including the list of trusted employees and salaries and clarified follow-up on a small set of cases previously referred to the department’s legal division. The department confirmed it had transmitted the contract and invoices and would provide further details on pending, meritorious cases and the specific teachers whose claims required legal review.
The committee scheduled a follow-up hearing for March 21 at 10:30 a.m. to receive updated status reports and documentation from the Department of Education. The session adjourned at 11:59 a.m.
The article relies on statements made in the department’s oral presentation and on questions and responses recorded during the committee hearing; it does not report any formal votes or legislative action taken at the Feb. 26 session.
