Parents tell Senate panel teletherapy, assistant rules and MIPE changes strip services and parental voice
May 14, 2021 | Senate, Committees, Legislative, Puerto Rico, International
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SAN JUAN — Several parents who addressed a Senate special commission on May 14 said departmental changes to how assistants (T‑1) are assigned, and the MIPE electronic system that tracks placements, are shrinking access to individualized support for students with disabilities.
An unnamed parent who opened the hearing said assistants are “our eyes” in schools and criticized a guidance document that limits assistants to strictly physical needs such as hygiene or feeding. “Hay estudiantes que por sus necesidades sensoriales, conductuales, neurológicas… requieren de la asistencia de un tercero para poder ambular en el ambiente escolar,” she said, arguing the guía and analysis de asistencia omit needs that are not primarily physical.
That parent also described how departmental compu sessions now show an 'ofrecimiento' (offer) only at contract end, which can be used to deny a parent the remedio provisional right—she cited regulatory language changing from a 30‑day notice (2019) to notice at contract end (2020) and said parents were not receiving written notice as the rules require.
Keyla Pérez Lugo, a parent representing SOS, described parents who were asked to accept in‑school offers without meeting or interviewing the proposed therapist and were told that rejecting an offer would bar the family from later seeking remedio provisional. Pérez said the process frequently leaves parents signing pre‑filled minutes under pressure and that, in practice, the system shifts responsibility onto families to secure services.
Committee members asked whether the MIPE system differentiates between an administrative assignment and a confirmed provider contact. Witnesses answered that MIPE currently records a vinculation without proof that a provider has contacted the family, and they recommended fixing MIPE so a vinculation becomes final only after parent consent and provider confirmation.
No departmental official was present to respond during the session. Senators and witnesses asked the commission to seek the responsible official from the Secretaría de Educación Especial for follow‑up testimony and documentation.
The hearing closed without votes; commissioners said they would compile additional parental examples and request documents and testimony as part of an ongoing oversight effort.
An unnamed parent who opened the hearing said assistants are “our eyes” in schools and criticized a guidance document that limits assistants to strictly physical needs such as hygiene or feeding. “Hay estudiantes que por sus necesidades sensoriales, conductuales, neurológicas… requieren de la asistencia de un tercero para poder ambular en el ambiente escolar,” she said, arguing the guía and analysis de asistencia omit needs that are not primarily physical.
That parent also described how departmental compu sessions now show an 'ofrecimiento' (offer) only at contract end, which can be used to deny a parent the remedio provisional right—she cited regulatory language changing from a 30‑day notice (2019) to notice at contract end (2020) and said parents were not receiving written notice as the rules require.
Keyla Pérez Lugo, a parent representing SOS, described parents who were asked to accept in‑school offers without meeting or interviewing the proposed therapist and were told that rejecting an offer would bar the family from later seeking remedio provisional. Pérez said the process frequently leaves parents signing pre‑filled minutes under pressure and that, in practice, the system shifts responsibility onto families to secure services.
Committee members asked whether the MIPE system differentiates between an administrative assignment and a confirmed provider contact. Witnesses answered that MIPE currently records a vinculation without proof that a provider has contacted the family, and they recommended fixing MIPE so a vinculation becomes final only after parent consent and provider confirmation.
No departmental official was present to respond during the session. Senators and witnesses asked the commission to seek the responsible official from the Secretaría de Educación Especial for follow‑up testimony and documentation.
The hearing closed without votes; commissioners said they would compile additional parental examples and request documents and testimony as part of an ongoing oversight effort.
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