Senate education commission hears department�fs plan to process backlog of Career Magisterial payments

San Juan f3April 16, 2024f4 The Senate Commission on Education, Tourism and Culture opened a hearing Tuesday to follow up on implementation of the Career Magisterial law, focusing on how the Department of Education will resolve long-standing retroactive payments and upcoming activations.

Senator Ada Garceda Montes, chair of the commission, said the session aimed to "dar seguimiento al proceso y cumplimiento de pago de la ley de carrera magisterial," and pressed the department for timelines and outreach to teachers who have waited years for reactivations or retroactive pay.

Jimmy Caba Rodredguez, who identified himself as director and secretary assistant for human resources at the Department of Education, told the commission the department evaluated 100% of the pending applications from 2014 and 2015 and estimated the retroactive debt "este1 alrededor de los diecise9is punto ocho millones, y para el dos mil quince doce punto siete millones." He said the department is coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) and the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AFAF) to identify funds and include the required appropriations in the budget process.

Caba Rodredguez said prospective payments within the current fiscal year depend on budget approval and that the department expected an initial approval of about "uno punto un millones" to cover payments this year. He also described a separate projection of about 16 million for the next fiscal year to accommodate a higher base-salary scale enacted after earlier calculations.

Department officials told the commission they have "acogido" all applications that had been returned or left incomplete and will process those records during April. The department said the online platform is not open for new applications during this internal processing; instead it is being used to digitalize and upload documents submitted at regional ORE sessions. Officials said those previously returned plans number "mil y pico" and that about 6,400 teachers entered the prior process, with roughly 1,200 attending ORE sessions.

The department acknowledged capacity constraints: Caba Rodredguez said his immediate team totals six people and they are working with regional staff to process "muchedsimos miles" of expedientes. He described outreach steps for teachers who missed appointments or whose files were incomplete, including email contact and, in some cases, school visits. The department also said it would publish a public announcement listing names to help locate retired teachers who might be owed payments.

On administrative details, the department committed to provide the commission with a graphic breakdown of how many teachers are affected in each cohort (2014 and 2015) and to share the public memorandum and regional contact list; the department gave a technical support contact as Support@InsolPR.com. Senator Garceda Montes asked the commission be notified within five days with the requested documents and for the department to notify teachers whose files have been evaluated so they have certainty even if exact payment amounts await fiscal certification.

The commission did not take any formal votes. It closed the session at 11:25 a.m., remaining attentive to the departmentfs promised follow-up materials and budget requests.