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The Puerto Rico Teachers Association (known as AMPR from its Spanish acronym), under the leadership of President Víctor M. Bonilla Sánchez, declared its third lawsuit against the Department of Education (DE) during the association’s 112th Annual Assembly held in San Juan on Monday.
This lawsuit demands that the DE comply with the processes outlined in Act 9-2022 and the Regulations of the Teachers’ Career Program.
The AMPR is requesting a court order, or “mandamus,” to require Education Secretary Daniel Vélez Cabrera to start the processes that will allow teachers to submit requests for level recognition and salary assessments for the year 2025 by January 15, as mandated by law. Bonilla Sánchez pointed out that the DE’s neglect in not opening the portal for these requests in December reflects a persistent disregard for the teaching profession.
This most recent legal move follows two earlier lawsuits that the AMPR filed against the DE in 2024. The first lawsuit led to nearly $1.4 million in retroactive payments being issued to approximately 2,900 teachers, while the second sought to resolve over $30 million owed to about 8,000 teachers over the last ten years.
“The public education sector continues, right up to the final day of the current administration, to suffer from the inaction of the Department of Education, which persistently fails to adhere to Act 9-2022 and its Regulations for the Teaching Career,” Bonilla Sánchez remarked during an interaction with the media. “Secretary Vélez Cabrera’s responsibility is clear and unambiguous; the procedures for processing level recognition and salary reviews for the 2025 Teaching Career should already be in motion, allowing teachers to undertake the necessary actions by January 15.”
He further explained that the new legal complaint against the DE developed after the AMPR, as the exclusive representatives of educators, insisted that the portal be made available during December, enabling teachers to request acknowledgment of a new level in the Teacher Career Program and adjust their salaries accordingly, as mandated by law and the Regulations for the Teacher Career.
“Since last November, we have been calling on the Department to ensure our teachers have ample time to complete the required procedures,” Bonilla Sánchez emphasized. “However, yet again, the agency is displaying negligence regarding the attention this crucial issue for our educators warrants.”
