By The Star Staff
At-large Rep. José Enrique “Quiquito” Meléndez Ortiz and Rep. Jesús Santa Rodríguez have filed a bill that grants the designation of regular career employee to school nurses with more than six months of work to their credit.
House Bill 1657, submitted at the request of a private citizen, Abdiel Onil Rodríguez Rodríguez, also establishes a monthly salary of $3,000 for the aforementioned workers.
“This is a bill, submitted through the citizen petition mechanism, which we evaluate and believe to be meritorious, which provides wage justice and job security to school nurses,” Meléndez Ortiz said. “I hope that this measure, filed on March 9, 2023, will be evaluated on its merits and the need to retain these professionals who provide a vital service for the academic development of our students.”
The legislation amends the Puerto Rico Education Reform Act in order to grant the status of regular employee in the career service to those who, as of June 30, 2023, have worked as school nurses for a period not less than six months. In addition, it establishes that the base salary of school nurses in the public education system will begin at $3,000 per month.
The Department of Education has a school nursing program that positively impacts students, their caregivers, school staff and the entire community in general through the services it provides. Its functions include: studying the health problems of the student, offering recommendations for the management of health conditions of students during school hours, developing educational projects in partnership with public and private agencies, and addressing health situations that mean risk of infection and transmission of diseases among the school population.
The program also helps students educationally through the programming of instructional talks aimed at the prevention of diseases, and the promotion and maintenance of health for students and parents.