New manual consolidates crisis protocols across public schools

Secretary of Education Eliezer Ramos Parés

By The Star Staff

Secretary of Education Eliezer Ramos Parés announced the release of the agency’s first-ever consolidated manual, unifying 43 official protocols into a single, practical, and accessible guide for the entire school community. The new School Crisis Management Protocol Manual is led by the Department’s socioemotional component.

The document brings together all official procedures to guide schools in prevention, response, and intervention during emergencies and incidents that affect student safety and well-being.

“When we set out to create this manual, we envisioned a single guide that unified all of the agency’s protocols. With more than 200,000 students and thousands of employees, it was common to have multiple guides for different scenarios. From now on, schools will have a single document that outlines the fundamental principles for crisis prevention and response, while emphasizing the shared responsibility between government agencies, school staff, students, and families,” Ramos Parés explained.

The key topics in the manual are: priority response to child abuse cases, prohibition of violence, substance use, and weapons on school grounds, central role of the socioemotional interdisciplinary team, mandatory reporting of risk situations, continuity of educational services during disciplinary processes and rights and responsibilities of students and parents in matters of conduct, attendance, and nondiscrimination

The school principal, together with the Socioemotional Interdisciplinary Team — composed of professionals such as social workers, psychologists, nurses, and counselors — will be responsible for activating the protocols in the event of an emergency, ensuring a swift and coordinated response.

The manual also includes a quick reference guide to support immediate action, a glossary of key terms and abbreviations to promote a common language among school personnel, and a dedicated section on indicators of abuse and neglect, enabling staff to identify warning signs and act promptly.

The School Crisis Management Protocol Manual will be available on the official Department of Education website at: https://de.pr.gov/oficina-de-seguridad/.