Esta ley ordena al Departamento de Educación y a la Agencia Estatal para el Manejo de Emergencias y Administración de Desastres de Puerto Rico a coordinar la planificación, diseño e implementación de un curso para estudiantes de escuelas públicas y privadas sobre cómo actuar antes, durante y después de desastres naturales o emergencias causadas por humanos. El curso se impartirá en sesiones semanales de una hora durante el semestre escolar de enero a mayo.
(Approved August 30, 2000)
To direct the Secretary of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico and the Director of the Commonwealth Emergency Management and Disaster Administration of Puerto Rico to coordinate the planning, design, and implementation of a course that has the objective of providing all students of the country, both in public and in private schools, guidance and training on the steps to be followed before, when foreseeable, during, and after the occurrence of a natural disaster or an emergency caused by human reasons. Said course shall be given as one-hour sessions to be held once a week, during the school semester that comprises the months of January through May of each year.
The Island of Puerto Rico is vulnerable to a wide array of natural phenomena due to its geographical location in the tropical zone and due to the fact that it is located in a seismically active zone. Natural phenomena such as troughs, depressions, waves, storms or hurricanes can be identified and observed, which enables citizens to prepare themselves and mitigate damages. Other phenomena, such as earthquakes, give no warning, and the lack of the basic knowledge of what to do during and after the same can lead to the significant loss of lives. The great industrial, commercial and urban growth that our country has experienced has increased its exposure to the consequences of these natural events, as well as a number of risks created by technology and human activities. Events such as hurricane Georges, the Mameyes landslide and the Río Piedras explosion are clear examples of the
fact that we are vulnerable even when we may prepare ourselves, and are rendered helpless when caught by surprise.
The protection of the lives and property of citizens is a main function of any government. In order to be able to mitigate the damages caused by natural phenomena, as well as those caused by man-made circumstances, it is necessary to have the basic knowledge of what to do in case of an emergency. At present, Puerto Rico has a government dependency which is responsible for coordinating all the activities of the government sector and the private sector as to the preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery in the occurrence of a disaster due to natural or human causes. There are many sectors of society which should have basic guidelines or knowledge to handle any emergency that may arise. Workplaces and study centers are the places that host the greatest number of people during the day and where they spend most of their time.
School is the fundamental vehicle for the integration of the community in general, which holds the welfare and education of the future generation as its primary purpose. It is an undisputable fact that students spend most of their time at school. Based upon the premise that the student is the center of the educational effort and that all other components of the school are facilitators, duty calls on the Department of Education first, to ascertain that its students are prepared, to the extent of their capabilities, to effectively handle an emergency situation. In light of the preceding statement, it is necessary and imperative for all students to understand and know what to do, to the extent of their capabilities, in an emergency situation should they have to face one for any reason. Without a doubt, by instilling this knowledge and these skills from an early age, we will be promoting a future society that is more aware and better prepared to handle emergency situations.
Being aware of how important it is that our citizenship have the knowledge, especially for our children, on the steps to be followed in the event of an emergency, whether due to natural or human causes, the Legislature believes it necessary to direct the Secretary of the Department of Education and the Director of the Commonwealth Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Agency of Puerto Rico that they prepare and present as part of the academic curriculum for schools a guidance and training course for all the students of Puerto Rico about the steps to be followed before, when foreseeable, during and after the occurrence of a natural disaster or an emergency due to human causes. This course shall be held as weekly one-hour sessions within the months of January through May of each year.
Section 1.- The Secretary of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico and the Director of the Commonwealth Emergency Management and Disaster Administration of Puerto Rico to coordinate the planning, design and implementation of a course that has the objective of providing all students of the country, in both private and public schools, guidance and training on the steps to be followed before, when foreseeable, during and after the occurrence of a natural disaster or an emergency due to human causes. Said course shall be administered as one-hour weekly sessions during the school semester comprised within the months of January through May of each year.
Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 247 (S.B. 2140) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $13^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to direct the Secretary of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico and the Director of the Commonwealth Emergency Management and Disaster Administration of Puerto Rico to coordinate the planning, design, and implementation of a course that has the objective of providing all students of the country, both in public and in private schools, guidance and training on the steps to be followed before, when foreseeable, etc., has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $13^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director