The Criminal Code and your school — Ley 74-25, as amended by Ley 44-26 — what it protects, at a glance
From Ley 74-25 to Ley 44-26
- 3 August 2025 — Ley 74-25, the new Criminal Code, is enacted, with a twelve-month vacatio legis.
- 27 July 2026 — Ley 44-26 is enacted, amending 27 articles of the Code.
- August 2026 — The Code enters into force; Ley 44-26 applies alongside it.
- Three months after 5 August 2026 — The criminal liability of legal persons enters into force (Arts. 8-11).
The exact day of entry into force depends on the date of publication in the Gaceta Oficial (the official gazette); saying “in force since August 2026” is accurate.
From punishment to protection
- Before → An 1884 Code that named neither school harassment nor the digital environment.
- Now → Harassment “in the educational sphere” has a legal name, and is aggravated when the victim is a child or adolescent.
- Before → The relationship between educator and student did not appear as a relevant circumstance.
- Now → Abusing the authority or the trust that the teaching role confers aggravates sexual offences and harassment.
- Before → Insulting a public-school teacher could be treated as ultraje, an offence against a public official.
- Now → Ultraje is confined to the judicial sphere; the teacher remains protected by defamation, insult, threat and harassment.
- Always → Criminal law is a last resort: the law gives precedence to prevention and restorative justice.
The word “bullying” left the legal text with Ley 44-26; the conduct protected against is the same.
Five audiences, one community
- Teachers — Observe, document, report, accompany and protect the information: the duty of care is already your routine.
- School leadership — Reporting channels, a written record and timely referral; criminal liability is individual, never for someone else’s act.
- The school — Coexistence rules, an ethics committee and, in private schools, a compliance programme.
- Students — Reinforced protection of their integrity, their image and their access to school; the right to be heard.
- Families — Co-responsible for school life; with the right to report, to information and to well-founded criticism.
Each audience has its own page at /penal/rd/en/.
The action route: observe → document → report
- 1. Observe — Where there is knowledge or suspicion of ill-treatment, abuse or harassment, listen without interrogating or suggesting answers.
- 2. Document — Write down what, when, who and where; keep dated screenshots. The written record is your first protection.
- 3. Report to the school leadership and to the school’s Orientación y Psicología (guidance and psychology) service; the body that leads the complaints-processing procedure is the Dirección de Orientación y Psicología of MINERD (the Ministry of Education).
- 4. Refer — Cases of child, psychological or sexual abuse, or of exploitation: to the Ministerio Público (the public prosecution service) and/or CONANI (the National Council for Children and Adolescents) within a maximum of 24 hours.
- 5. Accompany — The Comisión de Ética (ethics committee) follows up; it does not investigate in place of the prosecution service.
Whoever reports in good faith is exempt from criminal and civil liability (Art. 14, Ley 136-03). Failing to inform of ill-treatment or sexual assault against a child or adolescent is a criminal offence (Art. 325, Ley 74-25). Professional secrecy does not stand in the way (Art. 196.3).
The digital side: what happens when a student’s image is shared
- Disclosing the image or the personal details of a child or adolescent in a way that affects their development or stigmatises them — an aggravated attack on privacy.
- Sharing intimate content without consent — an offence; if the victim is a child or adolescent, or there is a relationship of authority, a higher penalty.
- Creating or publishing montages or false or altered content that damages honour or image (including content generated with AI) — an offence.
- Posting threatening, obscene, insulting or intimidating messages in order to humiliate or isolate — cyber-harassment.
- Opening an account in the name of a teacher or a classmate — identity theft.
- At school: posting about members of the community without consent is a serious breach; offensive memes, videos and photos, a very serious breach.
A practical rule for the classroom: a student’s image is not shared; digital communication with students is only in groups and through institutional channels (Código de Ética — the MINERD Code of Ethics, Arts. 10 and 13 b).
Adolescents do not answer under the Criminal Code
- Under 13 → Never criminally responsible; the school adopts protective measures.
- From the completed age of 13 and up to the day they turn 18, that day included → Criminal justice for adolescents: socio-educational sanctions; deprivation of liberty exceptional and with its own maximum terms.
- From the day after their 18th birthday → The penalties of Ley 74-25.
- Where there is doubt about age → Minority is presumed.
The Code’s aggravating factor of “a child or adolescent victim” always refers to the victim, never to the perpetrator. Where the act may be an offence, the school refers it to the Fiscalía de Niñez y Adolescencia (the children and adolescents prosecution office): the Ordenanza says “adolescents aged 13 to 17” (Art. 30), and Art. 225 of Ley 136-03 specifies that criminal justice for adolescents extends to the day they turn 18, that day included.
A relationship of authority weighs more
- Sexual assault against a child or adolescent by an adult: 20 to 30 years of major imprisonment.
- Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents aggravated to 20 to 30 years where the perpetrator holds “some public or private authority, whether in law or in fact” over the victim.
- Sexual harassment within a relationship of power, authority or trust, “as in workplace, academic … contexts”: 2 to 5 years.
- Harassment aggravated when it occurs “within an employment, educational or training relationship” of the victim: 2 to 5 years.
- Sexual offences against children and adolescents become time-barred after 30 years, counted from the victim reaching the age of majority.
Read the other way round, every aggravating factor is a statement of how much the trust between an educator and a student is worth.
The school as a legal person
- Public MINERD schools are not liable as legal persons; natural persons are liable for their own acts or omissions.
- Private schools (companies, foundations, associations) do come under the regime, where there was in addition a failure in their duties of direction, control or supervision.
- A genuine compliance programme may exempt or mitigate: a code of conduct, a risk map, training, anonymous reporting channels and protection for whistleblowers, documentary traceability.
- This regime (Arts. 8-11) is not yet in force: it enters into force three months after 5 August 2026.
The legal form of schools run by religious congregations determines which regime applies to them; the matter is under verification and nothing is asserted here.
To close
- The law does not ask the educator to be a police officer or a lawyer. It asks for what a good educator already does: look, write, tell and accompany. Change it, but change it well: let protection be the school’s routine, not a reaction to a crisis.
Carlos Miranda Levy — Coordinator of CEMI’s Enhanced Intelligences
Articles cited in the poster
This infographic offers guidance; it does not replace the law or legal advice.
The team’s commentary
How to read this infographic
Español — The Spanish version is the reference text — the legal verification described in the audit report was carried out on it.
Audit report — the independent legal review of this material, with the errors we found and corrected (page in Spanish).
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