The source of everything
Legal framework
Everything explained in this section rests on these texts. They are complete and downloadable: whenever you want to verify something, the source is here. The official texts are in Spanish, the language in which they were enacted.
Downloadable
The official texts
The complete PDF of each norm. The document-format version is the best one to read and to search.
- 202574-25
Ley 74-25, Código Penal de la República Dominicana (the Criminal Code of the Dominican Republic)
The full text of the new Dominican Criminal Code. It is the reference standard for everything explained in this section. The official PDF is in Spanish.
- 202574-25
Ley 74-25, Código Penal (the Criminal Code) — signed version «signed version»
A scanned copy bearing the official signatures. It serves for documentary verification; for reading and searching, the document-format version works better. The official PDF is in Spanish.
- 202644-26
Ley 44-26, amending Ley 74-25
Amends the Criminal Code. Where a rule changed, this law indicates which version applies. The official PDF is in Spanish.
- 2003136-03
Ley 136-03, Código para el Sistema de Protección y los Derechos Fundamentales de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes (the Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents)
The framework protecting childhood and adolescence. It is read alongside the Criminal Code for everything that happens inside the school. The official PDF is in Spanish.
- 202305-2023
MINERD · Normas del Sistema Educativo Dominicano para la Convivencia Armoniosa (the MINERD school-coexistence rules)
The coexistence rules of the Dominican education system. They define how a school prevents, responds to and follows up on coexistence situations. The official PDF is in Spanish.
- 202322/2023
MINERD · Código de Ética de los Centros Educativos (the MINERD code of ethics for schools)
The ethical duties of staff in public and private schools. It is the bridge between everyday professional conduct and the criminal framework. The official PDF is in Spanish.
Reverse index
The articles cited in this section
Every citation on these pages lands here: the article, its law, whether Ley 44-26 rewrote it, and which content on the site cites it — so you can go from the chip to the source and from the source back to the context.
This page does not reproduce the text of the articles: to read them, download the official PDF of each norm. The index tells you exactly where to look.
Ley 74-25 — Criminal Code of the Dominican Republic
87 articles cited · download the full text (PDF)
Cited in:
Cited in:
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: The school
- Scenario: The school as an institution, facing the worst
- Case: A private school facing a serious incident
- FAQ: What does a compliance programme need in order to be worth anything?
- FAQ: From when can the school be criminally convicted as an institution?
- FAQ: We are a public school. Can we be held liable as a legal person too?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Vigencia diferida (deferred entry into force)
- Glossary: Persona jurídica (legal person)
- Before and after: The criminal liability of the school as an institution
- Infographic: Five audiences, one community
- Slide deck: Leadership and school: what must exist before the incident
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- FAQ: If a student is injured while under my supervision, am I criminally liable?
- FAQ: As a principal, am I criminally liable for what a member of my staff does?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Posición de garante (position of guarantor)
- Before and after: Everyday supervision of the class
- Infographic: Five audiences, one community
- Slide deck: Leadership and school: what must exist before the incident
Cited in:
- Guide: The school
- Scenario: The school as an institution, facing the worst
- Case: A private school facing a serious incident
- FAQ: We are a public school. Can we be held liable as a legal person too?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Persona jurídica (legal person)
- Before and after: The criminal liability of the school as an institution
- Infographic: The school as a legal person
- Slide deck: Leadership and school: what must exist before the incident
Cited in:
- Scenario: “That teacher is going to pay for this”
- Scenario: The rumour in the parents’ group
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- FAQ: A father insulted me publicly in a WhatsApp group. Is that ultraje — the offence against a public official?
- FAQ: An adult threatened me to make me change their child’s grade. Am I protected?
- FAQ: We are a public school. Can we be held liable as a legal person too?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Agravante (aggravating circumstance)
Cited in:
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Scenario: What you saw at break time
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- FAQ: I’m being bullied at school. What can I do?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Hostigamiento (harassment)
- Before and after: School harassment (“bullying”)
- Before and after: A teacher’s authority to correct
- Before and after: Shouting, nicknames and “creative” punishments
- Infographic: From punishment to protection
- Slide deck: What Ley 44-26 changed on school matters
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: What you saw at break time
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Assessment
- Glossary: Hostigamiento (harassment)
- Before and after: School harassment (“bullying”)
- Infographic: From punishment to protection
- Slide deck: Integrity and coexistence
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Scenario: You and the video of the fight
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: Someone opened a fake account with my name and my photo. What do I do?
- Before and after: Photos, videos and doctored images involving minors
- Infographic: The digital side: what happens when a student’s image is shared
- Slide deck: What Ley 44-26 changed on school matters
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: “I’ll tell you something if you don’t tell anyone”
- FAQ: Is correcting my children at home now domestic violence?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Interés superior del niño (the best interests of the child)
- Before and after: How mothers and fathers discipline at home
- Slide deck: Families: allies with rights and duties
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: A colleague who is too close
- Scenario: Someone in the game chat
- FAQ: A student messages me on WhatsApp or Instagram. Can I reply?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Agresión sexual y violación sexual (sexual assault and rape)
- Before and after: Sexual assault or rape with abuse of authority
- Infographic: From punishment to protection
- Slide deck: The relationship of trust weighs more
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: Students
- Scenario: A colleague who is too close
- Scenario: Someone in the game chat
- FAQ: A student messages me on WhatsApp or Instagram. Can I reply?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Sexual harassment within the educational relationship
- Before and after: The “jokes” that are harassment
- Infographic: From punishment to protection
- Slide deck: The relationship of trust weighs more
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: The photo in the staff WhatsApp group
- Scenario: They are asking about the case
- Scenario: The school that fits in a phone
- Scenario: You and the video of the fight
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- FAQ: Can I post photos of my class on my own social media?
- FAQ: Someone shared an intimate photo of me without permission. Is that a crime?
- FAQ: A video of a fight between students reached me on WhatsApp. Can I forward it?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Photos, videos and doctored images involving minors
- Before and after: Photos of students in the staff WhatsApp group
- Infographic: The digital side: what happens when a student’s image is shared
- Slide deck: What sharing a student’s image sets off
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- FAQ: Someone opened a fake account with my name and my photo. What do I do?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Fake accounts and identity theft
- Infographic: The digital side: what happens when a student’s image is shared
- Slide deck: What sharing a student’s image sets off
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: An image that is not yours
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: Someone shared an intimate photo of me without permission. Is that a crime?
- FAQ: A video of a fight between students reached me on WhatsApp. Can I forward it?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Photos, videos and doctored images involving minors
- Before and after: Intimate content spread from a relationship of power
- Infographic: The digital side: what happens when a student’s image is shared
- Slide deck: What Ley 44-26 changed on school matters
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Scenario: “I’ll tell you something if you don’t tell anyone”
- Scenario: Monday’s marks
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- FAQ: Can I be accused of anything for reporting, if in the end it turns out nothing happened?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Buena fe del denunciante (good faith of the person reporting)
- Before and after: The counselor’s professional secrecy
Cited in:
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Scenario: The photo in the staff WhatsApp group
- Scenario: The school that fits in a phone
- FAQ: Can I post photos of my class on my own social media?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Photos of students in the staff WhatsApp group
- Before and after: Class lists and grades on personal phones
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Scenario: “That teacher is going to pay for this”
- Scenario: The rumour in the parents’ group
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- FAQ: A father insulted me publicly in a WhatsApp group. Is that ultraje — the offence against a public official?
- Assessment
- Before and after: “Contempt” for insulting a teacher
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: “That teacher is going to pay for this”
- Scenario: The rumour in the parents’ group
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- FAQ: A father insulted me publicly in a WhatsApp group. Is that ultraje — the offence against a public official?
- Assessment
- Infographic: Five audiences, one community
- Slide deck: Families: allies with rights and duties
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
Cited in:
Cited in:
Cited in:
Cited in:
Text amended by Ley 44-26. The Ley 44-26 version governs, and is read together with the Code.
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Scenario: “That teacher is going to pay for this”
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- FAQ: A father insulted me publicly in a WhatsApp group. Is that ultraje — the offence against a public official?
- Assessment
- Before and after: “Contempt” for insulting a teacher
- Infographic: From punishment to protection
- Slide deck: What Ley 44-26 changed on school matters
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: “I’ll tell you something if you don’t tell anyone”
- Scenario: Monday’s marks
- Scenario: The envelope in the box
- Scenario: The school as an institution, facing the worst
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- Case: A private school facing a serious incident
- Case: Signs of neglect at home and the route to CONANI
- FAQ: What happens if I don’t report something I suspected and it turns out to have been true?
- FAQ: A student has told me something serious. What do I do in the first hour?
- FAQ: How long does the school have to refer a report of abuse?
- FAQ: As a principal, am I criminally liable for what a member of my staff does?
- FAQ: I suspect the school did not report a situation of risk. What can I do?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Staying silent about a known case of abuse
- Infographic: The action route: observe → document → report
- Slide deck: What to do, and with what backing
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Scenario: A colleague who is too close
- Scenario: The envelope in the box
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- Case: A private school facing a serious incident
- FAQ: We are a public school. Can we be held liable as a legal person too?
- FAQ: As a principal, am I criminally liable for what a member of my staff does?
- FAQ: I suspect the school did not report a situation of risk. What can I do?
- Assessment
- Before and after: Staying silent about a known case of abuse
Ley 44-26 — amending Ley 74-25
2 articles cited · download the full text (PDF)
Cited in:
- Guide: The school
- Scenario: The school that fits in a phone
- Scenario: The school as an institution, facing the worst
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- Case: A private school facing a serious incident
- FAQ: What does a compliance programme need in order to be worth anything?
- FAQ: From when can the school be criminally convicted as an institution?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Vigencia diferida (deferred entry into force)
- Before and after: The criminal liability of the school as an institution
- Infographic: From Ley 74-25 to Ley 44-26
- Slide deck: Two laws, a single entry into force
Ley 136-03 — Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents
23 articles cited · download the full text (PDF)
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: “I’ll tell you something if you don’t tell anyone”
- Scenario: A colleague who is too close
- Scenario: Monday’s marks
- Scenario: The envelope in the box
- Scenario: An image that is not yours
- Scenario: Someone in the game chat
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- Case: Signs of neglect at home and the route to CONANI
- FAQ: What happens if I don’t report something I suspected and it turns out to have been true?
- FAQ: Can I be accused of anything for reporting, if in the end it turns out nothing happened?
- FAQ: A student has told me something serious. What do I do in the first hour?
- FAQ: How long does the school have to refer a report of abuse?
- FAQ: I suspect the school did not report a situation of risk. What can I do?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Buena fe del denunciante (good faith of the person reporting)
- Glossary: Ministerio Público (the public prosecution service)
- Before and after: Staying silent about a known case of abuse
- Before and after: The counselor’s professional secrecy
- Infographic: The action route: observe → document → report
- Slide deck: What to do, and with what backing
Cited in:
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: What you saw at break time
- Scenario: Fourteen years old and a theft at the school
- Scenario: You and the video of the fight
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: The student who is harassing another is 12. Can I take him to the prosecution service?
- FAQ: Does the new Criminal Code apply to my 15-year-old son?
- Assessment
- Before and after: The age of criminal responsibility
- Infographic: Adolescents do not answer under the Criminal Code
- Slide deck: Three bands, three responses
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: What you saw at break time
- Scenario: Fourteen years old and a theft at the school
- Scenario: You and the video of the fight
- Scenario: An image that is not yours
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: I’m 16 and I committed a serious offence. Am I going to prison?
- FAQ: Does the new Criminal Code apply to my 15-year-old son?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Justicia penal de la persona adolescente (criminal justice for adolescents)
- Before and after: Fake accounts and identity theft
- Before and after: The age of criminal responsibility
- Infographic: Adolescents do not answer under the Criminal Code
- Slide deck: Three bands, three responses
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: Fourteen years old and a theft at the school
- Scenario: An image that is not yours
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: I’m 16 and I committed a serious offence. Am I going to prison?
- FAQ: Does the new Criminal Code apply to my 15-year-old son?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Justicia penal de la persona adolescente (criminal justice for adolescents)
- Infographic: Adolescents do not answer under the Criminal Code
- Slide deck: Three bands, three responses
Cited in:
- Guide: Educators
- Guide: School leadership
- Guide: The school
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: I’m 16 and I committed a serious offence. Am I going to prison?
- FAQ: Does the new Criminal Code apply to my 15-year-old son?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Justicia penal de la persona adolescente (criminal justice for adolescents)
- Glossary: Sanción socioeducativa (socio-educational sanction)
- Before and after: The age of criminal responsibility
- Infographic: Adolescents do not answer under the Criminal Code
- Slide deck: Three bands, three responses
MINERD · Normas de Convivencia (Ordenanza 05-2023) — school coexistence rules
29 articles cited · download the full text (PDF)
Cited in:
- Guide: Families
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- Case: Signs of neglect at home and the route to CONANI
- FAQ: What happens if I don’t report something I suspected and it turns out to have been true?
- FAQ: A video of a fight between students reached me on WhatsApp. Can I forward it?
- Assessment
- Infographic: The action route: observe → document → report
Cited in:
- Guide: Students
- Guide: Families
- FAQ: What has to exist in writing at the school before an incident happens?
- FAQ: What can I require of the school if my child is being bullied?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Normas de Convivencia (the MINERD school-coexistence rules)
- Slide deck: Leadership and school: what must exist before the incident
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Students
- Scenario: What you saw at break time
- Scenario: Fourteen years old and a theft at the school
- Scenario: You and the video of the fight
- Scenario: An image that is not yours
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- FAQ: The student who is harassing another is 12. Can I take him to the prosecution service?
- FAQ: I’m being bullied at school. What can I do?
- FAQ: Someone opened a fake account with my name and my photo. What do I do?
- FAQ: What can I require of the school if my child is being bullied?
- Assessment
- Slide deck: Scenario 2 — The answer
Cited in:
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: When discipline crosses the line
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Case: Signs of neglect at home and the route to CONANI
- FAQ: Can I still correct a student, or does that count as harassment now?
- FAQ: Can I expel a student for a very serious breach?
- FAQ: I don’t have my daughter’s birth certificate. Can they refuse to enrol her?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Normas de Convivencia (the MINERD school-coexistence rules)
- Slide deck: Integrity and coexistence
Cited in:
- Guide: School leadership
- Scenario: Monday’s marks
- Scenario: Fourteen years old and a theft at the school
- Scenario: The rumour in the parents’ group
- Case: The harassment that was stopped in time
- Case: An intimate image that circulated among adolescents
- Case: A social-media rumour about a teacher
- FAQ: How long does the school have to refer a report of abuse?
- FAQ: Can I expel a student for a very serious breach?
- Assessment
- Glossary: Distrito y regional educativos (the education district and regional offices)
- Slide deck: What to do, and with what backing
Cited in:
Cited in:
MINERD · Código de Ética (Orden Departamental 22/2023) — code of ethics
17 articles cited · download the full text (PDF)
Cited in:
Cited in:
Cited in:
- Guide: Families
- Scenario: “I’ll tell you something if you don’t tell anyone”
- Scenario: Monday’s marks
- Scenario: The envelope in the box
- Case: A disclosure in the classroom and the reporting chain that protected her
- FAQ: What happens if I don’t report something I suspected and it turns out to have been true?
- FAQ: How long does the school have to refer a report of abuse?
- FAQ: I suspect the school did not report a situation of risk. What can I do?
- Assessment
- Glossary: CONANI
- Infographic: The action route: observe → document → report
- Slide deck: What to do, and with what backing
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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