Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic

In 1844, the educational function was in charge of the Ministry of Justice and Public Instruction, suppressed by Law No. 79, of January 28, 1931. Then with Law No. 89 of February 21 of the same year, it was assigned the attributions related to Public Instruction and Fine Arts to the General Superintendence of Education. On November 30, 1934 with Law 786, the Secretary of State for Education and Fine Arts was created. In this way, the term "Instruction" gave way to a more encompassing term, such as "Education". In 1965, by means of Decree No. 16 dated September 4, the functions related to Cults, previously assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were transferred to the Secretary of State for Education, with which it assumed the name of Secretary of State for Education Fine Arts and Cults. From 1951 to mid-1997, this Secretariat was governed in its operation by Organic Law No. 29-09, dated June 5, 1951, which established the normative basis that governed the institutional life of the Dominican Educational System until 1997. With the promulgation of Law No. 66-97 dated April 9, 1997, the Secretariat changed its name again, acquiring the Secretary of State for Education and Culture, which was later changed by the State Secretariat of Education with the approval and promulgation of Law 41-00 dated June 28, 2000, which creates the State Secretariat for Culture and transfers the Cultural function to that portfolio. The Organic Regulation dated August 11, 2000, is the one that operationalizes the Education Law 66-97.