The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of the statewide public education system in the United States, with (Hawaii being the other). The PRDOE is the state education agency in charge of managing public schools in Puerto Rico as well as the island's education system and curricula. The department, headquartered in Hato Rey, San Juan, is the result of a United States state department of education. It is also the largest agency of the executive branch of Puerto Rico, with, as of 2019, an annual budget of more than $3.5 billion USD and over 72,000 staff—including more than 41,000 teachers, and as of 2020 the department is the third-largest school district in the United States by enrollment, with over 276,413 students and 857 schools. The department was formerly known as the Department of Public Instruction of Puerto Rico. Under local law, all public schools are required to be licensed by the Puerto Rico Education Council. History The department was established under section 6 of Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico on 25 July 1952. In 1950, there were 74 districts, each managed by a superintendent. Juan Bernardo Huyke who was the superintendent of the Bayamón district in 1950, and also served as the Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico; he wrote a number of books and was a strong proponent of bilingual education for the island public school students. In 2012 governor Luis Fortuño inaugurated the first school under the "21st century" program intended to modernize the island's schools. Critics signalled that community input was not taken into account when modernizing schools. In total 100 schools were remodeled under the program which used ARRA funds. In 2016 PROMESA gave the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico control over the island's finances including the department. The board has ordered cuts to education on various occasions including for special needs education, which faces a cut of $95 million in 2021. In 2017, Julia Keleher became the department's secretary. That year, due to the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis, the department announced that 187 schools would close. That number was revised to 179 shortly afterward. Receiving no maintenance once shuttered, the school buildings caused blight in many communities that subsequently hoped to use the school buildings and premises for other purposes. In Lares, it was decided that unused public schools, including one in Piletas Arce (on Puerto