2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHTEEN - Education (§§ 1 — 3510-3520) › PART III - Educational Activities Generally (§§ 861-866 — 1597b) › Chapter 61 - Scholarships (§§ 861-866 — 910v) › § 910s - Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund

(a) A special fund under the name “Tomás ‘Maso’ Rivera Scholarship Fund” for students of our public education system who are interested in pursuing specialized studies in our Autochthonous Traditional Puerto Rican Music is hereby created, attached to the Office for the Promotion of Student Academic Excellence that administers scholarship funds in the Department of Education, as established in Section 6 of Act No. 170 of August 11, 2002, without being subject to a fiscal year, different and separate from other moneys and funds of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico.
(b) The Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund shall be administered in agreement with the standards and regulations approved by the Secretary of the Department of Education, pursuant to the rules in effect for the administration of similar funds.
(c) The moneys originating from the Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund created by this section, shall be used by the Department of Education exclusively for the granting of scholarships for specialized studies in our autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music, as defined by §§ 871 et seq. of Title 3, to students of our public education system.
(d) The Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund shall be nourished with funds originating from the following:
(1) The legislative appropriations provided in this section and those to be approved in the future by the Legislature of Puerto Rico to be covered into this fund, and
(2) donations, transfers, or assignments of money by any private person or entity or by the federal, commonwealth or municipal government. This money shall be used pursuant to the terms of the donation, transfer or assignment and to the law applicable to each case.
(e) The Secretary of Education shall administer the Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund and shall establish, through regulations, the norms relative to the terms and conditions under which said fund shall be used and administered.
(f) The Secretary of Education is hereby empowered to approve any necessary regulations for the implementation of this section, including those establishing the minimum requirements that students shall meet in order to be eligible for the benefit granted. Every student scholarship recipient, parent, caretaker, or legal guardian shall be required to furnish to the Secretary of Education official evidence of the student’s education, as well as a certification from the institution or teacher attesting that the beneficiary is a bona fide student.
(g) The Secretary of Education is hereby authorized to investigate and obtain any necessary information in order to verify compliance with the terms and conditions of the scholarship benefit granted. For such purpose, he/she shall coordinate with other public, private, federal, state, or municipal entities.
(h) The Secretary of Education shall annually select, through the procedure to be established by regulations, from among eligible students, the number of students that the resources of the fund allow.
The total amount of each scholarship shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) annually. Except, in cases of scholarships for studies whose justified annual cost exceeds said amount, in which case said amount might increase to one thousand dollars ($1,000) annually.
(i) The Secretary of Education shall ensure that the appropriations and the moneys covered into the Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund be used pursuant to the purposes set forth in this section.
Within thirty (30) days after the closing of each fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall submit a report to the Chairpersons of the Committees on Ways and Means of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, as well as to the presiding officers of each Legislative Chamber and the Governor of Puerto Rico. This report shall include a breakdown of income and expenses of the Tomás “Maso” Rivera Scholarship Fund, as well as a relation of all scholarships granted pursuant to this section.
History —Aug. 15, 2007, No. 108, §§ 1—9.