Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Education (MINERD) has filed formal complaints with environmental prosecutors in Duarte and Valverde provinces following recent cases of poisoning that affected students, teachers, and staff at several schools. The incidents occurred at the Ana Celeste Fernández school in La Guama, Duarte, and at the Leónidas Ricardo Román High School and Fidelina Reyes Labor School in Santa Cruz de Mao, Valverde. Emergency protocols were activated in both cases, leading to class suspensions and student evacuations to safeguard the health of the school community. Authorities reported that the Mao case was linked to pesticide spraying on a neighboring property less than 200 meters from the affected schools. The ministry urged prosecutors to identify those responsible and apply criminal penalties, noting that negligence or recklessness in handling toxic substances can carry prison sentences and fines under Dominican law.