Puerto Rico will receive nearly $600 million in emergency federal assistance to help the island’s schools recover from Hurricane Maria, the U.S. Department of Education announced today, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The new funding is part of the department’s Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program, also known as the K-12 Restart program, which allows the agency to award emergency assistance to schools affected by last year’s natural disasters, including three hurricanes and wildfires. The department also announced the Texas Education Agency will receive $89.4 million and the California Department of Education will be awarded about $14.4 million. This initial funding marks the first phase of a process that the department says will give impacted states opportunities to apply for additional funding in the future. Earlier this month, the Department of Education in Puerto Rico announced the closure of over 280 schools, as student enrollment plummeted after Maria and the island continues to experience massive population loss. Since the September storm, thousands of Puerto Rican students have enrolled in schools throughout Central Florida.
