U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced last week that two states and Puerto Rico will receive nearly $700 million in federal money to help their schools recover from natural disasters.
Puerto Rico will receive $589 million from the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program, while Texas will receive $89.4 million and California will get $14.4 million. Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico last year, causing significant damage to the U.S. territory’s schools,. Meanwhile, Hurricane Harvey caused significant damage to the Houston area, and California experienced some of its worst wildfires in recent history late last year.
The money will be distributed by state education agencies to districts to help them cover costs associated with recovery from disasters and recreate a “normal learning environment.”
