Biden releases more than $ 900 million in educational funds for Puerto Rico

By Nicole Acevedo - NBC News

The Biden Administration has granted Puerto Rico immediate access to $ 912 million in federal funds that remained frozen for students in the island's public and private schools due to restrictions imposed by the Trump Administration, the Secretary of Education announced Monday. , Miguel Cardona.

"The Department is committed to collaborating with Puerto Rico and supporting it in the efficient and effective use of these funds

 to serve students, including to safely reopen schools and maximize in-person instructional time," Cardona said in a statement.

[Trump thought about swapping Puerto Rico, a "dirty" and "poor" country, for Greenland, says a former DHS official]

The new funding comes less than two weeks after Puerto Rico reopened dozens of public and private schools for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The aid was granted after the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, sent a letter to Cardona on March 5 requesting immediate access to previously approved aid

"to provide the necessary resources for the students of Puerto Rico

," Pierluisi explained in a release.

Thousands of tourists cause excesses and violate prevention protocols in Puerto Rico

March 22, 202100: 37

"Our students have endured a lot, from the hurricanes of 2017 to the earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic, and they deserve to get back to normal. These resources will provide the funds necessary to meet the needs of our students on the island," Pierluisi noted he said in Spanish.

"On behalf of our children, teachers and parents of Puerto Rico, I thank Secretary Miguel Cardona for his commitment to support Puerto Rico and President Biden for quickly granting us access to these federal funds," he added.

More than 40% of these funds, 390 million dollars, come from the Coronavirus Relief, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), approved by Trump last year, and that provides aid to people and companies affected by the pandemic.

The remaining $ 522 million is FY2019 grant funds and includes money to provide education for low-income and disabled students.

According to the Department of Education, accountability measures will be implemented to track the funds.

[What Puerto Rico's strict measures against the COVID-19 pandemic can teach the continental US]

The U.S. Department of Education will work with local officials to determine how the money can be used to address the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of students, according to a spokeswoman for Jenniffer González, the current Commissioner. Resident of Puerto Rico in the House of Representatives.

Earlier this month, 96 of Puerto Rico's 858 public schools reopened with restrictions.

For now, only kindergarten children, special education students, and first, second, third, and twelfth grade children can return to school.

They attend face-to-face classes only twice a week and leave before noon.

Pierluisi also allowed the little ones in Head Start programs to go back to school.

Next steps amid new leadership

The release of federal funds is a step forward for the Puerto Rican government, which, under new leadership, is trying to build a new relationship with the Administration of President Joe Biden, and is hopeful that the funding delays common during the previous Administration, dissipate.

[A trans man is murdered in Puerto Rico amid a "wave of homophobic and transphobic violence"]

In 2019, the Trump Administration imposed restrictions that limit Puerto Rico's ability to access federal funds allocated to the island's education system, alleging mismanagement within the Puerto Rico Department of Education.

The notice of the restrictions was issued weeks before the arrest of former Secretary of Education Julia Keleher, who was allegedly involved between 2017 and 2019 in a fraudulent plot of 15.5 million dollars in federal funds and was arrested by the FBI in July 2019 along with other politicians and businessmen, all charged with 32 counts of fraud and related charges.

It's unclear whether Cardona will be able to lift some of those restrictions, as some require the bankrupt island to hire an outside agency to manage certain federal funds.

But Cardona told Puerto Rico's national newspaper, El Nuevo Día, that he has "a strong team that is working and reviewing the requirements."

"We are confident in our relationship with Puerto Rico, which we are sure our students need at this time is support," said Cardona, one of the members of Biden's Latino cabinet, of Puerto Rican descent.

"They can't wait any longer. They can't keep talking about reopening schools without providing the support they need," he added.