Florida schools will receive $95.8 million to reimburse school districts for taking in K-12 students from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands after the catastrophic hurricanes last year.
The federal funding emerged from a bipartisan initiative led by Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Winter Park) to include funds for local schools facing a surge of student enrollment after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, particularly in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, her office said in a statement.
“This required the state and counties to spend more money than they had anticipated spending at the start of the school year,” Murphy said in the statement. “I’m so proud that, as a result of our effort in Congress, the federal government is now making our state and our school districts whole.”
Congress passed the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act this February, approving disaster relief funding to affected states and territories. The U.S. Department of Education is now allocating the funds, including to Florida schools impacted by the influx of students from Puerto Rico.
In a letter to members of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Oct. 2017, several Florida lawmakers urged federal officials to provide the emergency funding, which they said had been previously appropriated in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
The initiative was co-signed by Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Darren Soto, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Frederica Wilson, Alcee Hastings, Al Lawson, Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel and Val Demings.
Lawmakers argued the funding was also crucial for Florida because an overwhelming majority of displaced students were English-language learners.
The state is expected to distribute most of the funds in the next 30 days.
The federal funding can be used to help new or current students, hire new teachers, buy school supplies, provide transportation or provide additional classroom space.
After last year’s destructive hurricanes, thousands of new displaced students enrolled in schools in Central Florida, putting a strain on school resources in some counties.
bpadro@orlandosentinel.com or 407-232-0202. Follow me on Twitter @BiancaJoanie
