Newly sworn-in U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has had a busy — and expensive — week. In addition to granting $1 billion in student loan debt relief, Cardona recently released $912 million in federal funds to public and private schools in Puerto Rico. The previously approved funding was blocked for more than a year after the Trump administration had imposed restrictions on spending.
In a statement, Cardona (who is of Puerto Rican heritage) said, “the Department is committed to partnering with and supporting Puerto Rico in the efficient and effective use of Department funds to serve Puerto Rico’s students, including to safely reopen schools and maximize in-person instructional time.”
Nicole Acevedo of NBC News reported that “the new funds come less than two weeks after Puerto Rico reopened dozens of public and private schools for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.”
