Puerto Rico has been granted immediate access to $912 million in federal funds that had not been available to students in public and private schools on the island as a result of restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced Monday.
“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," Cardona said in a statement.
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.
The aid was awarded after Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi sent a letter to Cardona on March 5 requesting immediate access to previously approved aid "in order to provide the necessary resources for the students of Puerto Rico," Pierluisi said in a statement.
"Our students have endured a lot, since the hurricanes from 2017 to earthquakes and the Covid-19 pandemic, and they deserve to go back to normal. These resources will provide the necessary funds to satisfy the needs of our students on the island," Pierluisi said in Spanish. "On behalf of our children, teachers, and the parents of Puerto Rico, I thank Secretary Miguel Cardona for his commitment to supporting Puerto Rico and President Biden for quickly granting Puerto Rico access to these federal funds."
These funds include $390 million approved under the CARES Act as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as additional aid from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund.
They also include all fiscal year 2019 department program grant funds, totaling $522 million, including funds under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and Part B of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. 
The U.S. Department of Education will work alongside local officials to determine how the money can be used to address the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of students in the U.S. territory, according to a spokeswoman for Republican Del. Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico's nonvoting member of Congress.