State Gets $300K Payback

To Cover School Costs For Storm Refugee Kids

The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday it is awarding Connecticut an additional $284,068 to cover the costs for local school districts serving refugee children who were displaced or left homeless after Hurricane Maria or other disastrous storms last year.

Secretary of Education Betsy Devos said the department will award $15 million to 21 states through the Hurricane Education Recovery Assistance for Homeless Children and Youth program.

The federal agency said it anticipates granting another $10 million in the near future through the program.

Peter Yazbak, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the state agency is in the midst of determining how much each local district will receive.

“We appreciate any federal funding we get to help districts cover the cost of educating students displaced by Hurricane Maria,” Yazbak said.

Connecticut served a total of 2,043 students during the last school year who were displaced by hurricanes, mainly by Hurricane Maria which hit Puerto Rico a year ago Thursday.

Yazbak said recently that it’s not yet certain how many of these students are still enrolled in Connecticut schools. However, spokesmen for several school districts said they believe most are still enrolled.

In August, Connecticut was allotted $10.6 million to educate students displaced by the Hurricane Maria.

That grant was part of $359.8 million in assistance awarded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students program.

About 95 percent of the storm refugees in Connecticut came from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island a year ago, but the federal aid also covers the cost of educating and serving students displaced by Hurricane Harvey and Irma and the California wildfires.