Florida schools districts continue to welcome students displaced by hurricanes

Public schools expect more displaced students in coming weeks

ORLANDO, Fla. – More than a month after Hurricane Maria knocked out power to Puerto Rico and left many without water, Florida schools continue to receive new students displaced from the island and other areas affected by hurricanes.

More than 2,000 students were enrolled during the past month in six Central Florida school districts. As of Monday, the following school districts provided updated enrollment numbers for students displaced by hurricanes.

Read how Central Florida schools prepared for the influx of students.

As of Oct. 19, Orange County Public Schools has 1,048 students enrolled from hurricane-affected areas. Of those students, 782 are from Puerto Rico.

Brevard County schools has 103 new students enrolled for hurricane-related reasons, district officials said.

Volusia County Public Schools has 142 students from hurricane affected area; 87 are from Puerto Rico.

Orange County schools have 615 new students displaced from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria; 516 of those students are from Puerto Rico.
 
Lake County has enrolled 85 new students from Puerto Rico since Sept. 20.

Marion County Public Schools has enrolled 20 students from Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria. District officials said they expect more in the coming weeks.

On Monday, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a $36.5 billion hurricane relief package that would help Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas after back-to-back hurricanes. Almost $5 billion of the money would assist Puerto Rico’s recovery.

More than one-fourth of the island's residents don't have potable running water and just 17 percent have electricity, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Just 392 miles of Puerto Rico's 5,073 miles of roads are open. Conditions in the U.S. Virgin Islands are bad as well, with widespread power outages.


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