Why Puerto Rico Is Pushing to Privatize Its Schools

SU Matrullas is a small K-9 public school in the mountains of central Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria roared over the island last September, the school was without power for five months. Recently, the school’s director gave up hope of reconnecting to the territory’s electricity grid and decided instead to rely on a microgrid—a system of solar panels and battery storage—to keep the lights on. SU Matrullas’s plight is hardly unique: Hundreds of other schools still remain without electricity. Other damage is lingering, too, from crumbling roofs and water damage to widespread mold. And the system has lost an estimated 14,000 students who have moved to the mainland U.S. for their education since the storm.

Faced with a dire situation, Puerto Rico’s leaders are using post-storm recovery as an opportunity to dramatically overhaul the territory’s education system. Governor Ricardo Rosselló recently announced that more than 300 public schools out of 1,100 will close, and he outlined changes he wants to make to the system, including instituting charter schools and using private school vouchers—similar to the practices touted by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.