Puerto Rico, still reeling from Hurricane Maria, is looking to reform its public education system with school choice options like charters and vouchers as the island’s government works to rebound from the storm and a crippling financial crisis.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced an education reform plan that would include a new system of charter schools — called Escuelas Alianzas — on the island. Puerto Rico currently does not have any charter schools, and its law allowing them has long been expired. In a Spanish-language video announcement, Rosselló said Puerto Rico’s education system needs to reduce bureaucracy but that the “big change” would be providing more options for parents and students.

In Puerto Rico, we have extraordinary talent, intelligence, and capacity in our students and teachers. What we lack is a system that lets us develop these talents.

Rosselló announced he would present the reform bill to lawmakers Tuesday. If approved, the legislation — which includes plans for a $1,500 raise for teachers, their first in over a decade  — would go into effect for the 2019–20 school year. The bill also includes a plan to strengthen the island’s vocational schools.

Read more about Puerto Rico's plan for education by Mark Keierleber at The 74