Vermont
Recent reversal on student loans could affect thousands of Vermont borrowers
Up to date at 7:15 p.m.
On Sept. 30, Hannah Regier referred to as the Vermont Pupil Help Company, the state’s nonprofit lender, in search of details about pupil mortgage reduction.
The Athens artist and city official has been slowly paying off pupil loans since ending graduate college in California 15 years in the past, however she nonetheless has roughly $40,000 in pupil mortgage debt from the Vermont Pupil Help Company, or VSAC.
Underneath President Joe Biden’s pupil mortgage reduction plan, introduced by the administration on Aug. 24, Regier believed that she was eligible for as much as $20,000 in mortgage forgiveness. However she was a day too late.
A VSAC counselor knowledgeable her that, the day prior, the Biden administration had quietly modified the standards for mortgage reduction — that means that Regier’s was apparently not eligible.
“It actually sucks,” Regier mentioned in an interview. “I undoubtedly used the F-word a few occasions with that poor counselor.”
Regier is just not alone. The adjustments within the mortgage forgiveness standards — enacted discreetly late final month — imply that an estimated 800,000 debtors throughout the nation at the moment are not eligible for mortgage reduction.
That determine might embrace 1000’s of people that borrowed cash in Vermont.
In late August, Biden introduced that pupil debtors could possibly be eligible for as much as both $10,000 or $20,000 in one-time pupil mortgage reduction, relying on their eligibility for Pell Grants, which is federal help geared towards low-income college students.
That help initially included debtors who took out loans by way of the Federal Household Schooling Mortgage Program, typically referred to as FFEL loans. FFEL loans have been assured by the federal authorities however lent out by personal lenders, together with banks and nonprofit lenders just like the Vermont Pupil Help Company.
FFEL loans have been discontinued in 2010. However over 4 million debtors nonetheless maintain such loans, in response to a Nationwide Public Radio report.
That features 10,741 individuals who, like Regier, borrowed by way of VSAC, in response to Marilyn Cargill, the group’s vp for monetary help companies, advertising and analysis.
These 10,741 individuals embrace former Vermont residents who left the state for school, in addition to college students who got here from out of state to attend Vermont colleges. Roughly 37% of these debtors presently have Vermont addresses, Cargill mentioned.
These debtors have a complete of roughly $250 million in FFEL mortgage debt, in response to VSAC.
Previous to Sept. 29, the federal authorities’s pupil help web site informed debtors that they might change into eligible for debt reduction on their FFEL loans by “consolidating” them right into a present federal mortgage program, the Direct Mortgage Program.
That course of entails filling out a web based kind, in response to Cargill, after which the federal Division of Schooling works to fold these loans into its personal debt portfolio.
However on Sept. 29, the federal authorities quietly modified its eligibility standards. Debtors with these FFEL loans “can’t get hold of one-time debt reduction by consolidating these loans into Direct Loans,” the web site now reads.
Federal officers informed NPR that the change would have an effect on roughly 800,000 debtors. But it surely’s unclear what number of Vermonters that reversal will have an effect on.
For one factor, high-income debtors — these with a yearly revenue of $125,000 or extra per particular person, or $250,000 for a family — are ineligible for debt reduction.
What’s extra, many debtors have each FFEL loans and publicly held Direct Loans.
So if a borrower has $20,000 in federal Direct Mortgage debt along with FFEL debt, they might obtain the utmost quantity of reduction with out even touching their FFEL loans.
However because the change within the Biden administration’s steerage, Cargill mentioned, VSAC has “been coping with some college students who’re extremely disillusioned and actually pissed off.”
Regier was a kind of college students. Due to these loans, and the price of personal well being care, she mentioned, it paradoxically makes extra sense to maintain her revenue under sure ranges to remain eligible for extra favorable compensation plans.
However with out these loans, she mentioned, she would have the ability to broaden her fiber arts enterprise and enhance her credit score rating.
“It sucks to have the loans. It actually does,” she mentioned. “They’re simply type of like a useless weight on me.”
Cargill mentioned that VSAC has contacted Vermont’s congressional delegation to assist “make sure that FFEL debtors regain their eligibility to take part on this program.”
In a joint assertion, Vermont’s congressional delegation mentioned that “confusion, bureaucratic crimson tape, or cynical authorized assaults” shouldn’t maintain FFEL debtors from the federal mortgage forgiveness program.
“President Biden’s resolution to scale back the outrageous degree of pupil debt in our nation is a crucial step in offering actual financial reduction for thousands and thousands of individuals on this nation, together with tens of 1000’s of Vermonters,” reads the assertion, which was attributed to Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt. “Nobody ought to bear the burden of pupil debt simply to get an schooling. As a delegation, we’re dedicated to working collectively to assist alleviate the burden of pupil debt for each Vermonter.”
If you wish to maintain tabs on Vermont’s schooling information, enroll right here to get a weekly e mail with all of VTDigger’s reporting on greater schooling, early childhood applications and Okay-12 schooling coverage.
The personal data of students and staff at several dozen Vermont school districts may have been compromised in a nationwide data breach of a student information system, according to state education officials.
PowerSchool, a California-based company that provides a student information system and cloud software used by 39 school districts in Vermont, told its customers on Tuesday that personal data of students, staff and faculty of school districts throughout the country were hacked, according to officials.
The company serves more than 75% of students in North America, according to a report from TechCrunch, and its software is used by roughly 16,000 customers to support more than 50 million students in the United States.
Schools use the software to manage student records, grades, attendance and enrollment.
It is unclear how many school districts in Vermont were affected by the data breach. Lindsey Hedges, a spokesperson for the state Agency of Education, said in an email that not all of the 39 districts that use PowerSchool were affected, but noted that the agency “will continue to work with districts and remain in contact as the full impact of the incident unfolds.”
Champlain Valley School District was among the affected districts. Adam Bunting, the district’s superintendent, said in a letter to families that “the Agency of Education is actively working with PowerSchool to determine the next steps.”
“We understand that the situation is concerning and will keep you informed as we learn more,” Bunting wrote in the letter.
In a phone interview, Bunting said PowerSchool informed the district that the breached personal information of faculty and staff mainly included things like contact information.
“The information, as far as we understand, does not include things like Social Security numbers,” he said. “The initial information we have is that it’s more about contact information.”
Student information, Bunting said, may include names, address, emails and birthdates.
A spokesperson for PowerSchool, Beth Keebler, said in an emailed statement that the company “is committed to protecting the security and integrity of our applications.”
“We take our responsibility to protect student data privacy and act responsibly as data processors extremely seriously,” the statement reads. “Our priority is to support our customers through this incident and to continue our unrelenting focus on data security.”
TechCrunch reported that hackers successfully breached the company’s school information system, and the company was made aware of the breach on or around December 28.
“As soon as we learned of the incident, we immediately engaged our cybersecurity response protocols and mobilized a cross-functional response team, including senior leadership and third-party cybersecurity experts,” the company’s statement said.
The company said it does not anticipate the data being shared or made public.
Zoie Saunders, Vermont’s secretary of education, said in correspondence to superintendents of the affected districts that the impact of the breach may vary from district to district.
“We understand that this news may be concerning, but please be assured that the agency takes incidents involving student information very seriously and is committed to ensuring that all necessary measures are in place to safeguard it,” she wrote.
Vermont
Grace Potter 'Emotionally Preparing to Lose' Home in L.A. Fires as She Reveals Vt. House Destroyed in Flood Last Summer
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/grace-potter-fires-tout-010925-d2c8e62a185845dc85646ac8779d95d2.jpg "Grace Potter 'Emotionally Preparing to Lose' Home in L.A. Fires as She Reveals Vt. House Destroyed in Flood Last Summer")
Grace Potter is staying safe amid the fires in California.
In an Instagram Reel shared on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the “Mother Road” singer spoke about evacuating the Los Angeles fires after recently being in New Orleans during the terror attack on Jan. 1 and losing her Vermont home amid the flooding in July 2024.
“We are safely evacuated from Topanga Canyon but many are still in harms way,” Potter, 41, wrote. “Just now we discovered that the place we evacuated to is also under evacuation orders. They just announced the schools are shut.”
Potter said that she had just arrived in L.A. after a cross-country trip after being in New Orleans “amid the terror attack.” She also mentioned that last summer her Fayston, Vt. farm was “devastated by the floods.”
“Life is wildly unpredictable and it’s important [to] keep your heart strong and your mind clear. If you see smoke, don’t wait for cell signal,” Potter continued.
“Trust your gut. Pack the necessities & GET OUT. I’m feeling deep gratitude for family, friends, the firefighters and for community. We are lucky. Stay safe out there folks.”
Her Jan. 8 video showed her driving away from the smoke. “Am I a storm chaser, or do I just like being places where really bad things happen? Or is this just happening everywhere? I don’t know,” she said in the clip, adding that she would pick up her son Sagan, 7 this week, from school and found a hotel to stay at.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
On Jan. 1, Potter was in New Orleans celebrating the New Year when a truck intentionally drove through the crowd on Bourbon Street leaving at least 14 people dead and dozens injured.
“We were standing at the corner of the intersection where only hours later a car came crashing through in a terrifying & violent act,” Potter’s joint Instagram post with husband Eric Valentine read.
“Then this morning, as we were in our room packing our bags to leave, a bomb was detonated less than a block away from our hotel in the quarter.”
Valentine added: “I am grateful my family is safe. I am grateful for the brave people who put their lives on the line to do their best to keep us safe. Our hearts go out to those who were injured and to the families and friends of those who were lost.”
In July, the singer posted pictures and videos of the damage from the floods with water overflowing rivers and roadways. Following the flooding, Potter said that the annual Grand Point North Festival would also serve as a benefit for those affected by the Vt. floods.
“Vermont, my heart is with you. I’ll be home soon, and we will rebuild as we always do,” she wrote.
Grace Potter/Instagram
Potter also shared a picture of a map of the blaze on her Instagram Stories on Jan. 8, pointing out where her home was. “Emotionally preparing to lose our home,” she wrote. “All i can do now is hope for a miracle & send love to the Canyon that brought me back into the daylight.”
The L.A. fires began on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Thousands of structures have been affected by the disastrous blaze.
Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.
UVM hockey legend Eric Perrin returns to Burlington on coaching staff
Eric Perrin, UVM hockey’s all-time leading goal scorer returns to Burlington helping out on the coaching staff for the past nine days.
Vermont basketball scored the game’s first seven points and built multiple 10-point leads early in the first half of Saturday’s America East Conference showdown at Bryant.
But everything unraveled after the Catamounts’ roaring start.
The Bryant Bulldogs seized control by the halftime horn and rolled in the second half for a 73-53 victory, handing Vermont its biggest conference defeat in two decades.
The Catamounts (9-9, 2-1) haven’t loss by at least 20 points to a league opponent in the regular season since the 2004-05 finale at Maine, 87-66, when stars Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine did not play. They also suffered a 22-point setback to Stony Brook in the 2011 America East semifinals.
Vermont opened a 24-14 lead on a Shamir Bogues 3-pointer with 8 minutes, 21 seconds before the break. Then the Bulldogs unleashed a 20-6 spurt to close the half. Bryant, though, kept momentum on its side, scoring 20 of the first 22 points of the second half.
The advantage ballooned to 57-32 by the 12-minute mark. All told, Bryant had a 43-8 run spanning the two halves to carve out the insurmountable advantage.
Connor Withers, who started Bryant’s comeback in the first half with a 3-pointer, paced the hosts with 19 points. Rafael Pinzon and Barry Evans each had 13 points, and Early Timberlake added a dozen points for Bryant’s first win over Vermont since joining America East ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
For Vermont, Bogues totaled 17 points and six rebounds, and Ileri Ayo-Faleye collected 15 points. Sam Alamutu picked up 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs scored 22 points off Vermont’s 17 turnovers. Bryant also made 11 3-pointers.
The Catamounts return to action for the league home opener Thursday night vs. Binghamton.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
Cleveland and Akron see sharp declines in gas prices: What GasBuddy is saying
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders flags to be raised to full-staff for Trump's inauguration
Letter: Mr. Lyman’s wish list for Alabama’s Legislature
Genetic diversity in Alaska’s red king crab may provide climate change resilience
Mock Draft: Cardinals Trade Out of First Round
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
RFK Jr. Would ‘Significantly Undermine’ Public Health, a Group of Experts Says
Trudeau says 51st state is distraction from Trump tariff threat, acknowledges facing 'successful negotiator'
Lebanon President Joseph Aoun starts consultations for PM selection
Firefighters Brace For More Santa Ana Winds As Los Angeles Palisades and Eaton Fires Continue To Burn | Weather.com
Newsom Suspends State Environmental Rules for Rebuilding After Fires
-
Politics1 week agoWho Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health1 week agoOzempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25822586/STK169_ZUCKERBERG_MAGA_STKS491_CVIRGINIA_A.jpg "Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech")
Technology4 days agoMeta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech
-
News1 week agoSeeking to heal the country, Jimmy Carter pardoned men who evaded the Vietnam War draft
-
Science2 days agoMetro will offer free rides in L.A. through Sunday due to fires
-
News1 week agoTrump Has Reeled in More Than $200 Million Since Election Day
-
Movie Reviews6 days ago‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ Review: Thai Oscar Entry Is a Disarmingly Sentimental Tear-Jerker
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25821992/videoframe_720397.png "Las Vegas police release ChatGPT logs from the suspect in the Cybertruck explosion")
Technology6 days agoLas Vegas police release ChatGPT logs from the suspect in the Cybertruck explosion