Board of Regents says 529 college savings program has ‘limited functionality’

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Louisiana Board of Regents says some access is being restored to tens of thousands of people invested in the state’s “Start” college tuition savings program.

The program, a popular 529 college savings plan, was shut down last week due to a cyber incident, cutting off access to account holders. The Board of Regents told a House committee Wednesday that accounts are now accessible with “limited functionality.”

In a news release, the Board stated that providing limited functionality is the first step toward the full restoration of the Start system and more than 83,000 active savings accounts.

The Board told the House committee it has notified Louisiana’s educational institutions about the disruption and has asked them to work with affected students to minimize any impact on educational services.

Officials say tens of millions of dollars invested in the program are safe. However, no explanation has been provided for the outage, raising concern among students and parents.

The Board stated that it will release more information in the coming days regarding the timeline for full restoration. Louisiana State Police, GOHSEP, and the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance are continuing to monitor the system’s security and investigate the cause of the incident.

“State police are doing their work, the banking community was notified, and the outreach was rigorous to make sure students were not purged, and they continue their education,” said Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed.

“I’m urging all the parties to have open communications to help people feel better about all this,” said Rep. Kim Carver, R-Mandeville.

As of now, 529 account holders are being told that student information does not appear to have been compromised. Education officials say they will attempt to learn from the cyberattack and strengthen the system.

The Board of Regents says if you have questions about your Start account, you can contact them at start@laregents.edu.

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