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VPM Daily Newscast: Oct. 8, 2024

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VPM Daily Newscast

The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.

Listeners can subscribe through NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Megaphone, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Oct. 8, 2024:

Sacred Heart has prepared 1,000 Spanish speakers for GED certificates
Reported by VPM News’ Keyris Manzanares

When Luis Fernando Merlos immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in 2014 and enrolled at Huguenot High School in Richmond, the language barrier made it hard for him to connect with other students and exacerbated problems in class. He ultimately made the decision to drop out and started working in construction.

“It was quite an experience to get to a new school not speaking any English at all,” Merlos said. “When you get to talk to your classmates, your teachers, there's a big barrier. A big gap between you and the others, and you don’t feel connected to them.”

Ten years later, he is one of approximately 1,000 students to work toward earning a GED certificate through programs at Richmond’s Sacred Heart Center, which has been a hub for the city’s Latino community.

Legislative review board proposes changes to military tuition program
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly

Approximately two-thirds of the growth of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, or VMSDEP, is tied to 2019 legislation expanding the pool of families that qualify, according to a new report from the state’s legislative review board.

Enrollment data show that program usage has gone up by more than 300% since the 2019-20 school year. In 2019, the General Assembly passed a bill expanding eligibility for VMSDEP tuition waivers to spouses and children of military members who were disabled or killed while on duty; previously, only the families of veterans injured or killed in combat qualified.

In its report, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission proposed several policy changes, including restricting VMSDEP eligibility to undergraduate classes. Many of the board’s policy proposals mirror changes approved by the legislature during the 2024 session to rein in growing program costs — changes lawmakers then repealed during a special session in July.

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VPM News is the staff byline for articles and podcasts written and produced by multiple reporters and editors.