Original reporting by Jessika Harkay and Gabby DeBenedictis. Compiled by Gabby DeBenedictis.
Nearly two years ago, private practical nursing school Stone Academy abruptly shut its doors amid questions about the numbers of students passing final nursing exams, faculty qualifications and students’ clinical training.
Now, a settlement has been preliminarily approved by the court that would distribute $5 million to the students who were left in limbo following the closure.
The agreement resolves several legal proceedings — a “combined solution,” as Attorney General William Tong described it in a press conference on Jan. 10, that settles multiple lawsuits in the wake of the school’s shuttering.
Here’s what to know about the lawsuits and the settlement.
What did the closure of Stone Academy mean for its students?
For months, about 850 students were unable to obtain their transcripts while the Office of Higher Education audited the academy’s records to determine the validity of its coursework.
When the audit came back in summer 2023, the Office of Higher Education determined that fewer than 140 students were eligible for a teach-out plan, a 10-month program that would allow them to obtain their certificates. Most students were left with the options of starting over at another nursing school or quitting their studies completely.
What did the lawsuits allege?
Students had alleged in a May 2023 lawsuit against the school that Stone Academy, its owners and trustees — Mark Scheinberg, Joseph Bierbaum and Richard Scheinberg — and the school’s CEO Gary Evans failed to deliver on the education the school promised, including by deceiving students about the validity of course work and misleading them about its impending closure.
Two months later, Tong’s office announced that the state would sue Stone Academy, Bierbaum and an art college also under Bierbaum’s ownership.
Tong claimed Bierbaum took the tuition of hundreds of nursing students and used it to promote Paier College of Art, a private institution in Bridgeport. He also alleged that Bierbaum’s operations had numerous violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
And in December 2023, students sued the state’s Office of Higher Education and Department of Public Health as well, alleging that the departments violated their 14th amendment rights.
The lawsuit claimed the students were deprived of the rights to their academic credits and degrees without due process of law and that the “defendants have made defamatory statements about the education and preparedness of Plaintiffs and their abilities to competently and safely practice as LPNs.”
What are the details of the settlement?
In addition to distributing $5 million to the affected students, the agreement includes providing a remedial program for students to complete their studies and allocating $150,000 for exam preparation.
The $5 million would be distributed to students on a weighted basis based on their tenure at Stone Academy, according to a lawyer representing the students.
As part of the settlement, Joseph Bierbaum, the former operator of Stone Academy and current owner of Paier College, would be barred from opening, operating or engaging in the business of higher education in Connecticut for five years. Paier College is not currently authorized by the Office of Higher Education to confer degrees; a hearing to determine their status is scheduled for next month.
Additionally, as part of the settlement the students would be withdrawing their case against the state “with prejudice,” which means they can’t bring any further action against the state or state officials regarding Stone Academy, Tong explained.
What happens next?
Notice about the settlement is being distributed by direct mail, email and in the news media, and a final approval hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26. Checks would go out following the final approval, potentially as soon as March.