Connecticut Attorney General William Tong’s office has reached a preliminary settlement with the now-shuttered Stone Academy. Tong (D) made the announcement at his office on Friday morning.
Stone Academy was a for-profit nursing school with three campuses in Connecticut. It abruptly closed in February 2023, leaving students to fend for themselves to finish their degrees and claw back the money they had spent at the school.
According to Tong, the students would later find out that their former school had an “unacceptably low” pass rate and unqualified staff.
Former Director of Nursing Lisa Palmer was there for the announcement. She echoed Tong’s findings.
“They were dropping class scores,” Palmer said. “They were letting people pass that should not pass because they wanted them in the system for the money, in my opinion. But we stuck around… I stuck around because we did want to help the students, and we knew something wasn't right. I finally left when the businessman, Mr. Bierbaum, stopped listening to the director of nursing on how to help these students.”
Tong said the preliminary settlement of $5 million will help the students get their lives back on track. It would resolve all claims the state and students have filed against the school.
“The reason why we're settling and the reason why we're concluding this is that this is the best way for me and for all of us to get money for students, and to get money for test prep, and to get money for people to resume their training and their career goals and aspirations,” Tong said.
Members of the class action lawsuit must approve the settlement before money can be distributed. If they do, Stone Academy’s owner will be barred from doing business in the state’s higher education sector for five years.
Joe Bierbaum, who owned Stone Academy, also owns Paier College in Bridgeport. That school was not allowed to reopen last fall.
The Health Department would also drop investigations into students based solely on their tenure at Stone Academy. The money collected would go toward remedial classes and additional training at Griffin Hospital.
State Senator Henri Martin (R-Bristol) is the ranking member of the legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. He said the state’s nursing shortage makes it even more critical for the students to get back on track in their training.
“Stone Academy students were harmed by unfair and deceptive conduct, and the Attorney General’s ongoing efforts to pursue justice in this unfortunate situation are appreciated,” Martin said.
During the announcement, Tong denied any wrongdoing on behalf of the state, which licenses schools.
“The state never did anything wrong,” Tong said. “The state didn't run a school. It's not our job to run a school. Our job is to regulate and hold people who run schools, particularly for-profit schools, accountable. So, if we did our job and held them accountable, how is that our fault? It's not.”
The preliminary settlement was expected to be filed in Hartford Superior Court on Friday.
