In February 2023, Stone Academy, a private practical nursing school, abruptly shut its doors amid questions about its examination passage rates, faculty qualifications and clinical training — leaving nearly 1,000 students in limbo. Almost two years later, those same students may see some relief. Attorney General William Tong announced Friday a preliminary settlement that would distribute $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. As part of the settlement, Joseph Bierbaum, the former operator of Stone Academy and current owner of Bridgeport’s Paier College of Art, 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. “It still shocks me … how terribly Stone Academy and its owners shortchanged its students and really let them down,” Tong said, speaking at a press conference Friday. “These students [were] mostly women, many immigrants, many people of color — women who had other jobs, who were trying to fit in nursing and practical education, who were trying to put food on the table and work other jobs and care for their families, just to get a chance to change the trajectory of their lives.” Tong called the preliminary settlement the “best and quickest and most complete way to provide relief to students.” The agreement resolves several legal proceedings — a “combined solution,” as Tong described it, that settles multiple lawsuits filed in the wake of Stone Academy’s shuttering. Stone Academy students brought a proposed class action lawsuit against the school, its owners and trustees — Mark Scheinberg, Joseph Bierbaum, Richard Scheinberg and the school’s CEO Gary Evans — in May 2023. The state then sued Stone Academy that July. And the students filed a second proposed class action against the state’s Office of Higher Education and Department of Public Health in December 2023. The preliminary settlement was filed in court Friday. It hasn’t yet been approved by students involved in the class-action lawsuits. The settlement also needs court approval, Tong said. Perry Rowthorn, the attorney representing Stone Academy, declined a request for comment. Tim Cowan, an attorney at Hurwitz, Sagarin, Slossberg & Knuff LLC, which has been representing the students in the class-action complaints, said he’s “hopeful” the settlement is a “path forward to resolve this matter.” “It’s been a long and arduous process, obviously, and it’s been complicated by several factors in different ways,” Cowan said. “These folks definitely needed help, so we’re hopeful that this agreement will bring some peace to them.” 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. Their lawsuit had alleged officials in the state’s Office of Higher Education and Department of Public Health deprived Stone Academy students of their right to academic credits and degrees without due process of law. In an emailed statement, OHE Commissioner Tim Larson called the preliminary settlement “the result of many long hours invested by Attorney General Tong, [Public Health] Commissioner [Manisha] Juthani, their staff and the Office of Higher Education personnel who regularly go above and beyond to protect Connecticut students.” Cowan declined to share further details until the settlement is finalized. “All I can say is that the settlement is meant to be equitable. It’s meant to reflect the different harm to the different students, while also resolving the claims in the matter.” Cowan added that about 1,000 people are included in the litigation, but the number could change after an opt-out period, which allows individuals to pursue their own resolutions. It’s unclear when former Stone Academy students will receive compensation provided for in the settlement, but Cowan said, “Our hope and intent is to be as quick and practical and as fair as possible.” Sen. Henri Martin, a ranking member on the Higher Education Employment Advancement Committee, praised the preliminary settlement, calling it “encouraging news.” “In the legislature, we have worked in bipartisan fashion to provide direct relief to former Stone Academy students,” Martin said. “We have a nursing shortage, and it is essential that we continue to work across multiple branches of government to help these students get their careers back on track and make them whole.” Other initiatives to aid Stone Academy students are ongoing, including a request from the Office of Higher Education to the federal government to approve a measure known as “borrower defense” for Stone Academy students, which would discharge their federal student loans. Borrower Defense 12.17.2024Download In December, OHE Commissioner Tim Larson issued a letter urging current U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to approve the financial relief for former Stone students “as they continue working toward careers in healthcare.” Tong said he “personally” spoke with Cardona last week, and that if “it doesn’t get done by Jan. 20, I hope that Secretary Linda McMahon, as a resident and native of Connecticut, will honor those requests.” President-elect Donald Trump has nominated McMahon to succeed Miguel Cardona as head of the U.S. Department of Education. She has not yet received Congressional approval.