Nightingale College Investigation

Attorneys at Kershaw, Talley & Barlow are currently investigating a potential case against Nightingale College associated with its enrollment of California students into its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (“BSN”).  Specifically, thousands of California students enrolled in Nightingale’s BSN program with the dream of becoming registered nurses. 

California law imposes very strict educational requirements for individuals who want to become licensed as an RN within the state.  To determine whether non-California educational institutions meet these requirements, the California Board of Registered Nurses reviews educational programs to determine whether their curriculums are equivalent to those required by the state. Nightingale expressly advised prospective students that its program met California’s equivalency requirements.  

Unfortunately, Nightingale’s representations were false.

If you believe you may have a potential claim against the school, we encourage you to reach out to us at (916) 520-6639 for a free consultation to review your situation.

Nightingale College’s California Program Equivalency Issues

In early 2026, Nightingale was advised by California’s Board of Registered Nursing that its program did not, in fact, meet California’s educational equivalency requirements.  Based on court filings, it appears that the reason for the denial is related to deficiencies associated with Nightingale’s clinical instruction.

 First, California law requires nursing programs within the state to provide a minimum of 500 clinical hours to its students with 150 of those hours to be apportioned among the following specialties:

• Geriatrics
• Medical-surgical nursing
• Mental health/psychiatric nursing
• Obstetrics
• Pediatrics

According to students, Nightingale’s program does not meet the 500 hour requirements or the requirement that 150 of those hours be provided in the five specialties.

Impact on Nightingale College Students and Graduates

Second, California law imposes a separate requirement that nursing programs provide clinical hours “concurrently” with theory of instruction.  In other words, if a school offers instruction in Obstetrics, the clinical hours for obstetrics must be provided in the same instructional period as the in-class instruction.

As a result of these deficiencies, many current students and recent graduates learned that graduation from Nightingale’s program will not qualify them to become licensed RNs in the state California.  These students who have paid up to $80,000 in tuition along with travel and other related expenses are left with very few options.  Additionally, many students have reported losing substantial future income as they must now explore educational alternatives, if they are even possible, to eventually become licensed RNs.

Although Nightingale has filed a lawsuit against the State seeking an order that would require the state to issue licenses to qualified Nightingale graduates, to date, it is has been largely unsuccessful.  Based on the current state of that litigation, we expect it may be several years before a court issues a final decision one way or another.  As result, students will be left in limbo indefinitely.

Potential Claims Against Nightingale College

If you are a California student or a recent graduate of Nightingale’s BSN program and would like to obtain more information about potential claims against the school, please feel free to fill out the form below.

Contact Kershaw Talley Barlow at (916) 520-6639 for a free consultation to learn more about your options.