Joan Hartley

SEN. HARTLEY APPLAUDS AS BILL TO HELP STONE ACADEMY STUDENTS TAKES SHAPE IN SENATE

HARTFORD, CT – State Senator Joan Harley (D-Waterbury), worked alongside State Senator Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) in progressing legislation that would provide direct relief to Stone Academy students after that nursing school’s three campuses across the state shut down without warning earlier in the winter of 2023.

A new amendment to the bill, which passed today before being referred to the Appropriations Committee to review its potential cost, would make several changes to legislation in question, directly supporting former students and graduates of Stone Academy.

“When Stone Academy abruptly closed their campuses in Waterbury, East Hartford and West Haven, they left so many students stranded in the middle of their education with no alternate paths,” said Sen. Hartley. “Especially now as we face a dire nurse shortage, it is essential that we help these students get their careers back on track. I’m hopeful that this bill will make it through the finish line in these final days of session, and Stone Academy will be held liable for not fulfilling their promise to their students.”

With new amendments incorporated, Senate Bill 936, “An Act Concerning Workforce Development,” would:

Direct the Office of Higher Education to ensure that students who graduated from Stone Academy in the last two years, but need to take additional clinical work as required by the Department of Public Health, will receive the costs of the additional clinical classes and stipends of up to $1,000. As many as 150 students would be eligible for this support; under current law, someone who did not graduate from Stone Academy but completed classes later deemed invalid by the Department of Public Health for substandard educational quality would not be eligible for reimbursement. This bill would change that and allow the Office of Higher Education to reimburse out-of-pocket costs for such students; allow the Office of Higher Education within its available student protection account’s balance to give additional grants and support to students of Stone Academy; upon its progression today, the amended bill would now need to receive approval by the Appropriations Committee, then receive approval in both the House and Senate.