Bondi
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a temporary injunction against a nursing school on Thursday that allegedly prohibited certain students from taking their practical nurse license examination.
Health Opportunity Technical Center Inc., a South Florida school with practical nursing students in Miami, lost its accreditation, making its students ineligible for federal financial aid. Health Opportunity then allegedly prohibited graduates who owed it money that would have otherwise been covered by financial aid from taking the license examination.
"Students' career paths should not be halted due to a school's unjustifiable prohibition of students taking necessary professional licensure exams," Bondi said.
Under terms of the temporary injunction, Health Opportunity must release student transcripts and allow graduates to take the licensing examination after they pay any previously agreed upon out-of-pocket payment, which amounts to approximately $2,000 per student.
The nursing program allegedly charged students $20,000, which many students financed through federal financial aid programs, including grants and loans. Students were then only required to pay out-of-pocket expenses of approximately $2,000, Bondi says.
After losing its accreditation, Health Opportunity students who lost their federal financial aid were allegedly prohibited from taking their license examinations until the remaining amount due on their tuition bills that would have been covered by federal financial aid was paid.