Our Commitment to Fair Access for Nightingale Learners

Last week, Nightingale became a plaintiff, along with learners Carolyn Patchett and Tioney Thomas, in lawsuits against the boards of nursing in Montana and Georgia, filed in the respective federal district courts. These actions challenge current regulatory barriers preventing our learners from completing required clinical experiences in those states—barriers that do not apply to in-state schools, harm out-of-state schools, and ultimately harm learners, the communities they serve, and healthcare systems in need.

Keep reading for information on what these cases are about, why they matter, and what they mean for our work.

Why We Joined This Action

Both Montana and Georgia boards of nursing have implemented discriminatory policies that block or severely limit learners’ participation in out-of-state nursing programs like ours, even when those out-of-state institutions meet national accreditation standards and when healthcare facilities in those states are willing to host them.

In Montana, out-of-state nursing programs are required to:

Seek case-by-case approval for every on-ground placement, even though in-state programs receive blanket approval.
Prove that their students will not “displace” students from Montana schools—effectively giving in-state competitors veto power, which they have used against Nightingale.

In Georgia, the Board of Nursing:

Outright prohibits out-of-state and online prelicensure programs from placing students in Georgia clinical facilities, regardless of accreditation or quality.

These policies unlawfully discriminate against our learners, whose programs meet the same educational standards as other institutions’ programs, simply because they attend an out-of-state institution.

Why This Matters to Learners and Communities

These restrictions are more than bureaucratic obstacles; they directly harm learners and potentially limit healthcare access where it is needed most.

Learners ready to serve local patients are barred from doing so, even when a hospital or clinic wants to host them.
Some learners are forced to leave their home state to complete required clinical experiences.
Both Montana and Georgia already face significant nursing shortages, especially in rural areas. These policies reduce the number of nurses who can train and ultimately practice there.

Our learners are relevantly skilled and readily available to serve in their communities. These policies stand in the way of their ability to complete their education and contribute to the communities they call home.

Our Legal Position

In both states, we are challenging these restrictions under:

The Dormant Commerce Clause, which prohibits states from creating public policies that favor in-state providers or creating competitive barriers against out-of-state businesses. Both GA and MT policies violate this provision of the U.S. Constitution and create unfair barriers against Nightingale’s ability to enroll learners in both states.
The Equal Protection Clause, which requires all to be treated equally under the law. Both GA and MT policies violate this provision of the U.S. Constitution and effectively classify out-of-state learners as “second-class” citizens, giving them fewer rights than their counterparts enrolled in in-state nursing programs.
In Georgia, we also are challenging the Board of Nursing’s policies under the Sherman Act, because the Board of Nursing, which is comprised largely of state incumbents, has created what we believe is an unlawful monopoly for in-state nursing education programs.

Our goal is straightforward: to ensure that the constitutional rights of Nightingale and all our learners are upheld and that our learners have fair access to the clinical experiences required to become nurses no matter where they live.

What This Means for Learners

Our mission hasn’t changed. We remain fully committed to expanding access to nursing education, especially for working adults and rural learners.
Operations continue as normal. Nothing in these filings disrupts our current programs, clinical partnerships and placements outside the affected states, or our regulatory approvals elsewhere.
We will communicate proactively. Misinformation can spread quickly, so please refer to this message as your source of truth.

Nightingale was founded to remove barriers not enforce them! When states create unfair rules that block well-qualified future nurses from serving their communities, it runs counter to everything we stand for. Standing up for fairness, access, and our learners will always be our priority.