Nightingale College Seeks Injunction Against California Board of Registered Nursing

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Nightingale Education Group, the parent company of Nightingale College, has filed a lawsuit against the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) in an effort to secure a preliminary injunction. The move comes after the BRN blocked more than 1,300 graduates from taking the NCLEX-RN examination, which is necessary for them to start their nursing careers.

According to the lawsuit, filed on August 24, Nightingale Education Group claims that the BRN has unlawfully applied unpublished and undefined standards without prior notice. The company argues that the BRN had previously authorized testing for almost 2,200 graduates and had licensed nearly 2,000 of them under the identical curriculum. Nightingale Education Group contends that the BRN's actions are in violation of California law.

This week, Nightingale Education Group will request an expedited hearing on the preliminary injunction. If granted, the court would require the BRN to process pending Nightingale graduate applications to test under the published licensing standards that the company maintains are required by law. Last week, Nightingale amended its lawsuit, adding constitutional claims against BRN Executive Officer Loretta Melby in her official capacity.

The BRN recently informed some California applicants that they need additional coursework before they can test for licensure. Those identified requirements include up to 140 additional direct patient care hours, including 30 concurrent direct care and theory hours in both obstetrics and pediatrics. Nightingale disputes the BRN's interpretation and maintains that its current curriculum follows the published regulations, both in the required hours and concurrency.

Should Nightingale's motion for a preliminary injunction be granted by the court, the BRN will be required to reprocess all applications under the existing lawful standards and issue authorizations to test (ATT) to Nightingale graduates. However, the school will also provide a path for graduates to address the disputed requirements currently being applied by the BRN rather than waiting for the legal process to conclude.

If the motion for a preliminary injunction is denied, any additional coursework needed beyond the published program curriculum will be provided to graduates at no cost. The college's California Graduate Information Center offers the latest and most accurate information about the BRN situation.