By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
Nursing education in Florida has been permanently tarnished by the stains left by numerous nursing-accredited schools that have issued phony transcripts and fake diplomas, scamming thousands of nurses out of millions of dollars. The FBI investigation, known as “Operation Nightingale,” identified many of these individuals and led to the opening of investigations against others. There are currently over 60 Florida nursing schools that have been investigated or are under investigation. Florida lawmakers are considering a new bill, HB 121, that would make changes to certain rules.
The Problem and How It Arose.
In 2009, the Florida Legislature passed a law eliminating many restrictions and requirements, especially those involving oversight by the Florida Board of Nursing, for nursing schools. It is projected that there will be a shortage of over 60,000 nurses in the state of Florida in the future. The 2009 law allowed hundreds of private, for-profit nursing schools to start up with little regulation or oversight. Because of this, many of the schools that started up after this aggressively advertised and recruited students into nursing programs, which, it was only much later discovered, failed to meet state laws on the type and quality of nursing education that was required to be given to nursing students. Additionally, from approximately 2015 through 2022, many nursing schools that at one time offered legitimate programs meeting state requirements were purchased by unscrupulous criminals who then proceeded to operate them in a fraudulent manner.
Many students were lured into applying and paying the tuition for nursing programs that did not meet state requirements for the number of in-person classroom hours or in-person clinical instruction in actual hospitals on actual patients. Many of these schools offered online courses that are not authorized by their licenses. Many of these also offered in-person courses in other states when those states had not authorized the school to operate in that state. Many of these offered course credit for the experience that the student was gaining while actually working at their regular job, receiving their regular pay, and not being supervised by any faculty member. As unscrupulous individuals, mostly located in Florida and New Jersey, saw how much money could be made, they expanded, multiplying the number of nursing schools they owned and operated and recruiting many more students to pay the tuition for such programs.
The Dam Breaks With Operation Nightingale.
The problem came to light when the FBI’s investigation known as “Operation Nightingale” was revealed, and the extent of the problem came to light. The FBI, using federal court-ordered search warrants, was able to see these numerous school records and arrest many of the individuals responsible for criminal acts. Many of the owners and operators of the Operation Nightingale schools were prosecuted criminally in federal court, and many have now been convicted.
The matter wasn’t publicized to all state boards of nursing through the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Different state nursing boards then began to closely scrutinize any applicant for a nursing license attending any Florida school, concentrating on those that had been originally named in Operation Nightingale, and began to discover numerous irregularities in the education that had been undertaken by the applicant. In some cases, applicants had not attended the school at all nor taken any online courses at all.
However, the investigation appears to be ongoing with new Florida schools being added to the list regularly and federal prosecutions of owners taking place in federal court as recently as December 2025, resulting in felony convictions.
Florida Education’s Reputation Tarnished Again.
The scandal has, once again, tarnished the reputation of Florida educational institutions. Now, any applicant for a nursing license in any other state who has attended nursing school in Florida, whether at one of the Operation Nightingale schools or not, has their license closely scrutinized by the board of nursing where they are applying.
We have seen nurses whose application for a nursing license and another state held up and questioned when they have attended fully accredited state college schools of nursing and long established, fully accredited, private and religious university schools of nursing, as well.
Furthermore, news media reporting on the new remedial proposed legislation notes that the expected need for nurses in Florida is still calculated at more than 60,000, almost the same as when the 2009 legislation was originally passed. Once again, Florida education rushes to the bottom to be among the worst in the U.S.
What the Proposed Remedial Florida Law Would Do.
As currently worded (January 21, 2026), HB 121, which was voted against by only one state legislator, would give greater oversight authority to the Florida Board of Nursing. Similar legislation was actually passed by the Florida Legislature last year, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the legislation, allegedly seeking to maintain the status quo.
The proposed legislation, among other things:
1. Revises application requirements for nursing program approval,
2. Authorizes the Florida Board of Nursing to revoke a program’s approval,
3. Revises requirements for annual reports that the program directors of nursing programs are required to submit to the Board of Nursing,
4. Requires that an existing program’s graduate passage rate for first-time test takers on the national examination must not fall below ten percent (10%) lower than the average passage rate for all takers nationwide during the same calendar year.
5. Requires all programs to make disclosures of their passage rates and probationary status to students and applicants,
6. Provides for revocation of a nursing program’s approval and discipline of its program director,
7. Revises remediation procedures,
8. Removes the authority of the Board to extend a program’s probationary status,
9. Authorizes agents of the Florida Department of Health (DOH), the umbrella state agency over all Florida health professional boards, to conduct on-site evaluations and inspections,
10. Authorizes DOH to collect evidence during its evaluations and inspections, and
11. Removes the Board’s authority to grant any extension of time to an approved nursing program to meet accreditation requirements.
Problems that we see that may arise include, first and foremost, is the Florida Legislature will give additional funds to the DOH and the Board of Nursing to carry out the above activities? Perhaps many of the DOH investigators brought on to investigate the alleged unlicensed practice of health professions can be shifted into this area to do this important oversight work.
Additionally, the proposed requirements are going to make any new school of nursing seeking accreditation, as well as existing accredited schools of nursing, to make sure their program is sound enough and contains the quality of nursing education required to meet Florida’s standards from the outset. It also is bound to make it more difficult for Florida nursing schools to recruit and maintain appropriately skilled instructors and program directors, but should also cause an increase in salaries.
Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Investigations and Complaints Against Nurses and Nursing Students.
Nurses and nursing students should take proactive steps to verify and protect their credentials, while employers and regulators continue to close gaps in oversight. If you have concerns about your credentials or have been contacted by your state board, we encourage you to seek legal advice promptly.
The attorneys of The Health Law Firm provide legal representation to those applying for nursing licenses, nurses, nursing students, and ARNPs in Department of Health (DOH) complaint investigations, license defense, DOJ investigations, Board of Nursing investigations, formal and informal administrative hearings, emergency suspension orders, emergency restriction orders and other types of investigations of health professionals and providers.
To contact The Health Law Firm, please call (407) 331-6620 or toll-free (888) 331-6620 and visit our website at
www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.
About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area.
www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Avenue, Suite 1000, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620 or Toll-Free: (888) 331-6620.
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