STATE COLLEGE — Penn State has paid $59.7 million in out-of-court settlements to 26 men claiming they were abused by former football coach and convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky, the university reported Monday.

Penn State reviewed claims brought by 32 men, and 23 of those have been signed, the university said. There remain three settlements in principle and the documentation will be finalized over the next few weeks, the university said.

The other six claims were rejected because they were found to be “without merit,” the university said.

“We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. Sandusky, and another step forward for Penn State,” President Rodney Erickson said in a statement. “We cannot undo what has been done, but we can and must do everything possible to learn from this and ensure it never happens again at Penn State.”

The announcement on Monday was the first and apparently last official word the university has given about the specific details in the Sandusky settlement process, which was authorized in July during the board of trustees meeting.

University officials have said they would only release the amount of the combined settlements once they were finalized, though trustee Ted Brown later said $60 million was the amount approved for all settlements combined.

Penn State said liability insurance policies are expected to cover the settlement amounts and the legal defense against the claims brought against the university, employees and trustees. The university said any expenses that are not covered by the insurance will be paid from interest on loans the university made to other units on campus.

The terms of the settlements are confidential, and the university said they contain a release of all claims against the university and other parties.

It has not been reported how much the individual claimants received. Lawyers for the claimants have said the settlements contain a nondisclosure agreement forbidding them from releasing how much they were paid.

The nearly $60 million in settlements will be reflected in the university’s audited financial statements for 2013-14. The board of trustees’ audit and risk committee will meet Friday to review 2012-13 audited financial statements, according to a legal notice.

Among the men whose claims have been signed and settled is Victim 2, the young man at the center of a 2001 incident in a campus locker room that ultimately cost head coach Joe Paterno his job. Matt Sandusky, an adopted son of Jerry Sandusky who said his adoptive father molested him, also settled, lawyer Andrew Shubin said.

One of the claimants, Victim 6 from the grand jury presentment against Sandusky, is suing Penn State in federal court. Penn State asked the judge for a stay until criminal prosecutions against three Penn State administrators have been resolved, but the young man’s lawyers are fighting the university’s attempt to put a hold on the case.

A spokesman for the legal team representing Victim 6 declined to comment.

The $59.7 million spent on settlements combined with the millions Penn State has paid in legal and consultant fees, plus the first $12 million toward the $60 million NCAA fine, pushes the cost of the Sandusky scandal to $110 million.

When factoring in the remaining $48 million Penn State has to pay as part of the NCAA fine, the cost balloons to $158 million.