The requirements imposed 20 months ago on Florida Coastal School of Law by the American Bar Association related to the school's alleged noncompliance with ABA accreditation standards were removed Tuesday.
At its May 16-18 meeting, the ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar reviewed the evidence and concluded that Florida Coastal has demonstrated compliance with admission standards.
“We are grateful that the ABA Section’s Council has recognized the hard work and dedication of the Florida Coastal students, staff and faculty. Our 2018 entering credentials are at or above 43 other law schools, and our Florida first-time Bar passage rates are better than five out of six comparable schools in 2018 and all comparable law schools in February 2019. We look forward to continued improvement in our outcomes and working with the ABA on our transition to a non-profit law school and non-profit university affiliation,” said Florida Coastal Dean Scott DeVito.
The ABA notified the school in October 2017 that while it was in compliance with general standards, Florida Coastal was out of compliance with standards related to admission requirements, such as minimum Law School Admission Test scores, and the school’s ability to prepare its students to pass the Bar examination and enter the legal profession as attorneys.
Florida Coastal then was required to develop a written reliable plan for bringing the school into compliance with the standards; publish the noncompliance notification letter from the ABA Council on the school’s website; and within 30 days of semester grades being complete and distributed provide students with information relating to Bar exam pass rates by quartiles and attrition rates.
The notice of removal of requirements issued Tuesday stated, “Florida Coastal School of Law remains an approved law school.”