Established in 1994, the Minority Participation in Legal Education (MPLE) Program, funded by the Florida Legislature, was designed to address the underrepresentation of historically disadvantaged minorities practicing law in the State of Florida. 

From 1994-2001, new scholarships were awarded annually to Florida residents attending both public and private law schools in Florida. During that same time, new scholarships were awarded annually to Florida resident pre-law students attending both public and private undergraduate schools in Florida.

Program Successes:

• From 1994 through 2005, the Program supported 533 Scholars.
  
• 502 Scholars (94%) graduated from law school and received their J.D. degrees. 
  
• 94% of the graduates who took the Florida Bar Examination passed the Examination.
  
• 95% of Program graduates who passed the Bar Exam now practice law in Florida or practiced in the State for at least three years.
• Studies by the Florida Post-Secondary Educational Planning Commission (PEPC), the Florida Board of Regents Legal Education Advisory Council (LEAC) and others, credited the MPLE Program for being responsible for Florida’s increase in statewide law school minority enrollment.

  See the Interim Report of LEAC, March 9, 2000; MPLE Program Report and Recommendations by PEPC, December 1999; A review of the MPLE Program for the Florida Board of Regents by MGT of America, Inc., February 18, 1999; and An Update on the Capacity for Legal Education for the Florida Bar by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, Preliminary Draft, 1998.

• From 1994 through 2005, the Program funded 305 Scholars.
  

• 239 Scholars graduated and received their Bachelor’s degrees.
  

• The Program’s graduation rate is 97%.
  

• 134 graduates have gone on to attend Florida law schools, while 15 others have enrolled in out-of-state schools.
  

• 56 of the remaining 90 graduates indicate that they will attend a Florida law school within two years of graduating from college as the Program requires.