About the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities (FCSUA)

Signed into law by Florida’s governor on January 21, 2016, the Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program Act (the Act) (FS 1004.6495) established the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities at the University of Central Florida (the Center) and charged the Center with managing the Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program (FPCTP) application and approval process. The Act also established criteria for FPCTP approval, scholarship awards for eligible students to attend approved programs, grant awards to promote new program development and existing program enhancements, and accountability requirements associated with these opportunities.

As stated in the legislation, the purpose of the ACT is to “increase independent living, inclusive and experiential postsecondary education, and employment opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities through degree, certificate, or nondegree programs and to establish statewide coordination of the dissemination of information regarding programs and services for students with disabilities. It is the intent of the Legislature that students with intellectual disabilities and students with disabilities have access to meaningful postsecondary education credentials and be afforded the opportunity to have a meaningful campus experience.” (FS §1004.6495(2))

The Center is working with higher education institutions across Florida to support implementation of the Act in three primary ways: (a) facilitate application and approval of their program that serves students with intellectual disabilities as a FPCTP, (b) provide scholarship awards to students attending an institution’s approved FPCTP, and (c) provide grant funding to foster starting up new and/or enhancing existing programs. These three components of the Center’s work aim directly at achieving the purpose of the ACT.