Florida Student Association was formed in 1976 and is a board of the Student Body Presidents from each of the State University System universities.
Florida Student Association, Inc. (FSA) was formed in 1976 under the "Florida Not For Profit Corporation Act". FSA represents the interests of students of the
State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Syst ...
. A
statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
enacted by the
Government of Florida
The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three separation of powers, branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Florida and the other electe ...
has created a "student government" at each state university. The statute provides that each student government shall have a "student body president". FSA's
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
includes the student body president of each state university student government. FSA's board of directors exercises the corporation's powers and manages its affairs.
Current Members
State University System
The Universities represented in the Florida Student Association are those that are in the State University System of the State of Florida.
The System is completely separate from the Florida Department of Education and State Board of Education, who control K-20, college, workforce and technical, blind, and VPK education. U.S. News & World Report named Florida the No. 1 State University System in the United States for five years.
In 2022, Governor
Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...
signed the Freedom First Budget Bill which allocated $2.7 billion to the State University System.
Governance
FSA coordinates the collective efforts of each of the State University student governments with a goal of providing unified student representation before the
Florida Government
The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed consti ...
. FSA holds monthly meetings where student leaders can interact with their peers from other institutions.
Florida Board of Governors
The FSA president serves as a member of the board of governors without compensation but may be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses to the extent provided by law. The current Student Body President that was elected as FSA Chair to serve on the Board of Governors is Nimna Gabadage from Florida State University. The Chair works to represent the interests of the more than 300,00 students that attend these universities statewide.
Financial Aid Appeals Committee
An applicant for state student
financial aid
Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...
may appeal the rejection of his or her application. The appeal will be heard by a committee of four members appointed by the
Florida Commissioner of Education
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (na ...
. A decision rendered by an appeals committee constitutes "final agency action".
An appeals committee is temporary in nature. There might be no appeals committees in existence at a particular time or there might be several appeals committees, with each committee being assigned to evaluate one or more appeals.
FSA is authorized by law to nominate students to serve as members of appeals committees. Each nominee must be enrolled in a public
postsecondary institution in Florida.
Rally in Tally
The Florida Student Association holds an annual gathering in Tallahassee called Rally in Tally. Students travel from each of the twelve universities in teams to lobby the Florida Legislature regarding education issues and concerns. Past speakers at Rally in Tally events include Mayor
John E. Dailey, Sean Pittman,
Amber Mariano (politician), Tim Cerio, and more.
Lobbying
FSA is authorized by law to "Adopt, change, amend, and repeal bylaws, not inconsistent with law or its articles of incorporation, for the administration of the affairs of the corporation and the exercise of its corporate powers". FSA has adopted a bylaw which provides, in part, that "the activities of the corporation shall include the carrying on of
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
efforts and otherwise attempting to influence legislation".
In 2022, the Florida Student Association lobbied for the return of the $600 Bright Futures Book Stipend, increased resources even the statewide distribution of Title IX officers, a vast increase in mental health resources, and the installment of the Open Educational Resources. From the same session, Gov.
Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...
signed a record $396 million for school safety and mental health initiatives.
In 2019, the Florida Student Association partnered with Representative Mel Ponder (R) and Senator Anitere Flores (R) to pass House Bill 3419, which would have provided additional funding to homelessness and food insecurity programs on college campuses.
This bill eventually died in the Appropriations Committee.
FSA also tried to partner with Mike Caruso (R) to eliminate the tax on college textbooks and other instructional materials. The Florida Student Association lobbied successfully for the expansion of Florida's Medical Amnesty laws, which will protect those who call for assistance during an alcohol and drug overdose across the state through HB 595.
FSA was a driving force in the effort to create the "Florida Prepaid College Program". In 1985, FSA asked key Florida legislators to review the
State of Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
's prepaid tuition plan. After reviewing Michigan's plan, Florida State Senator
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She wa ...
sponsored a
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
to establish a similar prepaid tuition plan in Florida. With lobbying efforts by student government presidents and David Corry (FSA Executive Director) and Shari Caprara (FSA Legislative Director), the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
and the
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
both passed the bill. The bill was then signed into law by Florida Governor
Bob Martinez
Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor o ...
. Since that bill became
Florida law
The law of Florida consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The ''Florida Statutes'' form the general statutory law of Florida.
Sources
The Constitution of Florida ...
, more than 1.6 million prepaid college plans have been purchased and nearly 350,000 students have attended college under a prepaid college plan.
"Overview"
of prepaid college plans, offered by the
Florida Prepaid College Board
Most of the plans were purchased by parents and grandparents when their children/grandchildren were toddlers.
See also
* Advisory Council of Faculty Senates
The Advisory Council of Faculty Senates (ACFS) is a non-partisan statewide organization of university faculty members formed to represent the interests of all faculty members working for the State University System of Florida. ACFS membership co ...
* Florida Board of Governors
The Florida Board of Governors is a 17-member governing board that serves as the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida.
After its predecessor, the Florida Board ...
* Florida College System Activities Association
Florida College System Activities Association Incorporated (FCSAA) is the governing body for all extracurricular activities of the member schools of the Florida College System. Activities include athletics, Brain Bowl, forensics, music, publicati ...
* State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Syst ...
References
External links
Official website
* FSA'
"Profile"
at Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...
{{State University System of Florida
Politics of Florida
Non-profit corporations
501(c)(3) organizations
Student governments in the United States
Education advocacy groups
Lobbying organizations in the United States
Organizations based in Florida
Charities based in Florida
Student political organizations
1976 establishments in Florida
State University System of Florida