Florida Student Association, Inc. 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. A statute enacted by the Government of Florida 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 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.
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. FSA holds monthly meetings where student leaders can interact with their peers from other institutions.
Section 7 of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Florida provides that the state university system of Florida shall be governed by "a board of governors". Section 7 also provides that "the president of the Florida student association" shall be a member of the 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.
Financial Aid Appeals Committee
An applicant for state student financial aid 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. 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.
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 efforts and otherwise attempting to influence legislation". 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's prepaid tuition plan. After reviewing Michigan's plan, Florida State SenatorIleana Ros-Lehtinen sponsored a bill to establish a similar prepaid tuition plan in Florida. With lobbying efforts by student government presidents and David Corry and Shari Caprara, the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate both passed the bill. The bill was then signed into law by Florida GovernorBob Martinez. Since that bill became Florida law, more than 1.6 million prepaid college plans have been purchased and nearly 350,000 students have attended college under a prepaid college plan. Most of the plans were purchased by parents and grandparents when their children/grandchildren were toddlers. Recently, 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.
