Student Advocacy Organization – Florida Student Association, Inc.
The Florida Student Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation established November 17, 1976, that represents more than 430,000 students across Florida’s twelve public universities. Operating from Tallahassee, Florida, its membership is made up of the student body presidents of all State University System institutions, including the University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, Florida International University, Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, University of North Florida, University of West Florida, New College of Florida, and Florida Polytechnic University.
Under Article IX, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution, the association’s chair serves as a full voting member of the Florida Board of Governors, the body overseeing the State University System. The organization describes this provision as giving it the only student in the room where the system is governed.
The association advocates on four primary issues: college affordability and protection of the Bright Futures scholarship, student mental health funding, campus safety infrastructure, and textbook cost transparency. It coordinates an annual legislative effort called Rally in Tally, during which students from all twelve universities travel to the state capital during legislative sessions to lobby on these priorities.
Stated achievements include helping initiate the Florida Prepaid College Program, noted as having more than 1.6 million plans purchased since 1987, and advocacy connected to 396 million dollars allocated for campus safety and mental health in 2022. The organization also supported expansion of medical-amnesty law in 2019 and conducted a statewide voter-registration drive.
A board structure leads the organization, with a Chair and two Vice-Chairs handling internal and external responsibilities. The association lists an email contact, headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida, and EIN 59-1673603. As a statewide student voice tied to the constitutional governance of public higher education, it functions as a central advocacy body for Florida’s university students.