CONSTITUTION
OF STUDENT
Article I. Name
of Organization: The name of this
organization shall be Student California Teachers Association at
Article II. Statement of Purpose:
Section
1. Promote interest among students who are interested in careers
in public education.
Section
2. Provide members with opportunities for developing personal growth
and professional competence. To promote ethical leadership and academic
achievement, and to cultivate civic responsibility.
Section
3. Provide opportunities for gaining an understanding of the
history, ethics and programs of the education profession. To provide the
students opportunities for association and interaction with the faculty and
administration of CSULB and with the members of the community.
Section
4. Provide opportunities for participating in cooperative work on
the problems of the profession and the community.
Section
5. Provide professional membership on the local, state and
national levels during the preparation period for a career in education.
Section
6. Strive for higher standards of preparation.
Article III. Membership:
Section
1. Membership in the Association shall be open to any
Section 2. In addition to being a regular member of the Association, each
member shall be affiliated with the State and National Student Program. A
person shall not be admitted to or continue membership in the Association who
possesses a teaching contract or who receives payment for teaching duties
rendered - with the exception of graduate students receiving graduate teaching
assistantships
Section 3. Regular
membership is limited to CSULB students.
Section 4. The membership year shall be from September 1 to August
31. Each member has equal rights and
privileges.
Section
5. Membership will not be denied on the basis of ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, age, veteran
status or physical challenge.
Article IV. Officers:
Section
1. The officers of the Association shall be responsible to the
membership in all matters concerning the discharge of their duties.
Section
2. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a
Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer (Secretary/Treasurer could be one
individual), a Historian, and an Editor (Historian/Editor could be one
individual).
Section
3. All officers must be CSULB students taking at least 6 units or
in a credential program. Officers must also have at least a 2.5 GPA to be
eligible to run for office. The President and Vice-President must be of
junior standings or higher.
Section
4. The term of office for officers shall be one year.
Incumbents are eligible to seek reelection for one additional term in the same
office. The officials shall assume their duties on the first of June
following their election.
Article V. Advisor:
Section
1. A CSULB faculty or staff advisor will be chosen at the first
meeting, if vacant, of each new academic year. The advisor may be a CSULB
faculty from any department. The advisor may also be a non-teaching CSULB
staff.
Section
2. The Advisor shall be an ex-officio member without voting
privileges.
Section
3. The organization may have up to three collaborating advisors.
Article VI. Meetings:
Section
1. Regular meetings shall be scheduled at least bi-monthly during
the academic year.
Section
2. The time, date and place of regular meetings
shall be determined by the majority of the membership at the first regular
meeting of the term.
Section
3. Special meetings shall be held at the
call of the President, a majority of the Executive Board, or upon a written
request of 2/3 of the members. These meetings will consider only items
specified in the call for such a meeting and shall deal with matters that arise
between regular meetings and require urgent action. All members must be given a
minimum of 48 hours notice, weekends and holidays excluded, prior to the
meeting time.
Article VII. Executive Board:
Section
1. The elected officers shall constitute the executive board of
the organization and shall have one vote.
Section
2. The Executive Board shall meet no less than once a month
during the academic year. Meetings of
the board shall be open to any member.
Section
3. Approval by the Executive Board and the Treasurer is needed
for all disbursements under $50.00 which are not first brought before the
organization for approval. Expenditures
in excess of $50 must have majority approval of the organization.
Section
4. The Executive Board shall serve as a planning committee and
must have prior approval of the membership.
All executive Board members must be members of the greater SCTA/NEA
(National Education Association).
Article VIII. Method to Amend the Constitution:
Section
1. Proposed Constitution amendments by a member shall be
presented to the organization, in writing, one meeting before it may be voted
upon.
Section
2. Approval by two-thirds of the voting members present at a
regular meeting shall pass a proposed amendment.
Section
3. Approval by the University are needed to
change the Constitution.
Article IX. Succession of officers:
Section
1. In the event of permanent incapacitation,
resignation, or removal, the line of temporary succession shall be as follows:
President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Historian and then Editor.
Section
2. Upon the vacancy of any office, a new candidate
will be elected at the next regular meeting or at a special meeting.
Article X. Affiliated
with the greater SCTA:
See attached Constitution and Bylaws
Article XI. Hazing Prohibition:
The
organization and/or its members shall not engage in hazing or commit any act
that injures, degrades, or disgraces any fellow student. Hazing is understood by the organization, its
officers, and its members to be defined as any action taken or situation created
which, regardless of location, intent, or consent of the participants, (1)
produces or is reasonably likely to produce, bodily harm or danger, mental or
physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, fright, humiliation,
intimidation, degradation, or ridicule, or otherwise compromises the dignity of
an individual; (2) compels an individual to participate in any activity which
is unlawful, perverse, publicly indecent, contrary to the rules, policies, and
regulations of the University, or which is known by the compelling person to be
contrary to the individual's genuine moral or religious beliefs; or (3) will,
unreasonably or unusually, impair an individual's academic efforts.
BY-LAWS
OF STUDENT
Bylaw I. Membership:
Section 1. There shall be two types of membership in
the organization: regular and honorary.
Section
2. To become a regular member, one submits a membership form to
the SCTA (Student California Teachers Association) at large and pays dues of
$30 to the greater SCTA/NEA (National Education Association), then submits the
local chapter form for membership to the SCTA @ CSULB (California State
University, Long Beach) with a copy of SCTA/NEA membership card to the
organization secretary.
Section
3. Any person who has rendered outstanding service to the
organization may be conferred with honorary membership with a majority vote of
the organization. Honorary members are
ex-officio and non-voting members and may not attend SCTA sponsored events or
receive SCTA benefits <i.e. Fall Leadership, RA (Representatives Assembly),
Regionals, CTA (California Teachers Association) conferences, magazines,
newsletters, scholarships, etc.>.
Section
4. Any person who chooses not to become a member of the greater
SCTA but wants to join and be active as a SCTA @ CSULB member may do so, but
may not use the name of SCTA or NEA on any documentation stating that they are
a member of these organizations. They may state that they are a member of SCTA
@ CSULB with the exclusionary statement of “not an official SCTA/NEA member”
after our club’s name. These persons will be considered as honorary members of
the organization and may be conferred with honorary membership only with a
majority vote of the organization or approval by the Executive Board. Honorary members are ex-officio, non-voting
members and may not attend SCTA sponsored events or receive SCTA benefits (i.e.
Fall Leadership, RA, Regionals, CTA conferences, magazines, newsletters,
scholarships, etc.).
Section
5. Any member may be suspended or expelled from the organization
for conduct contrary to the constitution of the organization or for conduct
that grossly impairs the rights of the members to enjoy the benefits of the
organization. The offense must be in
writing and submitted by a member. After
the offense has been submitted to the organization, the offending member shall
have the right to a hearing before the organization at a regular meeting and
may be suspended or expelled only upon the affirmative vote of three-fourths of
the voting members present. The
offending member has the right to appeal an adverse decision at a regular
meeting, and such offending members shall be reinstated unless the suspension
or expulsion is again approved by three-fourths vote.
Bylaw II. Dues:
Section
1. Regular members shall pay annually the current fees for
Student California Teachers Association (SCTA), NEA-SP (Student Program)
membership and local dues.
Section
2. Local dues for the following year shall be decided by the
Executive Board and approved by two-thirds of the voting members present at the
final general meeting of the academic year.
Bylaw III. Officers:
Section
1. The term of office for the officers shall
be one year. Incumbents are eligible to
seek reelection for one additional term. The officers shall assume office on
June 1st following their election.
Section 2. The
President:
A. Shall be the
chief executive officer of the Association;
B. Shall
represent the Association as spokesperson on matters of policy or assign
responsibility for such representations;
C. Shall prepare the
agenda and preside at all meetings of the Association;
D. Shall serve as
ex-officio member on all committees; and
E.
Shall, with the approval of the Executive Committee, appoint the
parliamentarian and the members of all standing committees. The President shall
be the Chairperson and preside at all meetings of the organization. He/She
shall be the official spokesperson of the organization, representing policies,
views, and opinions of the organization in its relations with the campus and
community at large. He/She shall have
such further powers and duties as may be prescribed by the organization.
Section 3. The
Vice-President:
A. Shall preside in the absence of the
President;
B.
Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or the Executive
Committee; and
C.
Shall notify all members of the organization meetings.
Section 4. The Secretary:
A. Shall keep accurate records and files of the
proceedings of general and Executive Committee meetings and submit required
copies to all organization members ensure receipt by historian and editor;
B. Shall submit monthly reports to the
respective district, regional, or state presidents; and
C. Shall be responsible for all
organization correspondence and shall keep copies thereof on file.
Section 5. The Treasurer:
A. Shall be
responsible for the safekeeping and accounting of all funds;
B. Shall provide
financial reports at each Executive Committee and Representative Assembly
meeting;
C. Shall maintain bank accounts in the
organization's name, requiring signatures of both the Treasurer and Chairperson
for authorized disbursements; and
D. Shall acquire the majority approval of
the organization for all disbursements in excess of $50.
Section 6. The
Historian:
A. Shall prepare an Association scrapbook;
B. Shall write a history of the year's work;
C. Shall be in charge of the local newsletter;
D. Shall take pictures at Association events;
and
E.
Shall provide/secure expert help in the above areas.
Section 7. The
Editor:
A. Shall work with the
historian to compile a local newsletter;
B. Shall be in charge of the
local website;
C. Shall distribute local and state
publications; and
D.
Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President
and/or Executive Committee.
Section 8. In
the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice-President, Secretary, or
Treasurer, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee
for the remainder of the term.
Section
9. Petition by one-third of the total number
of members shall be cause for a recall election. The offense must be in writing
and submitted by a member. After the offense has been submitted to the organization,
the offending officer has 48 hours before the hearing. A recall election shall
be held at the next regular business meeting after the presentation of the
recall petition and shall be conducted as a special election. Recall will
require a favorable vote of three-fourths of the total voting members.
Section
10. To be eligible for office in the
organization, the candidates must be carrying a minimum of 6 units of regular
university credit per semester or in a credential program at CSULB. The candidates must and have a cumulative
G.P.A. of no less than 2.5 and not be on probation of any kind.
Section
11. In the event that an elected officer is
unable to fulfill his/her term of office, there shall be an election to fill
the vacancy at the next regular meeting or at a special meeting. Any eligible
member, including those already holding office, may be nominated for a vacant
office. However, an executive officer
may hold only one position at a time.
Bylaw IV. Advisors:
Section
1. There shall be one or more advisors from
the faculty or administration elected by the organization.
Section
2. The advisors shall serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member.
Bylaw V. Executive
Committee:
Section 1.
The Executive Committee shall be the executive branch of the
Association.
Section 2.
The duties of the Executive Committee shall be:
A. To be responsible to the membership in all
matters;
B. To carry out the policies of the general
membership;
C. To attend to the business of the Association
between general
meetings;
D. To approve all members of the committees;
E. To adopt the annual budget;
F. To make available all official documents for
inspection of the Association;
G. To cooperate with the President in setting up
a schedule of meetings for the year;
H. To act on problems that need immediate
attention; and
I. To give general direction to the work of
all standing and special committees.
Section
3. Any member of the Executive Committee who is absent for 2
consecutive regular meetings or a total of 4 meetings of the Executive
Committee during an Association year shall be considered for impeachment.
Section
4. The dates and times for Executive Meetings
shall be set by the Executive Committee at its first meeting. Additional
meetings may be called by the President or by members of the Executive
Committee.
Bylaw VI. Committees:
Section
1. There shall be the following standing committees, in addition
to the Executive Committee, appointed by the President subject to the approval
of the Executive Committee: Publicity, Elections, and Community Involvement.
Section
2. Special committees may be established by
the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.
Section
3. Special committees shall be established for the purpose of
accomplishing a specific task within a limited period of time. (Also known as
"ad-hoc" committees.) The committee chairpersons shall be ex-officio members
of the Executive Committee.
Bylaw VII. Elections:
Section
1. Elections will be held once each academic year. Date of
election to be established by the organization.
Section
2. At least one week's notice shall be provided
for any meeting at which an election is to be held.
Section
3. Elections shall be by secret ballot or
show of hands.
Section
4. All ballot counting must take place on
campus.
Section
5. A majority of voting members of the organization shall constitute
a quorum for an election.
Section
6. A majority of all votes cast in the election shall be
necessary to elect. If no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election
shall be held between the two candidates receiving the largest number of votes.
Bylaw VIII. Method to Amend the Bylaws:
Section
1. Proposed bylaw amendments by a member shall be presented to
the organization, in writing, one meeting before it may be voted upon.
Section
2. Approval by two-thirds of the voting members present at a
regular meeting shall pass a proposed amendment.
Section
3. Approval by the University is needed to
change the bylaws.
Bylaw IX. Quorum:
Section
1. The percentage of members that constitutes a quorum shall be
fifty percent plus one.
Section
2. In voting, a majority shall consist of more than fifty percent
of those voting.
Section
3. There must be a quorum in order for any official vote or
election to occur.
Bylaw X. Due Process:
Section
1. The Association shall guarantee that no member will be
censored, suspended, or expelled without a due process procedure which shall
include an appellate procedure.
Section
2. The Association shall guarantee that no member of the
Executive Committee shall be impeached and removed from office without a due process
procedure which shall include an appellate procedure.
Section
3. The general membership shall approve rules and procedures to
implement these due process guarantees.
Bylaw XI. Suspension
Provision:
Any
provision of these Bylaws may be suspended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those
present and voting at any general meeting.
Bylaw XII. Parliamentary
Authority:
Source of authority shall be Robert's
Rules of Order, newly revised.