Constitution and By Laws
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Our Constitution
The constitution should establish the fundamental principles on which the club is to operate. Please note that, if requested, the Constitution/Bylaws of clubs may be shared with students, campus departments, etc.
ARTICLE I. Name of Organization
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the Student California Teachers Association (SCTA) at American River College (ARC) (herein referred to as the Association).
Section 2. The Association shall be maintained on the ARC Campus in Sacramento County, CA.
ARTICLE II. Purpose of Organization
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.
Section 3. Provide opportunities for gaining an understanding of the history, ethics, and programs of the education profession.
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 American River College student.
Section 2. Membership is open to students who may be preparing for a career or are interested in public education and who have never been eligible for any other category of membership within the California Teachers Association (CTA). In addition to being a 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 received payment for teaching duties rendered – with the exception of graduate students receiving graduate teaching assistantships.
Section 3. The membership year shall be from September 1 to August 31.
Section 4. Membership will not be denied on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or physical challenge.
Section 5. To become a member, contact the group or go to a meeting.
ARTICLE IV. Affiliation
Section 1. The Association shall be affiliated with the Student California Teachers Association (SCTA) and National Education Student Program (NES-SP).
Section 2. The Association shall not affiliate with any local, state, or national group, union or association that competes for membership with CTA and/or NEA.
ARTICLE V. 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 elected officers of the Association shall be:
A. President
B. Vice-President
C. Treasurer (Secretary/Treasurer could be one individual)
D. Secretary (Secretary/Treasurer could be one individual)
E. Historian (Optional; this position could be held by another officer)
F. Editor (Optional; this position could be held by another officer)
G. Past Officer (Optional)
ARTICLE VI. Officer Duties
Section 1. The term of office for the officers shall be for one (1) year or until their successors are duly qualified.
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.
Section 3. The Vice-President:
A. Shall preside in the absence of the President; and
B. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or the Executive Committee.
Section 4. 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 sign all check drawn on the back account of the Association; and
D. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 5. The Secretary:
A. Shall keep accurate records and files of the proceedings of general and Executive Committee meetings;
B. Shall submit monthly reports to the respective district, regional, or state presidents; and
C. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 6. The Historian (Optional):
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;
E. Shall provide/secure expert help in the above areas; and
F. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 7. The Editor (Optional):
A. Shall work with the historian to compile a local newsletter;
B. Shall distribute local and state publications; and
C. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 8. Past Officer (Optional):
A. Shall work with as a student advisor to the Association;
B. Shall be the chair of the Elections Committee; and
C. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 9. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice-President, Treasurer, or Secretary the vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee for the remainder of the term.
ARTICLE VII. Organization
Section 1. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the officers and chapter advisor(s).
Section 2. GENERAL MEETING: General Meetings shall be open to all members of this Association.
ARTICLE VIII. Meetings
Section 1. Meetings shall be held as needed throughout the year.
Section 2. Meetings shall be called by the Club President at least one week in advance.
ARTICLE IX. Quorum
Section 1. A quorum of 1 officer and 1 member must be present at a meeting in order to transact business legally.
ARTICLE X. Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. The rules in the Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall informally govern the club SCTA at ARC in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution/ Bylaws of the SCTA at ARC club
ARTICLE XI. Amendment Process
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended at any regular meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting.
Section 2. Proposed amendments must be submitted in writing to the Secretary and read at the previous regular meeting.
Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. Any amendment(s) to this Constitution shall become effective immediately upon approval by the membership.
ARTICLE XII. Suspension of Rules
Section 1. Any section of any ARTICLE of this Constitution may be suspended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote at any general meeting, provided that any request for a suspension must be accompanied by a statement of the purpose for the suspension of the rules.
Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. Any amendment(s) to this Constitution shall become effective immediately upon approval by the membership.
ARTICLE XIII. Enacting Clause
Section 1. This constitution shall become effective upon approval of the following individuals.
Bylaws
The constitution should establish the fundamental principles on which the club is to operate. Please note that, if requested, the Constitution/Bylaws of clubs may be shared with students, campus departments, etc.
ARTICLE I. Officers
Section 1. The term of office for the officers shall be for one (1) year or until their successors are duly qualified.
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.
Section 3. The Vice-President:
A. Shall preside in the absence of the President; and
B. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or the Executive Committee.
Section 4. 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 sign all check drawn on the back account of the Association; and
D. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 5. The Secretary:
A. Shall keep accurate records and files of the proceedings of general and Executive Committee meetings;
B. Shall submit monthly reports to the respective district, regional, or state presidents; and
C. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 6. The Historian (Optional):
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;
E. Shall provide/secure expert help in the above areas; and
F. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and/or Executive Committee.
Section 7. The Editor (Optional):
A. Shall work with the historian to compile a local newsletter;
B. Shall distribute local and state publications; and
C. 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, Treasurer, or Secretary the vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee for the remainder of the term.
ARTICLE II. 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:
To be responsible to the membership in all matters;
To carry out the policies of the general membership;
To attend to the business of the Association between general meetings;
To approve all members of the committees;
To adopt the annual budget;
To make available all official documents for inspection of the Association;
To cooperate with the President in setting up a schedule of meetings for the year;
To act on problems that need immediate attention; and
To give general direction to the work of all standing and special committees.
Section 3. A quorum for the Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of the members.
Section 4. Any member of the Executive committee who is absent for three (3) consecutive regular meetings or a total of four (4) meetings of the Executive Committee during an Association year may be asked to forfeit her/his office.
Section 5. 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.
ARTICLE III. General Meetings
Section 1. MEETINGS: Notice to all meetings shall be done by the President at least one (1) week in advance.
Section 2. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special meetings shall be held at the call of the President, a majority of the Executive Committee, or upon the written request of 50 percent (%) of the members. These meetings will consider only items specified in the call for such a meeting and shall deal with important matters that arise between regular meetings and that urgently require action.
ARTICLE IV. 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:
Public Relations
Fundraising
Elections
Section 2. DUTIES: The duties of the committees, as herein provided shall be found in the Association Standing Rules.
Section 3. Special committees may be established by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.
Section 4. Special committees (also known as “ad-hoc” committees) shall be established for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task within a limited period of time. The committee chairperson(s) shall be ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V. Dues
Section 1. Members shall pay annually the current fees for the SCTA, NEA-SP membership, and any local dues.
ARTICLE VI. Nominations and Elections
Section 1. Elections will be conducted under guidelines approved by the general membership.
Section 2. All elections will be conducted using an open nomination and secret ballot procedure.
ARTICLE VII. 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.
ARTICLE VIII. Amendment Process
Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and voting at any general meeting.
Section 2. Proposed changed in these Bylaws shall be presented in writing to the membership at least 7 days prior to the meeting at which they will be considered.
Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. Any amendment(s) to these Bylaws shall become effective immediately upon approval by the membership.
ARTICLE IX. Suspension Provision
Section 1. Any provision of these Bylaws may be suspended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and voting at any general meeting, provided that any request for a suspension must be accompanied by a statement of the purpose for the suspension of the laws.
Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. Any amendment(s) to these Bylaws shall become effective immediately upon approval by the membership.
ARTICLE X. Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the authority on all questions of procedure not specified in this Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules.
