NORTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
BY-LAWS
Amended Winter, 2008
Article I: Name and Objectives
Section 1.
The name of this
organization shall be The North Dakota Association of School Psychologists
(NDASP).
Section 2.
The objectives of
this organization shall be to serve the needs of the children of this area by:
a.
Providing school psychologists
the opportunities for both personal and
professional fellowship;
b.
advancing the professional
status of school psychologists;
c.
Representing its members
professional interests in relation to other branches of psychology, the field of
education, other related disciplines, and the public; and
d.
Promoting and maintaining high
standards of professional preparation and service among its members.
Article II:
Membership
Section 1.
There are four
categories of membership in NDASP. Regular, life, and student membership are
entitled to vote and hold office.
a.
REGULAR MEMBERSHIP in NDASP
shall be open to any person who meets one or more of the following criteria:
- Holds a state and/or national certification as a School Psychologist;
- Actively engaged in the practice of school psychology;
- Trained in the field of psychology and functioning as a supervisor or consultant for school psychologists;
- Primarily engaged in providing college or university training for school
psychologists;
- Retired from the practice of school psychology.
b.
LIFE MEMBERSHIP shall be
open to persons who have reached 65 years of age, and who have been regular
NDASP members for at least 5 years. Membership dues are waved.
c.
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP shall be
open to persons who are enrolled in graduate-level training programs for school
psychologists.
d.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP shall
be open to persons who are engaged in a closely related field of education or
mental health, and who are not eligible for Regular Membership. Associate
Members are not eligible to vote or hold office.
Section 2.
The NDASP
Membership Chairperson shall be responsible for preparing application forms and
for distributing, receiving, and evaluating applications submitted by persons
wishing to join this Association. The chairperson shall be free to require
pertinent data, and to investigate and verify applicants’ statements. Each new
member shall be given a copy of the current By-Laws.
Section 3.
A member may be dropped from the
Association for conduct which in any way is contrary to the Association’s
objectives. All questions or concerns regarding the ethical conduct of
Association members should be submitted to the Executive Committee for review
and appropriate action.
Section 4.
The Executive Committee
shall set the annual membership fee (with final approval by majority of the
Association membership in attendance at a business meeting or by a mail vote).
The dues year shall be September 1 through August 31.
Article Ill: Elected Officers
Section 1.
Designated as elected officers shall be:
the immediate past president, president, president-elect, secretary, and
treasurer. All nominees for elected offices shall be voting members of this
Association and shall be voted into office by the voting membership. The president shall be a member of
the Association who has just completed a term as president-elect. The immediate past president shall be
a member of the Association who has just completed a term as president. The president-elect shall be elected
every two (2) years.
The treasurer
and secretary shall be elected in alternating years for a two-year term,
beginning with the election of the treasurer.
Section 2.
Primary nominations shall be
sought from the NDASP membership and responsibility for
preparation of the final ballot shall rest with the Nominations and Elections
Chairperson. Officers will be elected during the month of September or
October either during the fall business meeting or through a mail in vote.
Newly elected officers shall take
office immediately following the annual fall business meeting, or after the
mail-in vote, whichever is later.
Section 3.
In case of a vacancy
occurring in the Presidency, during a term of office, the President-elect
shall take the President’s place and shall succeed to the Presidency at the
close of that term. The Office of President-elect shall remain vacant until the
election for the ensuing year has been completed. Vacancies occurring in other
elected offices shall be filled by the Executive Committee, by majority vote of
those present at the meeting where the decision is to be made. Fifteen days
notice must be given to members of the Executive Committee, prior to placing any
vacancy on the agenda.
Section 4.
Duties of the elected officers shall be
as follows:
-
The PRESIDENT shall preside
at all meetings of the Association and Executive Committee, shall appoint the
chairpersons of the standing committees and of special committees and task
forces (subject to approval by majority of the elected officers), shall be an
ex-officio member of all committees of NDASP, and oversee all affairs of the
Association.
-
The PRESIDENT-ELECT shall be a member of the
executive committee, shall serve as ex-officio member of
the Conference and Program Committee, shall take the place of the President
whenever the latter is unable to function, shall succeed to the Presidency in
case of vacancy, and shall be bound by agreement to continue as NDASP President
during the ensuing year.
-
The PAST PRESIDENT shall
offer advice and assistance in whatever ways the incoming officers desire, shall
be chairperson of the nominations and elections committee, and shall be a member
of the Executive Committee.
-
The SECRETARY shall
keep minutes of all business meetings of the association and of its
Executive Committee, shall issue calls and notices of all meetings, elections,
and other activities of the Association, and shall assure that the minutes are
approved at a business or executive committee meeting and distributed to the
membership.
-
The TREASURER shall have
custody of all funds, shall sign checks for disbursement of funds, shall keep
careful accounting of all receipts and expenses, and shall provide statements on
the condition of the treasury, to the membership at each general meeting and to
the Executive Committee at each of its meetings. The Treasurer shall also
cooperate with the Membership Chairperson in preparing the list of members in
good standing and of persons eligible to hold office.
Article IV: Executive Committee
Section 1.
The Executive
Committee shall consist of the President, immediate Past President,
President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairpersons of the Standing Committees (as described in Article V). The North Dakota NASP Delegate shall be
a voting ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.
Section 2.
Among specific
responsibilities of the Executive Committee are: keeping the total NDASP
membership fully informed of its actions; creating special committees and task forces; overseeing the work of committees; filling
vacancies in elective offices; and setting dates for both the general
membership and Executive Committee meetings.
Section 3.
Physical meetings of
the Executive Committee shall be scheduled at least two times annually,
and may be more frequent at the discretion of the President. Any Executive
Committee issue may be decided between meetings be mail ballot or by telephone,
provided that no member of the Executive Committee objects to that procedure.
Section 4.
A majority of the
elected members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum, and a
majority vote shall rule.
Article V: Chairpersons
Section 1.
Chairpersons of the
Standing Committees shall be appointed by the President with approval of a
majority of the Executive Committee. Chairpersons will sit on the executive
committee with voting power. Chairpersons may appoint as many additional members
as are deemed necessary, and shall inform the Executive Committee of such appointments. The
following shall constitute Standing Committees: Nominations and
Elections Committee; Membership and Public Relations Committee; Conference and Program Committee; Legislative
Committee; Newsletter Editor; and, Ad Hoc Committees as created by the Executive Committee. The chairperson
of each Standing Committee will submit, in writing, a detailed report regarding committee activities to the Executive
Committee during the spring conference and fall business meeting, or at the
request of the President.
Section 2.
The immediate Past-President shall be the
Nominations and Elections Chairperson and shall be responsible for providing
the membership an opportunity to nominate and elect the Association’s
officers. The committee shall present a slate of at least one nominee, who
is willing to serve if elected, for each vacancy to be filled by election.
Section 3.
The Membership and Public Relations Chairperson
shall work with the Executive Committee in developing and implementing methods of
recruiting and maintaining membership in the Association. This
chairperson shall also make an active effort to inform internal and external
audiences regarding NDASP and the profession of school psychology.
Section 4.
The Conference and
Program Chairperson will work with the Executive
Committee to develop continuing education opportunities and arrange at least two
program meetings a year. The President-Elect shall serve as
an ex-officio member. (These programs may be in conjunction with other
state conferences/conventions and in joint cooperation with other agencies-i.e.
university training programs, NDCEC, State Department, etc.)
Section 5.
The Legislative
Chairperson shall inform the Association’s membership about current laws and pending legislation, as these apply
to the practice and status of school psychologists, and implement appropriate
action when any such pending legislation threatens the objectives of this
Association.
Section 6.
The Newsletter
Editor will be responsible for producing and disseminating a newsletter at least twice a year.
Section 7. Ad hoc
committees may be created by the Executive Committee on an as needed basis.
Section 8.
When attempts to
fill the positions of chairpersons from the general membership is not successful, it is permissible for elected officers to then serve in the
capacity
of chairpersons and newsletter editor.
Article VI: General
and Program Meetings
Section 1.
There shall be at
least one general membership business meeting and one program meeting (conference/in-service/continuing education) held each year.
Article VII:
Amendments of the By-Laws
Section 1.
Amendments to these
By-Laws may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee, and must be approved by a majority of the general
membership present at a formal business meeting or through a majority of
responses in a mail or email vote.
10-11-96,
S/ Beverly Patch Larson
DATE OF MEMBERSHIP APPROVAL
SIGNATURE OF NDASP PRESIDENT
3-31-08,
S/ Terese Schaefer
DATE OF AMENDMENT APPROVAL
SIGNATURE OF NDASP PRESIDENT
