Constitution & Bylaws

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CONSTITUTION OF THE ALABAMA ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC

CONTINUING AND ADULT EDUCATION

July 1, 2021

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of this Association shall be “Alabama Association for Public Continuing and Adult Education.”

ARTICLE II – AFFILIATION

This Association shall be an affiliate of the Alabama Education Association, with all rights, privileges and responsibilities pertaining thereto.

This Association shall be an affiliate member of the Commission on Adult Basic Education.

ARTICLE III – PURPOSE OR OBJECTIVES

The general nature of the purposes and objectives of this Association shall be:

To give leadership to the development of adult education in and through the educational institutions of Alabama;
To promote the welfare and professional competency of teachers, supervisors, administrators, and others engaged in public continuing and adult education;
To foster and to develop the concept of learning as a lifelong process;
To promote opportunities to meet the ever-changing needs of adults;
To initiate and support appropriate federal and state legislation;
To aid in interpreting to the public the problems, functions, needs, and progress of adult education;
To hold state, regional and district meetings to achieve the goals and purposes of the Association.

ALAPCAE shall not engage in any activity which could be construed to be inconsistent with the status of a charitable educational association as defined in Section 501 c3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended, and any successor thereto.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

There shall be the following categories of membership:

Individual members shall be persons who are actively engaged in publicly supported Adult and Continuing Education, contribute annual membership dues, are entitled to vote, and thus will meet the membership eligibility requirement to hold office.

Affiliate entities (i.e., businesses and other organizations) are those that support Adult Education with a minimum contribution to be determined annually by the ALAPCAE Board of Directors. Affiliate entities will not be entitled to vote or hold office.

Institutional memberships are those adult education institutions that contribute annual membership dues for their respective institution. Institutional memberships will be charged full membership dues per individual. All active ALAPCAE members, individual or institutional, will be entitled to vote and thus will meet the membership eligibility requirement to hold office.

ARTICLE V – ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

There shall be at least one annual Association meeting for the general membership.

One such meeting shall be held during the annual teacher training conference.

The time and place for such meetings shall be designated by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS

All officers of this Association shall be active members in good standing, actively engaged in publicly supported Adult and Continuing Education.

2. The elective officers of this Association shall be a President; a President-Elect, who shall serve as President Elect; a Secretary; a Treasurer; and an Historian/Parliamentarian.

3. At the end of –the President’s term of office, the President-Elect shall succeed to the Presidency.

4. The officers, other than President, shall be elected annually by a majority (50% plus 1) of votes cast by qualified members. The officers, other than the Secretary, Treasurer, and the Historian/Parliamentarian, shall be elected annually by a majority (50% plus 1) of votes cast by qualified members. The Secretary, Treasurer, and the Historian/Parliamentarian will be elected for a two year term of office by a majority (50% plus 1) of votes cast by qualified members.

5. No officers may serve more than two consecutive terms except the Secretary and the Treasurer.

The officers shall assume their duties upon the certification of the election results. They shall serve until their successors are elected. The outgoing Secretary and Treasurer will be required to attend the next two ALAPCAE Board meetings during which time they will train their successors and transfer documents.

In the interim between elections, the Board of Directors shall fill vacancies which may occur in any office for unexpired term, except that in the event the office of the President becomes vacant, the President-Elect shall succeed to the office completing the current term and then serving his duly elected term.

The officers of the Association shall serve as officers of the Board of Directors.

The duties of the elected officers shall be as follows:

The President shall preside at the meetings for the Association and of the Board of Directors.

A1. The President shall, upon board approval, appoint a Webmaster/Audio-Visual Specialist, who shall serve a three year term. Any fees associated with this appointment must be approved by the Board of Directors.

The President-Elect shall act in the capacity of the Vice-President and be empowered to preside in the absence of the President. The President-Elect shall be in charge of planning the general assembly meetings with the approval of the officers and Board of Directors. The President-Elect shall prepare a budget to become effective July 1st at a meeting with the Board of Directors and officers who will approve the same. This budget will be presented in writing to the membership during the annual teacher training meeting for approval.

The Secretary shall prepare or supervise the preparation and distribution of the minutes of all meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors.

The Treasurer shall be in charge of the keeping of all money and financial records, and shall report at the annual teacher training meeting on the financial status of the organization.

The Historian/Parliamentarian shall be in charge of the keeping of records of the history of the Association.

ARTICLE VII – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall consist of:

The officers of the Association:
1. President
2. President-Elect
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. Historian/Parliamentarian
One (1) Director-at-Large
One (1) Member-at-Large
One (1) District Representative from each of the nine (9) districts
The State Education Administrator for Adult Education and the immediate past president shall serve as ex-officio members.

A candidate for District Representative is eligible to run in the district where they reside or are employed in adult education.

A Board member may serve only two consecutive terms.

The terms of office of the elected District Directors shall be two (2) years. District Directors shall be elected from odd-numbered districts in odd years and from even-numbered districts in even years. They shall be elected by a majority of votes cast by the qualified membership in the designated district.

A majority of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. In the event that less than a quorum is present, the majority of those members present may adjourn the meeting to another time without further notice. The actions of a majority present at a meeting where a quorum is present shall be valid and binding.

The Board of Directors shall have (3) regular meetings annually. Additional meetings may be called upon request of the President or majority of the Board, or by resolution of the Board itself. A Board member who fails to attend two (2) Board meetings shall be subject to removal upon approval by Board action.

Notices of time and place of regular meeting of the Board of Directors shall be given to all members of the Board at least fifteen (15) days before the scheduled date of the meeting. Special meetings shall be called upon request of the President or majority of the Board or by resolution of the Board itself and may be conducted without assembly of the members.

The Board of Directors shall when necessary conduct association business via electronic means. This includes, but is not limited to, electronic mail. When this method is utilized, all parliamentary procedures under Roberts Rules of Order will be adhered to including motions, discussions and voting. When voting is conducted, all members will be included in the conversation so as to maintain compliance with parliamentarian procedures.

In the interim between elections when a District Director becomes ineligible to serve, the President shall, subject to Board approval, fill the vacancy by appointing a person from the same district to serve the unexpired term.

The Board of Directors shall have full power to adopt its own rules of procedure, subject to the provisions of this Constitution. Any expenditures or funds not specified in approved annual budget must have prior approval of the Board of Directors.

The duties of the Board of Directors shall be:
1. To manage the general affairs, property, and administrative operation of the Association.

To formulate and prescribe the policies of the Association consistent with the wishes of the membership.

ARTICLE VIII – NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

The President shall appoint a committee for Nominations and Elections, composed of three (3) members of the Association, no later than twelve (12) weeks prior to the election.

The duties of the Committee for Nominations and Elections shall be:

Publicize Vacancies. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall publicize the vacant positions to the general membership no later than eight (8) weeks prior to the election.

Solicit Declarations.

The committee will receive declarations of candidacy from the membership to run for each vacant position up to four (4) weeks prior to the election.
Each candidate will be notified in writing of the receipt of their declaration of candidacy.
In the event no declarations of candidacy are received for a vacancy, after the general elections, the Committee will solicit and receive a minimum of two (2) declarations to run for each vacancy.

The Board of Directors shall vote on these declarants. A quorum will determine the individual to be appointed to the vacancy.
If the board’s vote results in a tie, the president would vote to break the tie.

Determine Eligibility. Only the Nominations and Elections Committee can determine eligibility of candidates. The Nominations and Elections Committee must verify each candidate’s qualifications. Criteria for candidate eligibility to hold a seat on the ALAPCAE Board of Directors:

A candidate must be an active member in good standing.
Candidates must be active employees of the State of Alabama or an adult education program under the authority of the Alabama Community College System.
Candidates for District Representatives must reside or be employed in the district for which they wish to run.
No member from the Nominations and Elections Committee who is running for office in a subsequent year can participate in counting election votes.
No member may hold two offices at the same time.

Determine Ineligibility. Only the Nominations and Elections Committee can determine ineligibility of candidates. If the Committee finds a candidate to be ineligible, they must:

Notify the candidate and Board president within one (1) week after the closing date for nominations.
The candidate has 72 hours from the date they received notification to challenge the Committee’s decision.
If a challenge is issued, the President must call a Board of Director’s meeting before the election is held.
The decision of the Board of Directors will be final.

Provide Absentee Ballots. The committee will provide for absentee ballots upon written request prior to the election. All absentee ballots must be received and counted by the nominating committee at least 48 hours prior to the actual day of elections.

Prepare Ballots. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare ballots.

The ballot will be presented to the Board of Directors no later than three (3) weeks prior to elections.
The ballot will be presented to the full membership no later than two (2) weeks prior to elections.

Conduct Elections. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall conduct elections during annual teacher training conference each year or at a time determined by the Board of Directors.

The candidates receiving the majority of votes cast shall be duly elected.
Certification of the results of the balloting will be made and reported to the Board of Directors at the close of the election.
Members can vote for a District Representative in the district where they reside or are employed in adult education.
In the event no candidate receives a majority vote for an office, a run-off election between the two (2) candidates receiving the most votes will be conducted immediately.

In the event of a tie during a run-off, a vote will be taken by the Board of Directors to break the tie excluding any board member whose name appears on that ballot and the president.
If the board’s vote results in a tie, the president would vote to break the tie.

ARTICLE IX – COMMITTEES

Standing committees shall be appointed annually by the President, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. Standing committees shall be:

Executive
Audit
Legislative
Membership
Nominations and Elections
Publications
Awards and Scholarships
Constitution and By-Laws

Special committees shall be appointed by the President subject to approval of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE X – BOOKS AND RECORDS

1. The Treasurer shall keep and maintain correct and complete records of the accounts, and the Secretary shall keep minutes of the proceedings of its Board of Directors and of the association meeting of members.

2. One (1) complete and accurate record of the names and addresses of the members of the Association, the date of admission to membership, and documentation of payments to the Association shall be maintained by the Association’s Treasurer.

3. All books and records of the Association may be inspected by any member or his attorney for any proper purpose at any reasonable time.

4. There shall be an annual audit of the financial records of the Association by the Audit Committee and the results presented to the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE XI – DUES

1. Dues shall be set upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors and approved by the general membership.

2. Dues shall be payable upon application for new membership and renewable by payment of dues as of July 1st each year. New and renewal membership dues will not be accepted from May 1 – 30 of each year.

ARTICLE XII – FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of this association shall run from July 1 through June 30.

ARTICLE XIII – AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

The Association will recognize outstanding contributions to the overall purpose of the organization and to the furtherance of adult education. There will be on annual award presented to the person, organization, institution, or agency outside the field of adult education who has made the largest contribution to adult education on a state or nation-wide basis. A second annual award will be presented to the person, organization, institution, or agency outside the field of adult education who has made the largest contribution to adult education on a local level. There shall be one award presented to the Adult Education teacher, hired full-time or part-time, who best meets the criteria established by the Board of Directors. There shall be one award presented to the Adult Education volunteer who best meets the criteria established by the Board of Directors. Nomination may only be made by active members of ALAPCAE. The selection will be based on criteria established by the Board of Directors. The Awards Committee Chair will appoint a committee of three (3) persons outside of adult education who will select the Outstanding Contributors, Outstanding Teacher, and the Outstanding Volunteer. The nominee for Teacher of the Year shall be an active member of ALAPCAE.

ARTICLE XIV – AMENDMENTS

1. The Constitution may be amended, or repealed, and a new Constitution adopted by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership present in the general assembly of any annual or called meeting. Notice of proposed changes must be given to the members by mail at least thirty (30) days prior to such meeting date.

2. Proposed amendments of the Constitution, or recommendation that a revised Constitution be adopted, may be initiated by a majority of the Board of Directors, or by petition of one-third (1/3) or more of the members of the Association.

3. In the event of amendment and/or revisions of the Constitution which affects the terms of officers, the terms would be adjusted to comply with the revised constitution.

ARTICLE XV – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

ROBERTS’ RULES OF ORDER, Revised, shall govern the conduct of the members on this Association and of its Board of Directors. These rules shall be interpreted by the Association’s Historian/Parliamentarian.