IAAE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this organization shall be "Iowa Association of Alternative Education," noted hereafter as IAAE.
ARTICLE II
Definitions
Alternative Education: the study or practice of implementing alternative schools or programs. Public alternative education serves to ensure that every young person may find a path to the educational goals of the community. Alternative schools and programs focus on what they can offer the student, not on what problems the student has had in the past. Alternative education is a vital component of the total educational system.
Alternative School: an established environment apart from the regular school. With policies and rules, educational objectives, staff and resources designed to accommodate student needs, an alternative school provides a comprehensive education consistent with the goals established by the school district. Students attend via choice.
Alternative Program: an established class or environment within or apart from the regular school. An alternative program is designed to accommodate specific student educational needs such as work-related training, reading, mathematics, science, communication, social skills, physical skills, employability skills, study skills, or life skills.
Regular School: an established environment designed to provide a comprehensive education to the general populace to which assignment of students is made more on the basis of geographical location than unique education need.
ARTICLE III
Purpose
The purpose of IAAE is to met the needs of students, parents, teachers, administrators and Iowa’s general citizenry through a professional organization dedicated to the improvement of alternative education by:
a. gathering and disseminating information to and about alternative education;
b. assisting school districts wishing to establish an alternative school/program;
c. assisting alternative schools/programs and/or school districts which are experiencing difficulties;
d. promoting meetings, workshops, tours and other professional activities; and
e. strengthening public support for alternative education as an important part of the total educational system.
Article IV
Membership
Any person involved or interested in alternative education will become a voting member upon payment of dues. The membership year shall be from conference registration to conference registration the next year. Members are eligible to vote, hold office, and attend meetings. They also will receive Association publications.
Article V
Officers
Section 1. The officers will be: President (one year term), President-Elect (one year term), Immediate Past President (one year term), Secretary (two year term), and Treasurer (two year term).
Section 2. Officers will take office at the Annual Meeting of the Association. The President-Elect will become the President in the year following election to the office of President-Elect.
Section 3. In the event an officer or Board member is unable to fulfill the term of office, the Board of Directors will fill the unexpired term with a current Association member.
ARTICLE VI
Duties of the Officers
Section 1. The President will preside at all IAAE meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors; recommend committee appointees to the Board of Directors for approval; and perform all other duties as needed, including the delegation of responsibility to officers and the Board. The President will establish goals for the Association and Board and facilitate their accomplishment; act as Association spokesperson; and, as an ex-officio member of all committees, see that all committees function.
Section 2. The President-Elect will act in the place of the President at all meetings at which the President is unable to preside, and will chair the Educator-of-the-Year committee.
Section 3. The Secretary will keep records of current activities of IAAE and the Board of Directors, issue notices of meetings and publish a newsletter.
Section 4. The Treasurer will collect dues and dispense funds subject to the approval of the Board of Directors; maintain the membership rolls; keep a complete financial record to ensure responsible fiscal operation; submit a financial report to the Board of Directors at their regular meetings and to the Association at its Annual Meeting.
Section 5. The Immediate Past President will perform such duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VII
Board of Directors
Sections 1. The Board of Directors will be the officers and twelve other elected members. The Department of Education and higher education in the state will be represented on the Board with one ex-officio member each. Ex-officio members will be on-going members of the Board approved by the general membership each year. The remaining Board membership will consist of two (2) at-large members, and eight (8) regional members, each elected to staggered terms of two years. Each of the five (5) regions is guaranteed one Board member. The remaining three (3) members will be elected from the regions according to the distribution of Association membership. The Board of Directors will reapportion regional Board representation, based on Association membership, in years ending in multiples of five.
Sections 2. The five IAAE regions will be Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, and Central. The districts are defined as follows:
Northeast: Worth, Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hardin, Marshall, Tama, Benton, Linn, Jones, Jackson and all counties to the northeast.
Northwest: Winnebago, Hancock, Wright, Hamilton, Story, Boone, Greene, Carroll, Crawford, Monona and all counties to the northwest.
Southeast: Clinton, Cedar, Johnson, Iowa, Poweshick, Jasper, Marion, Monroe, Appanoose and all counties to the southeast.
Southwest: Harrison, Shelby, Audubon, Guthrie, Dallas, Warren, Lucas, Wayne and all counties to the southwest.
Central: Polk
Section 3. Members from outside the state will be represented in the closest geographical region.
Section 4. To conduct official business, a quorum must be present.
ARTICLE VIII
Duties of the Board of Directors
Section 1. The Board of Directors will have the power to act if it is not feasible for the total membership to meet.
Section 2. The Board of Directors may annually formulate goals and objectives for the Association subject to approval of the membership.
Section 3. The Board of Directors will formulate the agenda for the Annual Meeting of the Association.
Section 4. The Board of Directors may authorize expenditures to conduct the general business of the Association.
ARTICLE IX
Elections
Section 1. A Nominations Committee will be appointed by the President.
Section 2. The Nominations Committee will present candidates for President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and a slate of candidates for the Board to the membership. Elections will be conducted by written ballot at the Annual Meeting of the Association.
ARTICLE X
Meetings
Section 1. The Association will meet at least once a year at the statewide conference.
Section 2. To conduct official business, one-third of the Association’s members must be present.
ARTICLE XI
Amendments
Section 1. An amendment must be proposed in writing by a member or members of the Association and submitted to the Board of Directors a minimum of ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting. The proposed amendment will be distributed to the membership by the Board prior to the annual meeting.
Section 2. Adoption of a proposed amendment of this Constitution will be by the written vote of more than one-half of the Association’s membership. Absentee ballots will be valid provided they are received by the Board of Directors no later than the call to order of the Annual Meeting.
BYLAWS
Article I
Committees
The Association, through its Board of Directors, may establish such committees as may be desirable. Chairpersons of the committees will be appointed by the President and approved by the Board of Directors.
Article II
Dues
Dues will be recommended by the Board of Directors and approved by the voting membership at the Annual Meeting. In case of an emergency, members will be assessed an additional amount, determined by the Board of Directors, to cover expenses. Dues will be used for normal operating expenses.
Article III
Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, insofar as they are consistent with these articles and bylaws, will govern the meetings of the Association and its committees.
Article IV
Rules of Debate
The Association will be governed by the ruling that in debate each speaker will be limited to three (3) minutes unless otherwise ordered.
Article V
Voting
Section 1. At regularly-scheduled Association meetings one vote over half of the membership present will constitute a majority vote.
Section 2. The Board of Directors may call for a written ballot when deemed necessary. All voting will be by ballots provided by the Board of Directors.
Section 3. All ballots will be counted by the Board of Directors or their designee.
Article VI
Amending the Bylaws
Section 1. An amendment must be proposed in writing by a member or members of the Association. Notice of a proposed amendment must be given, in writing, to the Board of Directors at least ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting. The proposed amendment will be distributed to the membership by the Board prior to the annual meeting.
Section 2. Adoption of a proposed amendment to the bylaws will be by the written vote of more than one-half of the members of the Association. Absentee ballots will be valid provided they are received by the Board of Directors no later than the call to order of the Annual Meeting.
