SAMPLE CONSTITUTION

(YOUR SCHOOL’S NAME) CHAPTER

Of the Colorado Technology Student Association

ARTICLE I: NAME

Section 1.The official name of this organization shall be the “(YOUR SCHOOL NAME) Technology Student Association,and may be referred to as “(YOUR SCHOOL NAME) TSA”.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSES

Section 1.The general purposes of this organization are to:

  1. Promote leadership, fellowship, and scholarship among students of (Your School Name);
  2. Promote Technology Education at (Your School Name);
  3. Increase the knowledge and understanding of our technical society and its relationship to technological advancement;
  4. Assist members in the growth and development of TSA;
  5. Assist members in the development of leadership and citizenship insocial, economic, scholastic, and civic activities;
  6. Increase the knowledge and understanding of our technological society; and
  7. Assist students in making informed and meaningful career choices.

Section 2.The specific objectives of this chapter are to:

  1. Develop through group action the ability of members to plan together, organize and carry out worthy activities and projects;
  2. Promote high standards of craftsmanship and safety;
  3. Assist in providing guidance and counseling for students enrolled in our technology education program and in making meaningful choices in selected occupational fields;
  4. Prepare individuals for enrollment in advanced or highly skilled career and technical education programs;
  5. Develop consumer knowledge in students;
  6. Provide occupational information and instructions pertaining to a broad range of occupations.
  7. Provide exploratory experiences in technology laboratories, and observations in business or industry to acquaint students with careers in the different occupations
  8. Promote and encourage all students in creative expression.
  9. Promote and encourage all students to utilize basic essential skills;
  10. Explore technology and American free-enterprise; and
  11. Encourage creative design, problem solving, and project-basedlearning.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.(Your School Name) TSA will recognize individual membership through its local chartered chapter, if they meet all constitutional requirements of the Technology Student Association (TSA).

Section 2.(Your School Name) TSA will be chartered as a member of the Colorado Technology Student Association.

Section 3.(Your School Name) TSA will recognize individual membership through local chapter affiliation with the Technology Student Association.

Section 4.The (Your School Name) chapter will govern membership eligibility. Individual membership shall berecognized as active, alumni, associate/professional, or honorary membership.

Section 5.Active members of the chapter shall be enrolled in or have completed atechnology education course. An active member shall pay minimum duesand may be declared eligible to hold a local, regional, or state office; toparticipate in all levels of competitive events and projects; to serve asa local, regional, or state voting delegate; or otherwise to represent thechapter in TSA affairs as may be approved by the constitution and bylaws.

Section 6.Alumni members of the chapter consist of those individuals who havecompleted a Technology Education program, have been a former activeor associate TSA member, and who have graduated from school. Alumnimembers shall pay dues as established by the Colorado TSA Alumni Association. Alumni members shall not have the right to vote, to holdoffice, or to compete in TSA competitive events.

Section 7.Associate/Professional members of the chapter are those persons engaged ineducation, business and industry, who have an interest in technologyand in the welfare of technology education. Professionalmembers shall not have the right to vote, to hold

office, or tocompete in TSA competitive events.

Section 8.Honorary/Honorary Life Members of the chapter may be individuals whohave made contributions to the advancement of Technology Educationas may be approved by the chapter Executive Committee and shall beexempt from annual dues. Honorary/Honorary Life Members shall not havethe right to vote, to hold office, or to compete in TSA competitive events.

Section 9.No individual may join TSA or participate in activities without beingaffiliated with the state association.

Section 10.Annual membership dues shall be as determined by National TSA and the Colorado TSA state association, and themembership year shall be (YEARLY DATE RANGE, e.g.,

September 1 to August 31 of July 1 to June 30).Additional dues/fees forthis chapter

shall be ______.

ARTICLE IV: VOTING

Section 1.Chapter members shall exercise franchise in Colorado TSA through votingdelegates as approved by the Colorado Technology Student Association.

ARTICLE V: MEETINGS

Section 1. Chapter meetings shall be held (DATES, AT LEAST ONCE PER MONTH). The time and

place of the meeting is to be designated by ______.

Section 2.The chapter officers and the chapter advisor shall have the right to set special meetings.

Section 3.There shall be an election of officers procedure held (ENTER THE DATE DETERMINED BY YOUR CHAPTER) for the coming school year.

Section 4.Parliamentary procedure as established by Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall

govern all meetings of the (YOUR SCHOOL NAME) TSA. Regular meetings shall be held at

least once each month during the schoolyear.

ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS

Section 1.Officers shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter, and Sergeant-at-Arms.

Section 2. Officers shall be nominated and elected by ballot at the first regularmeeting of each school year. A majority vote by members shall benecessary to elect officers.

ARTICLE VII: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1.President

It shall be the duty of the President to:

  1. Preside at and conduct meetings according to parliamentary procedure.
  2. Appoint committees and serve as ex officio member of each.
  3. Keep the meetings moving at an interesting pace.
  4. Call upon other officers to take the chair when necessary or desirable.
  5. Keep association activities progressing in a satisfactory manner.
  6. Represent the association in outside activities.
  7. Serve as a member of the association advisory committee or appoint a member from the offier team to fulfill that duty.

Section 2.Vice-President

It shall be the duty of the Vice President to:

  1. Assist the president
  2. Serve and record member votes.
  3. Succeed the president in case of vacancy.
  4. Serve as chairperson of the membership and program committee.
  5. Meet with and be responsible for all committees.

Section 3.Secretary

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to:

  1. Prepare and read the minutes of each meeting.
  2. Count and record member votes.
  3. Read correspondence and communications at meetings.
  4. Keep association permanent records.
  5. Post notices to members pertaining to association activities and send invitations to guests.
  6. Be responsible for association correspondence.
  7. Call the meeting to order in the absence of the presiding officer.

Section 4.Treasurer

It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to:

  1. Report all financial standings at each meeting. (A written report should be provided to each officer.)
  2. Keep an accurate record of receipts and payments.
  3. Obtain and present ideas and suggestions for increasing the treasury and financing activities.
  4. Keep the state advisor apprisedof the financial changes of (Your School Name) TSA.

Section 5.Reporter

It shall be the duty of the Reporter to:

  1. Prepare articles for publication.
  2. Contact members to obtain news regarding the association.
  3. Contact personnel in charge of other publications and provide copy conforming to their requests.
  4. Act as historian of the association by keeping an association publications archive.
  5. Assist with planning and arranging association exhibits.
  6. Act as editor of association publications with the responsibility of developing and publishing.

Section 6.Sergeant at Arms

It shall be the duty of the Sergeant at Arms to:

  1. Serve as parliamentarian for the association.
  2. Arrange meeting rooms and care for association paraphernalia.
  3. Be responsible for the comfort of those present at all meetings.
  4. Assist officer candidates prior to and during elections.
  5. Arrange entertainment, refreshments, and other details related to meeting programs.
  6. Serve as chairperson of the welfare committee.

ARTICLE VIII: CHAPTER ADVISORS

Section1.It is recommended that a Technology Education teacher serve as the chapter faculty

advisor; however, in the case where there is no such interested teacher, a state certified

educator may be appointed by the school’s principal. The appointed advisor would have all the rights and privileges of a regular advisor as long as her/she maintains his/her

chapter in good standing.

Section 2.There may also be additional adult chapter advisors who offer expertise, guidance, and supervision, appointed by the the chapter’s executive team and faculty advisor with the

approval of the principal.

ARTICLE IX: TSA Members Rules of Behavior

Section 1.Students are expected to follow all TSA and school rules as defined in the (YOUR SCHOOL’S NAME) Student Code of Conduct and the TSA Student Code of Conduct at all times while at school and at TSA after school events, fieldtrips, competitions, community service projects or any other school or TSA related activity.

Section 2.Students who fail to adhere to (YOUR SCHOO’S NAME) Student Code of Conduct or the TSA Code of Conductwill/may receive consequences appropriate for the offense. These consequences will follow (YOUR SCHOOL’S NAME) school policy and also be at the discretion of the TSA Advisors.

Section 3.Students who are on TSA-related fieldtrips or competitions who violate school rules will

be removed from the TSA competition events at the conference and will be sent home at the parent’s expense.

Section 4.Students who have a 3 or more suspensions within a school year will be removed from all TSA competition teams and will not be allowed to compete or participateat local, state, and national events related to TSA.

ARTICLE X: FINANCES

Section 1.Chapter dues shall be ______plus______for state andnational affiliation.

Section 2.The Chapter Advisor shall be responsible for the Chapter finances.

ARTICLE XI: EMBLEM AND COLORS

Section 1.The emblem and colors of the Chapter shall be: (DESCRIBE CHAPTER LOGO IF APPLICABLE, OR ADOPT THOSE OF NATIONAL TSA)

ARTICLE XII: MOTTO AND CREED

Section 1.The motto and creed of the Chapter shall be the same as adopted by

National TSA.

ARTICLE XIII: AMENDMENTS

Section 1.To amend the constitution/bylaws, the proposed amendments must be presentedin

writing bya TSA member to the president. The president will presentthe amendment to

themembership, where it must be approved by two-thirds majority vote for adoption.

Constitution vs Bylaws

Constitution and Bylaws are two terms or words that are often confused as words that denote the same meaning, when strictly speaking, there is a difference between them as they have different meanings. The word constitution refers to a kind of document that is created on behalf of a group of people or an organization, which establishes factors such as qualification, eligibility of membership, duties, do’s and don’ts of the members and the like. In short, it can be said a constitution defines the rules and regulations to be followed by the members of an organization. On the other hand, bylaws refer to the rules and regulations to be followed on a daily basis. It is important to know that bylaws govern the day to day functions of institutions or organizations. This is the main difference between the two words, namely, constitution and bylaws.

What is Constitution?

Constitution is the main document of an organization that determines the fundamental aspects of the said organization. These fundamentals of the organization are matters such as the organization name, purpose, membership, officers, meetings, rules of procedure, and amendments. As you can see, these are the basic elements on which an organization is created.

So, the constitution should consist of fundamentals that are not going to be changed. If you are going to change every single detail of a constitution very often, it is not a proper constitution. Much thought is put into constructing a constitution and as you can see once such a constitution needs changes you have to follow the amendment rules stated there. Most of the time you have to have the majority (2/3) votes to amend the constitution. This may be very easy sometimes in a small organization. However, once you go the national level to the constitution of a country, you getting the majority votes to amend the constitution is not at all easy.

What are Bylaws?

Bylaws are based on the constitution of an organization. Bylaws determine the detailed guidelines of the fundamental aspects of the organization and also states the daily work of the organization. This section consists of matters such as duties of officers, duties of advisor, committees, impeachment, elections, finance, and amendments.

Bylaws should be constructed with the ability to change them. This does not mean you can change anything even in bylaws as you just think. You still have to follow the amendment rules regarding bylaws, which will follow the pattern of the constitution. However, bylaws have the ability to be changed easily. For example, with time the organization can change; it can grow. At such a situation, sometimes, the duties of the president can be more complex. You have to change that accordingly.

As you can see, the constitution just puts the structure of the organization. Bylaws fill this structure with filling. For example, when it comes to officers, the constitution only talks about the titles, qualifications, method of electing officers, filling vacancies, and the term of each officer. The most important aspects of the duties of each officer as well as the way to remove officers are included in the bylaws. That is because those parts are what is important to the day to day actions of an organization.

SAMPLE TSA CONSTITUTION/BYLAWS - 1