The Elementary STEM Council (ESC)

Bylaws

Bylaws of the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council (ITEEA-ESC)
Original bylaws approved March, 1998
Bylaws updated 2007
Bylaws revised (April 25, 2010) and approved by members (May 15, 2010)
Bylaws revised (March 20, 2018) and approved by members (April 8, 2018)

Article I - Name

Section 1. The name of the organization shall be International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Elementary STEM Council” (ITEEA-ESC).

Article II - Purpose

The ITEEA Elementary STEM Council promotes technology and engineering education at the elementary level.

Article III - Mission

The mission of the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council is to build a collaborative network of educators dedicated to the advancement of technological literacy at the elementary level.

Article IV - Goals

Section 1. To provide teachers, supervisors and administrators with professional development opportunities that promote understanding and build capacity in teaching technology and engineering at the elementary level.

Section 2. To develop and share elementary technology and engineering resources that promote children’s creativity, ingenuity, and design-based problem solving skills.

Section 3. To sponsor the ITEEA journal, Children’s Technology & Engineering Journal, which offers articles and resources promoting the integration of technology and engineering at the elementary level.

Section 4. To plan and organize meetings, workshops, and events at the annual ITEEA conference which cater to the needs of those concerned with the integration of technology and engineering concepts and skills at the elementary level.

Section 5. To promote the study of technology and engineering as a vital aspect in every elementary school.

Section 6. To direct the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council webpages content and resources. The ITEEA-ESC will provide regular input to the ITEEA-ESC webpages to inform members and provide content and resources for promoting the delivery of elementary technology and engineering education through best practices of Integrative STEM Education at the elementary level.

Article V - Membership

Section 1. Professional membership in ITEEA Elementary STEM Council shall be open to all persons interested in technology education for children. Each professional member must also be a member of the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) or be employed by an elementary school that holds membership in ITEEA.

Section 2. Life membership is no longer available. Existing life memberships shall remain in force until death or until the life member requests in writing that they be dropped from membership.

Section 3. Honorary membership shall be awarded by the Executive Board.

Section 4. Institutional membership is available to undergraduate and graduate programs in the areas of technology education or elementary education. There are two levels (I and II) of participation. Institutional membership does not include voting privileges.

Section 5. Sustaining membership (level II membership) shall be open to commercial and industrial firms, companies, and individuals not qualified for any of the above membership categories.

Article VI - Dues

Section 1. The dues for all members shall be set by the Executive Board.

Section 2. No dues shall be required of honorary members.

Section 3. The fees for an institutional membership shall be set by the Executive Board. The dues and services for these institutional memberships occur at two levels: Level I (membership certificate and newsletters are provided) and Level II (membership certificate, newsletters and monographs are supplied).

Section 4. The fees for a sustaining membership shall be set by the Executive Board and approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the returned ballots of eligible voting members.

Article VII - Affiliation

Section 1. This council shall be a council of ITEEA and shall maintain a close liaison with its parent organization.

Section 2. This council may grant affiliation to any state, provincial, national, or regional council having similar purposes.

Section 3. This council shall establish a working relationship with other appropriate organizations.

Article VIII - Officers and Executive Board

Section 1. The President, President-Elect, Vice President for Programs, Vice President for Communications, and the Secretary shall be elected for terms of two years. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Board.

Section 2. There shall be an Executive Board for this council which shall consist of the above named officers, the Immediate Past President, and Chairpersons of all committees.

Section 3. Only a professional or life member of the Council shall be eligible to hold office, or to be a chairperson of a standing committee. It is further required that for any person to have his/her name on a ballot for any office, that person must have been a member of the Council for at least two consecutive years prior to nomination to office and must be a professional or life member of ITEEA.

Section 4. When a duly elected officer of the Council is unable to assume or carry out the responsibilities of his/her office, the Executive Board shall appoint another member to that office who shall serve until the next regular election.

Section 5. Officers may not be re-elected to an office for more than two consecutive terms, without approval by the Executive Board.

Section 6. All officers shall assume the duties of office immediately following the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council’s business meeting, which is held in conjunction with the International Conference for ITEEA.

Article IX - Duties of Officers and Executive Board

Section 1. The President shall: Serve as chairperson of the Executive Board as well as the Executive Assembly; Be responsible for the promotion of advancement of the council; Serve as chairperson of Elections Committee; Preside at all meetings of the Executive Board and Executive Assembly; Act as the official spokesperson for the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council regarding matters relating to other organizations and the public; Hold final responsibilities for publications under the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council’s name; Appoint the committee chairpersons as indicated in the bylaws and preside at the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council’s Business Meeting; Serve as Coordinator of Committees and prepare an annual report of their work; Outline objectives and duties of the committees.

Section 2. The President-Elect shall: Serve as assistant to the President; collaborates with the President to learn the role of President; Becomes familiar with the programs of the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council and its governance; Develops and assists with officer transition; Perform such duties as requested by the President.

Section 2. The Vice President for Programs shall: Serve as assistant to the President; Have the responsibility for organizing the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council’s part of the ITEEA International Conference Program; Perform such duties as requested by the President; Serve as the Council's contact with the ITEEA International Conference Program Chairperson.

Section 3. The Vice President for Communications shall: Serve as assistant to the President; Assume responsibilities for ITEEA Elementary STEM Council’s publications and documents (monographs, newsletters, brochures, bylaws, archives).

Section 4. The Secretary shall; Record the minutes of all the meetings of the Executive Board, the Executive Assembly, and the Annual Business Meeting; Send to all professional members notices of meetings and proposed changes in the bylaws.

Section 5. The Treasurer shall: Serve as assistant to the Secretary; Perform the duties of the Treasurer; Record minutes of the Executive Board, the Executive Assembly and the Annual Business Meetings when the Secretary is not present; Receive and hold all dues and funds; At all times be under a surety bond in excess of the assets of the Council; Follow methods approved by the Executive Board in all matters relating to the payment of the bills, depositing funds and keeping records; Prepare an annual financial report in writing for presentation to the membership; Have the records audited and verified by a group of 3-5 members, appointed by the President, before the Annual Business Meeting.

Article X - Committees

Section 1. The standing committees of the Council shall be:

a. Conference Program

b. Membership

c. Publication

d. Research

e. Newsletter

f. Nomination of Election

g. Archives

Section 2. It shall be the function of the Executive Board to establish, delete or discontinue standing committees as conditions may warrant.

Section 3. There shall be such special committees as may be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board.

Section 4. The President with approval of the Executive Board shall appoint a chairperson of all committees for one year. The committee chairpersons may be re-appointed.

Section 5. The members of any committee shall be suggested by the chairperson of each committee and shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Board.

Section 6. It shall be the duty of the chairperson of each standing committee to prepare a report for the annual business meeting.

Article XI - Executive Assembly

Section 1. The Executive Assembly shall consist of the Executive Board and chairpersons of all committees. It shall deal with all matters not covered by the bylaws or which the Executive Board deems sufficiently broad in scope and meaning to demand action by a larger group.

Article XII - Meeting

Section 1. This council shall hold at least one annual meeting which shall include a business session. This council may hold or sponsor as many other meetings as the Executive Board may consider advisable.

Article XIII - Amendments

Section 1. Amendment to these bylaws may be initiated by submitting a written proposal to the Executive Board. Upon approval by the Executive Board, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the membership for vote. Two-thirds (2/3) of the returned ballots must approve the amendment before it becomes part of the bylaws.

Article XIV - Executive Board

Section 1. The administration of the affairs of the Council shall be vested in the Executive Board which shall further be authorized to take whatever actions it may decide to be necessary for the best interest of the Council, provided that none of these actions conflicts with the bylaws of the Council. Section 2. The President shall call meetings of the Executive Board whenever the need arises. As much business as possible shall be conducted by correspondence. Written consent to proposals shall be sought from all members of the Executive Board before action is taken. Whenever any member disagrees, such members shall within seven days submit a statement of the reasons for the position taken. A copy of such statement or statements shall then be submitted to all members of the Executive Board, and a new vote is required. In such a case, a majority of such correspondence shall be kept by the Secretary as a part of the record of the Executive Board.

Section 3. The President shall serve as the Chairperson of the Executive Assembly. The Vice President for Programs shall serve in absence of the President.

Section 4. In the event of the resignation of the Executive Board member, the vacancy shall be filled by the first runner-up of the immediate past election. If the runner-up does not wish to serve, the Executive Board may fill the position by appointment.

Article XV - Membership Year and Fiscal Year

Section 1. Except for life members, the membership year shall be from the date of joining ITEEA to the same date the following year.

Section 2. The fiscal year shall be from July 1st to June 30th of the next year.

Article XVI - Election of Officers

Section 1. Only professional or life members are eligible to vote.

Section 2. The election of all officers generally elected by the Council shall be conducted by ballot to the entire membership in good standing provided for in Section 3 below.

Section 3. The Election Committee shall consist of the President, who shall serve as chairperson, and other regular or life members who shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Board.

a. The President with the approval of the Executive Board shall appoint a nomination committee of three (3) members representing diverse geographies and specialties (e.g., school-based, government, higher education, private sector, non-profit).

b. The nomination committee shall submit two (2) names for the office of President-Elect, two (2) names for the office of Vice President for Programs, two (2) names for the office of Vice President for Communications, and two (2) names for the Secretary.

c. An electronic election ballot shall be submitted to the membership for the purpose of electing officers. The election ballot or request for voting shall contain a resume of the candidates' professional backgrounds. Members will be given no less than fourteen (14) calendar days to vote in the election of officers.

d. The Election Committee shall tabulate the results and announce the results at the annual ITEEA Elementary STEM Council business meeting.

e. Terms of the Executive Board members shall be staggered. Election of President-Elect and Vice President for Communications shall occur in odd years. Election of Vice President for Programs and Secretary shall occur in even years.

f. The President shall appoint the Treasurer with the approval of the Executive Board. The Treasurer’s term shall be for four years. The Treasurer must remain a professional member of the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council throughout the appointed term.

Section 4. It shall be the responsibility of each affiliate to keep the Executive Board fully informed at all times of its activities and changes in officers.

Article XVII - Affiliation

Section 1. Any state, provincial, national, or area association for elementary school technology and engineering education may, with the approval of the Executive Board, affiliate with the Council and shall be designated either as an affiliate, state, provincial, national, or area association.

Section 2. Each affiliated association shall be furnished with a Certificate of Affiliation.

Section 3. It shall be the responsibility of each affiliate to keep the Executive Board fully informed at all times of its activities and changes in officers.

Article XVIII - Committee Duties

Section 1. Conference Program Committee: The chairperson of this committee shall be Vice President for Programs. This committee shall select or develop workshops, displays, programs presentations, meetings and social gatherings appropriate for promoting technology and engineering education at the ITEEA Conference and other locations.

Section 2. Membership Committee: This committee shall develop and implement plans for maintaining and expanding the membership of the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council

Section 3. Publication Committee: The chairperson of this committee shall be the Vice President for Communications. This committee shall promote, and supervise ITEEA Elementary STEM Council publications, except for the newsletter. The primary responsibilities are to review, select, prepare, and publish books, bulletins, brochures, articles and monographs for the improvement of technology and engineering education the elementary schools.

Section 4. Research Committee: This committee shall promote research in technology and engineering education for children. This shall include identification of areas needing research, coordination of research efforts, and dissemination of research results.

Section 5. Newsletter Committee: This committee shall publish and disseminate two ITEEA Elementary STEM Council newsletters each year.

Section 6. Nomination and Election Committee: This committee shall conduct the election of officers as specified in the bylaws. The committee shall obtain nominations for the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council awards and make recommendations of recipients to the Executive Board.

Section 7. Archive Committee: This committee shall insure that copies of all ITEEA Elementary STEM Council publications and official reports of the Council are collected, organized and saved.

Article XIXI - Conduct of Business Meetings

Section 1. The business meeting of this council shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order (revised). A parliamentarian shall be appointed to rule on all questions of order that may arise.

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