Constitution

SESD

ARTICLE 1.0 NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1.0
The name of this organization shall be Science Education for Students with Disabilities (hereafter referred to as SESD).

Section 1.1
SESD shall be a non-profit, voluntary educational society.

Section 1.1.0
It shall be governed by this Constitution, as amended from time to time, in a manner consistent under the Constitution.

Section 1.2
The purpose of SESD shall be to promote and advance the teaching of science and the development of curricula and instructional materials for students at all levels, with any manner of disability in the learning process.

Section 1.2.0
SESD shall also strive to stimulate research related to the general area of science education for students with disabilities.

ARTICLE 2.0 MEMBERSHIP

Section 2.0
Qualifications: Any person with an active interest in the purposes of SESD may become a member upon application and payment of dues.

Section 2.1
Dues: Annual dues for SESD shall depend on the needs of the association as determined by the membership.

Section 2.2
Membership Period: Membership shall run for the calendar year beginning at the end of the annual business meeting held in conjunction with the National Science Teacher Association Annual Convention.

Section 2.3
Termination of Membership: Membership may be terminated at the request of the member or failure to pay annual dues for the year.

Section 2.3.0
The Executive Committee shall reserved the right to rescind membership of an individual for just cause.

ARTICLE 3.0 OFFICERS AND DUTIES

Section 3.0
The officers of SESD shall consist of President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 3.0.0
The officers of SESD shall comprise the Executive Committee, charged with the responsibility of conducting the business of the association between meetings of the membership.

Section 3.1
The duties of the President shall be to: direct the activities of the association, serve as Chair of the Executive Committee, appoint the Chair of all Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, serve as ex-officio member of all Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, and carry out the duties which are customarily conducted by the President of non-profit, educational societies.

Section 3.2
The duties of the President-Elect shall be to: assist the President in the execution of the association's activities, plan for the association's activities for assumption of the office of the President, serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee, and carry out activities as assigned by the President or the membership.

Section 3.3
The duties of the Secretary shall be to: establish and maintain a permanent record of all Executive Committee, annual business, and special meetings, establish and maintain an accurate and current list of the membership, and service as Chair of the Newsletter Committee.

Section 3.4
The duties of the Treasurer shall be to: issue statements, collect dues, and pay liabilities as approved by the President, and the Executive Committee, and/or the membership, and submit an annual financial statement (for membership year) to the membership to be published in the newsletter and presented at the Annual Business Meeting.

ARTICLE 4.0 GOVERNING AUTHORITY

Section 4.0
Governing authority of SESD is a delegated authority from the membership to the Executive Committee between the annual membership meetings.

ARTICLE 5.0 TERMS AND ELECTIONS

Section 5.0
The office of the President shall be assumed by the President-Elect, in odd years, beginning in 1985.

Section 5.0.0
The term of office for the President shall be two years.

Section 5.1
The President-Elect shall be chosen from and elected by the membership of SESD at large.

Section 5.1.0
Succession of the President-Elect to the office of the President is automatic.

Section 5.1.1
The term of office for the President-Elect shall be two years, beginning with elections in 1985.

Section 5.2
The Secretary shall be chosen from and elected by the membership of SESD at large.

Section 5.2.0
The term of office for the Secretary shall be three years, beginning with the elections in 1996.

Section 5.3
The Treasurer shall be chosen from and elected by the membership of SESD at large.

Section 5.3.0
The term of office for the Treasurer shall be three years beginning with elections in 1996.

Section 5.4
Officers shall begin their terms of office at the beginning of New Business of the annual business meeting of the SESD membership, held in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the National Science Teachers Association.

Section 5.5
In the event of death, incapacitation, or resignation of the President, the President-Elect shall assume the office of President for the remainder of the unexpired term and then serve the term of President for which originally elected.

Section 5.5.0
In the event the candidate for President-Elect assumes the office of President, the candidate for President-Elect, in the past election, with the next highest number of votes shall become President-Elect.

Section 5.5.1
If this person declines, a special election shall be held for the purpose of filling the office of President-Elect.

Section 5.5.2
The Executive Committee shall determine the procedure to be followed for the special election.

Section 5.6
In the event of death, incapacitation, failure to perform the duties of the office or resignation of the Secretary, the candidate, in the past election, with the highest number of votes shall become Secretary.

Section 5.6.0
In the event of death, incapacitation, or resignation of the Treasurer, the candidate, in the past election, with the highest number of votes shall become Treasurer.

Section 5.6.1
If either the person for Secretary or Treasurer declines, the Executive Committee shall appoint a Secretary or Treasurer pro-tem to fill the unexpired term, until the next election.

Section 5.7
Elections shall be held as the first order of New Business at the annual business meeting of SESD, held in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the National Science Teachers Association.

ARTICLE 6.0 COMMITTEES

Section 6.0
Five Standing Committees shall be established.

Section 6.0.0
The Chair of each Standing Committee shall select his/her own Committee members.

Section 6.0.1
The Chair of each Committee shall be responsible for keeping the President of SESD informed of its activities.

Section 6.1
The Nomination Committee shall: be chaired by the President-Elect, solicit a minimum of three (3) candidates for each office open to election, prepare and deliver a ballot with a brief biographical sketch of each candidate to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting in which candidates will be elected, tally the secret ballot of the membership, and announce the results of the election as the first order of New Business, when appropriate.

Section 6.2
The Membership Committee shall: prepare and conduct a strategy of recruiting new and renewing members, and report at each annual business meeting of the membership.

Section 6.3
The Newsletter Committee shall: be chaired by the Secretary, and prepare and distribute a regularly-published newsletter of interest to the membership.

Section 6.4
The Convention Committee shall: be selected from within the geographic area of the up-coming site for the annual convention of the National Science Teachers Association, contact the National Science Teachers Association's Convention Committee Chair and offer assistance in making the annual convention barrier-free, and in programming sessions for persons with disabilities appropriately, and report to the President on the results of convention plans in time to include an announcement of special sessions of interest in the Spring newsletter (e.g., Science-Abled Breakfast session.)

Section 6.4.0
The Publications Committee shall: encourage the editors of appropriate publications to include articles and reports on science education for persons with disabilities, and encourage SESD members to write materials for publication, critique manuscripts, and prepare and deliver workshops at national and regional science related conventions on science education for students with disabilities.

Section 6.5
Chairs and members of all committees shall be appointed or selected within 60 days of the close of business of the Annual Business Meeting of the membership.

Section 6.6
Ad Hoc committees may be established at the discretion of the President or the Executive Committee.

Section 6.7
Ad Hoc committees shall have a limited life, specified in the minutes of the membership meeting or the meeting of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE 7.0 ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

Section 7.0
The Annual Business Meeting of the membership of SESD shall be held in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the National Science Teachers Association.

Section 7.1
The agenda for the Annual Business Meeting shall be as follows:

Call to Order
Circulation of Attendance Sheet
Approval of the Minutes of the Last Meeting

Reports of the Officers:

President
President-Elect
Secretary
Treasurer

Reports of the Committee:

Standing Committees:

Nominating Committee
Membership Committee
Newsletter Committee
Convention Committee
Publication Committee

Old Business
New Business
Election of Officer(s)
Announcements
Adjournment

ARTICLE 8.0 RULES OF ORDER

Section 8.0
A minimum of two (2) officers of SESD must be in attendance to validate the meeting of the membership.

Section 8.1
All officers must be present an any Executive Committee meeting to validate the results of the meeting.

Section 8.2
A quorum of the membership shall be constituted of the membership in attendance at the Annual Business Meeting of the SESD membership.

Section 8.3
Robert's Rules of Order, Revised shall govern the conduct of the meetings of the Executive Committee and the Annual Business Meeting unless otherwise approved by a majority of those members in attendance.

ARTICLE 9.0 AMENDMENTS

Section 9.0
The constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the membership in attendance at the Annual Business Meeting.

Section 9.1
All proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted to the membership in the newsletter for consideration no less than 60 days before the Annual Business Meeting.

ARTICLE 10.0 AFFILIATION

Section 10.0
SESD may affiliate with any non-profit educational organization by following the same procedures required for amendment of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 11.0 DISSOLUTION

Section 11.0
Upon dissolution of the association, all holdings of the association shall be donated to the National Science Teachers Association for the advancement of science for persons with disabilities.

Section 11.1
No single member shall be held liable for the association at the time of dissolution.