CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION

STATE BYLAWS

 

ARTICLE I         NAME

Section A                This organization shall be known as the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association, Incorporated.

ARTICLE II       PURPOSE

Section A                The purpose of this organization shall be to promote and improve the teaching of agriculture in California and to foster the  
                                welfare of those engaged in this work.

ARTICLE III     MEMBERSHIP

Section A                The membership of this organization shall consist of active, associate, corporate, designated, honorary, student, and 
                                elementary teacher.                         

  1. ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP shall include teachers of agriculture education in elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and universities, members of the State Agricultural Education Staff, Teacher Educators, Agricultural Specialist of the California Community Colleges, and may include former agricultural teachers who are currently serving in administrative or other educational positions.
  2. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP is open to persons who are not eligible for active membership.
  3. CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP shall be available to agriculturally related organizations, which have interests in common with the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association.
  4. DESIGNATED MEMBERSHIP shall be available to agriculturally related individuals who are not eligible for active membership and who desire to support and participate in a designated group as defined in these bylaws.
  5. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP shall be available to active members who retire with 20 years of agricultural teaching service. Other honorary memberships may be conferred, by recommendations of their regional organization, upon those former agriculture teachers not meeting this service requirement.
  6. STUDENT MEMBERSHIP shall be open to individuals enrolled in Teacher Preparation Programs in Agricultural Education at recognized universities.
  7. ELEMENTARY TEACHER MEMBERSHIP shall be available to elementary teachers who would have a vested interest in this organization and its purposes.

ARTICLE IV     VOTING

Section A                Voting at all official CATA meetings and conferences shall be limited to Active Members and to Student Members who are 
                                currently involved in off-campus student teaching.

Section B                Each active CATA member in good standing shall be allowed to send a proxy vote to the State Conference under the 
                                following circumstances:

  1. The member’s proxy vote will be carried by a representative from within his/her section.
  2. The representative will hold a statement, signed by the section president, indicating those proxy votes he/she carries. (Those whose votes are carried by the representative will understand this delegate assumed the full power to vote for the absentees.)
  3. Regional presidents will submit proxies to the Summer Governing Board for approval prior to the conference.
  4. The conditions rendering necessity of a proxy vote are as follows:
    a.  Disabling affliction
    b.  Conflicting fairs and shows
    c.   Summer school teaching
  5. Casting of proxy votes will be limited to ballot items only.

ARTICLE V     OFFICERS

Section A              The election of all CATA Officers

  1. All CATA officers elected at state, regional and sectional levels shall be active members in good standing who are currently teaching agriculture. If elected while teaching agriculture, that person may continue through normal sequence of chairs as long as he/she qualifies for active membership. 
  2. The elected officers of this organization shall be the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and Past President; and Chair, Chair-Elect, Vice Chair and Secretary of the Secondary Division; and Chair, Chair-Elect, and Secretary of the Post Secondary Division; and Chair, Chair-Elect, Vice Chair, and Secretary of the Operations Division.
  3. Each year the organization will elect a state officer to serve a five-year term. This person will serve one year in each office, in order, Treasurer, Secretary, President-Elect, President, and Past President.
  4. The Nominations, Bylaws, and Professional Awards Committee of the Operations Division will review the applications of the State Officer Candidates at the first meeting of the committee at the annual conference. They will certify that each candidate is qualified as set forth in the Operating Policies (State Officer Policies - 09.08.01) and nominate them to be placed on the ballot. The nominee that receives the majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected.
  5. Governing Board shall appoint a qualified individual for a one-year term in case no qualified application is received.
  6. The Division Officers shall be elected by their respective Divisions. Division Officers are elected for a four-year term. They will serve one year each as Division Secretary, Vice Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair. The new Division Secretary will serve as the Chair of the Division Committee on which the outgoing Division Chair served.
  7. The non-elected officers of this organization shall be the Parliamentarian and a Public Relations Officer.
    a. The Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the President.
    b. The Public Relations Officer shall be appointed by the President.
  8. All State Officers, Division Officers and Region Officers will have been active members for at least 3 years.

Section B             Vacancies

In case any member of the Governing Board (except Regional Presidents) of this organization is no longer qualified to serve, he/she shall resign office immediately and the vacancy shall be filled by Presidential appointment as per the Operating Polices (State Officer Policies – 09.08.01).

ARTICLE VI     DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

Section A                Duties of the State President

  1. To preside over all meetings of CATA and its Governing Board.
  2. To maintain liaison between CATA and other vocational education associations such as NAAE.
  3. To coordinate and supervise functions of all branches of CATA.
  4. To present a report at the Governing Board meetings and at the annual CATA Conference on the state of CATA.
  5. To be responsible for maintaining liaison within the organization.
  6. To appoint annually a Parliamentarian and a Public Relations Officer from the active membership of CATA.
  7. To coordinate CATA activities with the Executive Director.

Section B             Duties of the State President-Elect

  1. To preside in the absence of the President.
  2. To assist the President in the discharge of his/her duties.
  3. To assume the office of the President in the following term.

Section C             Duties of the State Secretary

  1. To be responsible for all correspondence not covered in the list of Treasurer's duties.
  2. To keep accurate minutes at all times and prepare these minutes in acceptable form for distribution.

Section D             Duties of the State Treasurer

  1. To be responsible for the collection of dues.
  2. To be responsible for all correspondence in connection with finances (bills, dues, etc.)
  3. To be responsible for distributing all membership cards to regional secretary-treasurers.
  4. To prepare a progress report on the budget for CATA mid-year Governing Board meetings.
  5. To chair the Budget and Audit Committee of the Operations Division at Summer Conference.
  6. To attend all meetings provided for in the Bylaws and other meetings upon proper authorization.
  7. To be responsible for all matters concerning budget and finance.
  8. To ensure that the Budget and Audit Committee annually submits a balanced budget for memberships’ consideration.

Section E             Duties of the Chair of the Secondary Division

  1. To preside over meetings of the Secondary Division on a state level.
  2. To represent the division as a member of the Governing Board and to report to the Board on the affairs of the division.
  3. To represent CATA and/or the Secondary Division at regional meetings, other CATA meetings and affairs, and at any other functions as designated by the President of CATA.
  4. To work directly with State Agricultural Education staff as CATA liaison.
  5. To appoint committees as necessary to carry out the business of the Secondary Division.

Section F             Duties of the Chair of the Post Secondary Division

  1. To preside over meetings of the Post Secondary Division on a state level.
  2. To represent the division as a member of the Governing Board and to report to the Board on the affairs of the division.
  3. To represent CATA and/or the Post Secondary Division at regional meetings, other CATA meetings and affairs, and at any other functions as designated by the President of CATA.
  4. To work directly with the Agriculture Specialists in the Community College Chancellor’s Office as CATA-Chancellor Office liaison.
  5. To appoint committees as necessary to carry out the business of the Post Secondary Division Division.

Section G             Duties of the Chair of the Operations Division

  1. To preside over meetings of the Operations Division on a state level.
  2. To represent the division as members of the Governing Board and to report to the Board on the affairs of the division.
  3. To represent CATA and/or the Post Secondary Division at regional meetings, other CATA meetings and affairs, and at any other functions as designated by the President of CATA.
  4. To appoint committees as necessary to carry out the business of the Operations Division.

Section H             Duties of the Parliamentarian

  1. To advise upon matters concerned with Robert’s Rules of Order (Article XIV, Section A).
  2. To advise on the constitutionality of action being considered by the assembly.

Section I             Duties of the Past President

  1. To serve as a member of the Governing Board.
  2. To advise the President and Governing Board when called upon.
  3. To coordinate the Past President’s annual dinner during Conference.

Section J             Duties of the Public Relations Officer

  1. To provide media materials to the editor of the CATA magazine for duplication purposes.

ARTICLE VII     THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section A            The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, the three Division Chairs, and the
                            Past President.      

Section B            The Executive Committee shall make recommendations to the Governing Board.

Section C            The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice a year at the call of the President.

ARTICLE VIII     THE GOVERNING BOARD

Section A            The Governing Board shall consist of the Executive Committee, Regional Presidents, and the three Division Chair-Elects.

Section B            The Governing Board shall administer the organization between annual meetings.

Section C            The Governing Board shall meet at least twice a year at the call of the President.

Section D            All members of the Governing Board present at any curricular activity shall constitute a quorum and must assume authority and    
                            take the responsibility to act in all disciplinary situations in which CATA may participate.

Section E            The Governing Board shall direct the duties of the Executive Director.

ARTICLE IX     DIVISIONS

Section A            There shall be three divisions.

  1. Secondary Division
  2. Post Secondary Division
  3. Operations Division

Section B            Division Membership

  1. All CATA members in secondary schools are members of the Secondary Division.
  2. All CATA members in community colleges and universities are members of the Post Secondary Division.
  3. All CATA members are members of the Operations Division. All matters, which need to be discussed by both groups, shall be assigned to a committee under Operations.

Section C            The purpose of these divisions will be to allow an open exchange of ideas and to develop recommendations for the
                            improvement of the CATA programs as they pertain to their areas of concern.

Section D            Each Division will elect a Chair, Chair-Elect, Vice Chair, and a Secretary at the annual conference.

Section E             The standing committees for the Secondary and Post Secondary Divisions shall be:

  1. Affairs and Relations
  2. Curriculum
  3. Inservices
  4. Student Activities

Section F             The standing committees for the Operations Division shall be:

  1. Budget and Audit
  2. Nominations/Bylaws/Professional Awards
  3. Curricular Code
  4. Membership Services
  5. Agriculture Issues
  6. Professional Ethics
  7. Teacher Recruitment/Retention
  8. Tech Prep/Articulation/Curriculum

ARTICLE X     DESIGNATED GROUPS

Section A            A Designated Group is a discipline or curriculum-based entity composed of CATA active membership and CATA designated
                            membership, whose primary aim is the involvement of Agricultural Education and the Agriculture Industry.

Section B            Prior to acceptance and reviewed annually, a designated group must develop and submit a set of bylaws to the CATA
                            Governing Board for their approval.

Section C            One requirement of the bylaws acceptance shall be that voting rights within these designated groups are limited to paid active
                            membership and paid designated membership.

Section D            Upon acceptance and approval of the Designated Group Bylaws, 70% of the designated membership dues will be made
                            available to the designated group.

Section E            Designated groups my collect additional fees for activities and 100% of these monies will be made available to the designated
                            group.

ARTICLE XI     REGIONS

Section A            The state organization shall be divided into six regions. Each region shall have a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer,
                            and Public Relations Officer elected by the membership of the region.

Section B            The purpose of this regional division is to facilitate the holding of regional conferences by lessening the mileage to be traveled
                            and making more nearly equal units and to simplify the holding of regional activities. The following regions shall be constituted by
                            county as follows:

  1. North Coast:     Napa, Marin, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Del Norte, Humboldt, Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Contra Costa.
  2. Superior:     Placer, Sutter, Colusa, Yuba, Nevada, Sierra, Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity.
  3. Central:     Calaveras, Alpine, Amador, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Yolo, El Dorado, Mono, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, and Tuolome.
  4. San Joaquin:     Kern, Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Madera, and Inyo.
  5. South Coast:     Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and that portion of Los Angeles County immediately in and around the Los Angeles Unified School District.
  6. Southern:     That portion of Los Angeles County not in the South Coast area, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, and San Diego.

ARTICLE XII     ANNUAL MEETINGS

Section A            At least one meeting of the organization as a whole shall be held each summer at the same time and place as the annual 
                            conference of agricultural teachers called by the State Supervisor of Agricultural Education and the Specialist Agriculture/Natural 
                            Resources of California Community Colleges.

ARTICLE XIII     DUES

Section A             The annual dues of the organization shall not exceed one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175) for active members; fifty dollars
                            ($50) for associate members; one hundred forty dollars ($140) for corporate members; one hundred forty dollars ($140) for
                            designated members; and seven dollars ($7) for student members. Active dues may not be raised more than ten dollars ($10)
                            above the current level in any one-year. Honorary members are not required to pay dues. Life membership may be received by
                            the one-time payment of ten times the annual membership dues.

Section B            The CATA year shall run from July to June of the following year. Dues shall be due and payable at Summer Conference for the
                            ensuing year and are delinquent at the beginning of the Fall Regional Meeting.

Section C            Only active members whose dues are paid are eligible to participate in activities and services sponsored or controlled by CATA,
                            including:

  1. Regional CATA Meetings
  2. Sectional CATA Meetings
  3. Any CATA publications
  4. Services of the Executive Director
  5. Any voting procedures
  6. Curricular Code revision

Section D            In addition to individual dues, each region shall assess a $10 fee for each instructor attending fall and spring regional meetings.
                            The Regional Treasurer shall send this assessment to the State CATA Office as soon as possible after the regional meeting.
                            During the year that a region is responsible for hosting the annual CATA Banquet, these regional assessment fees may be
                            retained by the region to assist with banquet related expenses.

                            The money sent to the state organization shall be used for the following purposes and must be authorized by the Governing
                            Board:

  1. To pay the traveling expenses of members of the Governing Board to any called meetings or activities authorized by the President except the Summer Conference meetings.
  2. To pay for postage, stationery, all conference, and other expenses authorized by the President.
  3. To pay expenses associated with the employment of the Executive Director.
  4. All checks drawn on the funds of the Association shall be signed by one of the following: Executive Director or Financial Secretary.

Section E            All beginning California teachers and all out of state beginning teachers shall pay one-half of the current rate of dues as adjusted
                            and determined by Governing Board.

Section F             Dues Structure

  1. Agriculture Teachers                                                                             100%
  2. New Teachers                                                                                        50%
  3. Agriculture Teachers less than ½ time (FTE)                                            50%
        (Optional – They can still pay 100% for full voting privileges)
  4. Elementary Teachers                                                                               15%
  5. Associate Members                                                                                15%
  6. Student Teachers                                                                                   $12
  7. Life Members (10 times the usual rate for a full time agricultural teacher)

ARTICLE XIV     PROCEDURE

Section A            Parliamentary Procedure in meetings of the organization shall be in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, Current Edition.

ARTICLE XV     AMENDMENTS

Section A             These Bylaws (with the exception of the Curricular Code) may be amended by two-thirds secret ballot vote at the regular 
                             balloting period of the annual conference.

Section B            Any amendments to the Bylaws must follow the resolution format. The amendment must also be posted in a conspicuous place
                            designated for that purpose twenty-four hours before balloting.

ARTICLE XVI     AFFILIATIONS

Section A            The California Agricultural Teachers’ Association shall be affiliated with the National Association of Agricultural Educators.
                            Membership dues will be paid through the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association.

ARTICLE XVII     DELEGATES

Section A            The official delegates for the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association to the affiliation identified in Article XVI shall be
                            granted full authority and power to act for the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association. Funds needed may be granted by
                            the Governing Board.

ARTICLE XVIII     CATA CURRICULAR CODE

Section A            The CATA Curricular Code shall be considered as a portion these Bylaws.

Section B            All official FFA activities sponsored or supervised by CATA will be governed by the rules established in the latest revised copy
                            of the CATA Curricular Code.

Section C            The CATA Curricular Code may be amended by a majority vote at a general assembly meeting during the annual conference.
                            Only those portions, which are due for revision, can be discussed and voted upon.

Section D            By majority vote of the Governing Board, a portion or portions of the Curricular Code may be opened for consideration and
                            changed during conference.

 

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