Constitution & Bylaws

(May 8, 2018

Constitution of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators

Article I/ Association

The association shall be called the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and shall be a non-proﬁt organization.

Article II/ Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of the association shall be speciﬁcally educational, including for such purposes:

To establish a state organization of journalism educators in Texas.
To emphasize and teach responsible and ethical journalism and to be a catalyst for lessons in freedom of expression and democracy.
To impart an understanding of the development and purpose of journalism in our schools.
To provide its members with experiences and information to develop the qualities and attributes basic to successful teaching of journalism and directing of publications.
To provide information on new developments, trends, practices and standards in order to raise the quality of school publications.
To work with the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Education to establish professional criteria for journalism education.

Article III/ Membership and Fees

Section 1
Membership in the association shall be of three types: active, associate and honorary/life.

Section 2
Any person currently teaching who desires to foster the interests of journalism and publications work in Texas schools is eligible for active membership in this association.

Section 3
Any friend of journalism is eligible for associate membership.

Section 4
TAJE may elect friends of TAJE and Texas scholastic journalism to honorary/life memberships in the organization.

Section 5
Any member may nominate candidates for life membership by contacting the Executive Committee. After recommendations from the Executive Committee, an individual may be extended a life membership by a simple majority vote of those in attendance at the organization’s meeting at the TAJE convention or at the Interscholastic League Press Conference. Those nominated will be recognized at the next TAJE meeting.

Section 6
All members regardless of category will receive mailings of the association.

Section 7
The organization’s ﬁscal year will run from June 1 to May 31. A membership term will run from August 1 to July 31.

Article IV/ Ofﬁcers

Section 1
This association shall have a president, president-elect, secretary, treasurer, state director, past president, convention director(s) and executive director. All of the previously mentioned except past president, convention director(s) and executive director are elected ofﬁcers.

Section 2
Only active members in good standing who are currently teaching and advising a school publication shall be eligible to be nominated for elective ofﬁce. Regional Reps may be an exception to the teaching/advising requirement.

Section 3
A Nominating Committee will be appointed at the TAJE fall convention in even number years. Ofﬁcers will be elected by mail ballot or through a secure online system approved by the Executive Committee. Ballots will be distributed to all TAJE members in February. The candidates receiving the most votes will be declared the winners within 48 hours of the close of the election.

Section 4
Ofﬁcers will serve two-year terms beginning June 1 following the spring election, except the president-elect who will serve a six-year term: two years as president-elect, two years as president and two years as past president.

Article V/Executive Committee

Section 1
The Executive Committee shall consist of the ﬁve elected ofﬁcers and the past president, convention director, webmaster, contest director and executive director. The executive director, webmaster, convention director, contest director, ILPC director and ATPI executive director will serve as non-voting members.

Section 2
The Executive Committee shall meet or confer prior to the TAJE and ILPC conventions. Other meetings may be called as necessary.

Article VI/Meetings

Business meetings shall be held during the TAJE convention, the spring ILPC conference and other meetings called as necessary.

Article VII/Constitution

The constitution will become effective upon the approval of a simple majority of the members present at either of the meetings.

Article VIII/Amendments

Section 1
Notiﬁcation of Members

Amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted in written form to the Executive Committee and will be published in the Association’s newsletter and through appropriate electronic communication to all members and other interested parties.

Section 2
Ratiﬁcation

An amendment shall become effective upon approval of two-thirds of the members present at a TAJE business meeting or upon approval of two-thirds of the members returning ballots before a time speciﬁed. The by-laws may be amended at the organization’s meeting at the TAJE or ILPC convention by a simple majority of members present.

Article IX/Dissolution of Association

Under the dissolution of the association, the association shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all liabilities of the association, dispose of all the assets of the association in such manner, or to such organization organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious or scientiﬁc purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under section C(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (3) of the Internal Revenue code of 1954 (or corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law), so the association shall determine. Any of such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a court of competent jurisdiction of the county in which the principal ofﬁce of association is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as such court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

By-Laws of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators

Article I/Ofﬁcers and Duties

Section 1
The president shall prepare the programs and agendas for the meetings, arrange for meeting places, preside at the meetings and the annual convention, represent the organization in an ofﬁcial capacity when necessary, write a column for the website, appoint all committee chairpersons and approve disbursement of funds. During the two-year term (or during term as past-president, if unable to attend during term as president), the president will represent TAJE at one NSPA/JEA Conference. TAJE shall pay a portion of travel expenses.

Section 2
The president-elect shall become president if the ofﬁce of president becomes vacant, represent the organization in the absence of the president, oversee committee chairpersons and serve as chair of the Nominating Committee.

Section 3
The secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings of the association and the Executive Committee and shall provide minutes to the Executive Committee and the general membership at conventions. Copies of the minutes should be delivered to all ofﬁcers within two weeks of the meeting.

Section 4
The treasurer, with the executive director, will present ﬁnancial statements and budget proposals to the Executive Committee and then to the membership at large. Copies of ﬁnancial statements will be given to the Executive Committee and made available to the general membership present at the regularly scheduled meetings and at the registration headquarters at the conventions. The treasurer will act as the TAJE agent in securing an independent bookkeeper or accountant to audit the ﬁnancial records as needed. The treasurer will work with the Scholarship Committee chairperson in obtaining and disbursing scholarship funds. The Executive Committee will review and approve ﬁnancial records.

Section 5
The state director shall act as the TAJE’s ofﬁcial liaison to JEA. The state director will attend one JEA convention a year and ﬁle a state report for each national convention according to JEA policy. The state director will write a column for the TAJE website updating the members of national concerns, interests and trends. The state director shall also conduct the Texas High School Journalist of the Year competition.

Section 6
Past President shall advise the Executive Committee and serve as chair of the Awards Committee.

Article II/ Committees

Section 1
The Nominating Committee, with the president-elect serving as chair, shall organize a slate of nominees to be announced in February of every other year.

Section 2
The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for working with the treasurer in conducting scholarship recipient selection.

Section 3
The Education Committee shall be responsible for researching and recommending support for scholastic journalism and other responsibilities as directed by the Executive Committee.

Section 4
The Membership Committee shall oversee the election and presentation of life memberships and aid the organization in soliciting new members.

Section 5
The Awards Committee shall oversee the selection and presentation of Trailblazer Awards, Friend of Journalism Awards, Administrator of the Year Awards and other awards as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee. Section 6

Section 6
The First Amendment Issues Committee shall be responsible for working with teachers, students and administrators to educate them on the importance of a free press and support them in the practice of journalistic ethics and responsibilities. The committee will work with news media and the Student Press Law Center to promote an understanding of the First Amendment.

Section 7
Members of each standing committee will be appointed by the chairman of that committee.

Section 8
Other committees may be set up when needed by a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Article III/Dues

Section 1
Active members shall pay membership fees at a rate which will be set by the Executive Committee after feedback from the membership.

Article IV/Amendments to the By-laws

Section 1
Notiﬁcation of Members

Amendments to these By-Laws shall be submitted in written form to the Executive Committee and will be published in the Association’s newsletter and through appropriate electronic communication to all members and other interested parties.

Section 2
Ratiﬁcation

Article V/Ofﬁcer Vacancy

Should a vacancy occur in any elected ofﬁce, the Executive Committee shall appoint a member who is not already an ofﬁcer to complete the term of the ofﬁce.

Article VI/Executive Director

Section 1
The association shall employ an executive director with job criteria, salary and evaluation to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Section 2
Duties of the executive director shall include:

Maintaining and distributing a current membership list.
Attending all meetings: general, executive and conventions.
Conducting all elections either by mail ballot or through a secure online system approved by the Executive Committee.
Printing ofﬁcial meeting reports.
Maintaining organizational and ﬁnancial records.
Other duties as directed by the president/executive board.

Section 3
The evaluation of the executive director will be conducted every other year by the Executive Committee.

Article VII/Convention Director(s)

Section 1
The Executive Committee shall name a convention director(s).

Section 2
The convention director(s) will serve as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee.

Section 3
The convention director(s) or his or her designee will be responsible for overseeing the TAJE convention, acting as the liaison between TAJE and the selected hotel, securing the location and facilities, setting up contests and rooms, designing and printing the program, gathering speakers and presenters and overseeing convention committees.

Article VIII//Webmaster

Section 1
The association shall employ a webmaster with job criteria, salary and evaluation to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Section 2
The webmaster will serve as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee.

Section 3
Duties of the webmaster shall include:

Securing a web site.
Setting up a TAJE web page.
Keeping the web page updated with the latest reports of interest to TAJE members.
Maintaining social media accounts.
Arranging for all online elections through a dedicated web service.
Creating and organizing forms.
Maintaining the listserv.

Section 4
Evaluation of the webmaster will be yearly with criteria to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Article IX//Contest Director

Section 1
The association shall employ a contest director with job criteria, salary and evaluation to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Section 2
Duties of the contest director shall include managing and administering online and on-site contests for TAJE’s Fall Fiesta and Best in Texas. This includes overseeing writing of contests and contest rules, collection of online contest materials to ensure consistency and familiarity for members and recruitment, scheduling and training of contest managers and judges, and overseeing judging of contests.

Section 3
Evaluation of the contest director will be yearly with criteria to be determined by the Executive Committee.