NMABE Bylaws
ARTICLE I: Name
The name of the corporation shall be the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education, herein referred to as NMABE or the Association. NMABE is an affiliate of the National Association for Bilingual Education. The association’s executive committee shall be known as the Executive Board.
ARTICLE II: Mission Statement
The mission of NMABE, a diverse, dedicated community of education stakeholders, is to foster, encourage, and promote bilingualism for all children in an environment that nurtures the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of the state through advocacy, professional development, networking and current research application and dissemination.
ARTICLE III: Purposes
To stimulate professional development
To establish national contacts through affiliation with the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
To provide opportunities to study and discuss issues concerning bilingual education
To act as a clearinghouse in circulating information of value and in keeping teachers posted on the latest educational movements and findings
To present significant findings through El Noticiero, presentations, and/or the NMABE Website, www.wnmu.org/nmabe/index.html
To address bilingual/multicultural education through institutes and the NMABE Conference
To help improve and support native language instruction through bilingual education and the teaching of English to speakers of other languages.
ARTICLE IV: Organization
400 Executive Board
The elected officers of the Association shall consist of President, President Elect, Past President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Native American Representative, and Parent Representative. The Executive Director and representatives of the Charter Organizations are appointed members of the Executive Board. It is the responsibility of all officers to be familiar with the Bylaws.
401 Nominations and Elections
Nominations
Officers may be nominated by any NMABE member. The nominating committee will compile all nominations and prepare a ballot for the election. Officers will be elected by ballot at the annual Association Conference. A call for nominations will be printed in El Noticiero. The announcement will include nominations for President Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Native American Representative, and Parent Representative. The deadline for written nominations will be four weeks before the election. The deadline for nominations will be printed in El Noticiero.
Voting
The election of officers will take place during the annual conference. Ballots will be pre-printed from nominations received by the deadline, and will be distributed during the election. In order to keep the voting process legal, members will: Present a picture identification to a polling official before voting, and have their name verified through the current membership list or conference credentials. (remove this procedure)
Term of Office
All positions shall have a one year term of office.
Announcement
Newly elected NMABE officers will be announced at the General Session of the Conference following the election.
Vacancies
A vacancy in any office shall be filled by presidential appointment, except President and President Elect, who shall be appointed by vote of the Board from among the elected officers (in which case the new vacancy created shall be appointed by the president). If the Past President needs to be replaced, the new position will be termed “Member-at-Large”. A vacancy shall also occur when any elected Board member has two unexcused absences from Board meetings.
402 President
The president shall preside at all meetings, appoint the chairman of each standing committees, and conduct the business of the organization. The president shall represent the Association to its members and the public. The President shall network and maintain communications with NABE. Upon completion of the term, the president will serve on the board as past-president to ensure continuity in the organization.
The President shall work with the Board to set all Executive Board meetings for the year. Changes to the meeting schedule shall be announced at least two weeks in advance.
The President shall represent NMABE at the NABE delegate assembly or designate a representative.
403 President Elect
The President Elect shall serve on the Board for familiarization of all the duties of the President.
The President Elect shall assume the presidency on the first day of August shall assume the presidency at the summer Executive Board Retreat or upon the termination of the office of the current president.
404 Vice-President
The vice-president shall preside in the absence of the president and assist the president in the execution of business.
405 Secretary
The secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings conducted by the board.
The secretary shall submit the minutes to the president for review and dissemination within 15 days following the meeting.
At the end of the secretary’s term, a compilation of the year’s minutes will be submitted to the Executive Director to be archived.
406 Treasurer
The treasurer shall be the fiscal agent of the organization. The treasurer shall open and maintain accounts in the name of the organization and deposit all money received. The treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all income, investments, and expenditures. Receipts and invoices of all transactions will be kept to document the organization’s activities.
The treasurer shall prepare financial statements to present at all Executive Board meetings and a fiscal report to present to members at the annual business meeting.
The Treasurer shall prepare and submit in a timely fashion the following reports: Federal Income Tax returns and the State Corporation Commission Report.
At the end of the fiscal year, the treasurer shall prepare a complete financial statement showing all income received, and all disbursements made by the organizations. Copies of same shall be provided to the incoming officers as well as to state and federal officials that may require it.
407 Parent Representative
The Parent Representative shall represent parent concerns to the executive committee. It is therefore required that the Parent Representative have a child or grandchild in a bilingual program. The Parent Representative should be up to date on parent concerns, contact local parent advisory committees for their involvement in the annual conference and/or parent institutes throughout the state; organize training sessions at the annual conference with these issues in mind; conduct broader community advocacy activities; and report to the Board on parent issues.
408 Executive Director
Each newly elected Executive Board will appoint or renew the contract of the Executive Director at the start of the new year. The Executive Director will serve at the pleasure of the Board. The duties of the Executive Director are to provide continuity in all affairs of the organization and to provide updates on the current activities of the association. These duties include:
conference planning, organization, and execution;
oversight of any long term investments made by the organization;
vote as a member of the Executive Board when a tie vote occurs;
act as an advisor to all Standing Committees;
submit required reports, in collaboration with the treasurer to the State Corporation Commission;
submit all required Federal Tax Returns for the organization;
Compensation to the Executive Director shall be made [delete - annually or semi annually] at a rate [add - and at a schedule] approved by the Board.
409 Past President
The Past President will serve on the Board as an advisor to ensure continuity, and may be assigned appropriate duties.
410 State Director of Bilingual Education [add]
The State Director of Bilingual Education or designee shall serve as a regular Executive Board member in order to promote continuity and articulation with the Public Education Department.
411 Native American Representative
The Native American Representative shall represent native concerns to the executive committee. It is therefore required that the Native American Representative be enrolled in a New Mexico tribal entity. The Native American Representative should be up to date on native concerns, contact tribes and Indian educators for their involvement in the annual conference and/or Indian institutes throughout the state; organize training sessions at the annual conference with these issues in mind; and report to the Board on issues of Native American education.
The President of each Charter Organization or their designee shall serve as a voting member of the Executive Board.
The Charter Organization representative shall serve as a link between the Charter Organization and NMABE.
The Charter Organizations will co-chair and co-sponsor the State Spelling Bee. Expenses will be shared by sponsoring organizations.
ARTICLE V: Committees
500 Standing Committees
The Standing Committee shall be the Executive Board. Other committees are Nominations/Elections, Scholarships, Teacher Excellence, Educational Assistant, Administrator of the year, Training Grants, History, and Conference Committees.
501 Executive Board
The Executive Board votes on all association business in accordance with its mission as stated in the original articles of incorporation dated December 27, 1977. The Executive Board is composed of eleven voting members. To conduct association business, a quorum needs to be present. Voting members are the following: Past President, President (chair), President Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parent Representative, Native American Representative, Charter Organization Representatives (3). The Executive Director can be counted to form a quorum, and can vote to break a tie. Each member of the Executive Board must be an active member of both the state and national organizations. Former Presidents are honorary members and ex-officio officers. Former presidents and the State Director of Bilingual Education or designee will serve as exofficio members. They hold honorary membership in the organization and are welcome at all meetings, but do not vote. The Editor of El Noticiero and chairs of Standing Committees may attend the Executive Board meetings, but may not vote. All standing committee business must be submitted to the Executive Committee for final approval. Job descriptions are to be published annually in El Noticiero.
502 Nominations/Elections Committee
The Nominations/Elections Committee shall be composed of three members appointed by the President with approval by the Board. They shall follow established procedures.
503 Scholarship Awards Committee
The purpose of this scholarship award is to attract bilingual teachers to teach in New Mexico.This award encourages individuals to complete bilingual teacher certification. The committee consists of an appointed chair and a selected bilingual education faculty member from each university in the state with a bilingual education teacher training program. The Executive Board may award up to four scholarships of $500 each for a total of $2,000 per semester for this purpose. Duties of the Scholarship Awards committee:
Advertise and disseminate information to teacher education students through appointed bilingual education faculty.
Meet at least once with other committee members to discuss and select awardees using established guidelines and meet the following deadlines: May 1st for summer session July 1st for Fall semester October 1st for Spring semester.
Scholarships may be renewed each semester to college Juniors, Seniors or graduate students enrolled in a Bilingual Education teacher training program in New Mexico. is set by the Executive Board.
The Packet consists of the following; Time-line Scholarship Application Criteria Sheet with scales for use by persons selecting and rating candidates Short form application and sample letter of acknowledgement.
Approved applications are scored and recommendations are sent to NMABE for Executive Committee final action.
Recipients are invited to submit presentation proposals for the Annual Conference to tell about their work.
Announcements of selectees are to be announced in El Noticiero.
504 Henry Pascual Teacher Excellence Award
This award recognizes a teacher from New Mexico. The application process published in El Noticiero requires that a completed portfolio to be submitted for evaluation. Also, an on-site classroom observation is required. The committee is composed of three past recipients who make the final selection. The chair will submit the nominee portfolio to the Board for final approval.
505 Educational Assistant Award
This award recognizes an outstanding educational assistant from New Mexico. The committee is composed of a chair and 2 members. A completed application published in El Noticiero must be submitted with required materials. The chair meets with members to review applications and submit recommendations to the Board, who make the final selection.
506 Administrator Award Committee
This award recognizes an educational administrator in New Mexico who has done an outstanding job in bilingual education. The committee is composed of a chair and 2 members. The chair meets with members to review applications and submit recommendations to the Board, who make the final selection. The name of the award recipient will also be submitted to the Coalition of New Mexico School Administrators.
507 Training Committee
The committee is composed of a chair and 2 members. The duties of the committee are to review applications for institutes in accordance with established guidelines announced in El Noticiero. The committee will submit recommendations for approval of expenditures to the Executive Board.
508 Historical Committee
The Historical Committee will work with the Executive Director to maintain and archive all historical documents of NMABE meetings, conferences, newsletters, etc. for the benefit of future members. Based on precedence and history, the committee will make recommendations to the Board to revisit, revise and refocus on the NMABE Mission Statement, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and all facets of the Association governance. This process is ongoing.
509 Conference Committees
Special committees are to be formed each year to facilitate the activities of the Conference; they are: school exhibits, commercial exhibitors, program, registration/membership, entertainment, A-V, Spelling Bee.
510 University Bilingual Education Professor of the Year
The award recognizes an outstanding university bilingual education professor. The university where this professor works is a teacher-training institution with a complete bilingual program. The professor must be employed full-time at this university with a significant part of her/his teaching duties dedicated to the bilingual education teacher-training program. The professor must be nominated through a letter on her/his behalf by a student in this professor’s classes or a colleague. The following are items to be addressed in the nomination letter: dedication, advocacy, knowledge of subject area, longevity, and any writings dedicated to bilingual education.
ARTICLE VI: Membership
601 Membership
Any person or institution interested in bilingual education or the teaching of English to speakers of other languages is eligible for annual membership upon payment of dues (if required) and completion of a membership application (if required). Annual membership shall extend for a period of twelve months from the date of processing of dues (except for specified categories of membership).
602 Membership categories:
Membership categories are: Active members, Associate members, Honorary members, Institutional members, and Charter Organizations. The benefits, including the right to receive NMABE publications and vote for officers and for other General Membership issues, are the same for each membership category except Institutional and Charter.
Active Members include: teacher, college instructor, administrator, consultant, and other.
Associate Members include: community person, paraprofessional, retired persons, and full time college student.
Honorary Members include all NMABE Hall of Fame Award winners and all former NMABE presidents. Honorary members are not required to submit annual membership applications, or pay dues.
Institutional Members have all rights of membership except voting. Schools, libraries, commercial vendors, and governmental entities are encouraged to join NMABE in order to stay current with education issues of concern.
Charter Organization Members are included as part of the Executive Board to ensure participation from all parts of the state. Charter Organizations shall be named in the Bylaws. Each Charter Organization that is approved in the Bylaws is represented on the Executive Board by one individual. The individual who represents the Charter Organization on the NMABE Board must be a current member of NMABE. To be considered for Charter status, an organization must have Bylaws consistent with the purposes of NMABE. To add or remove an organization from this status requires amendment of the NMABE Bylaws. The current Charter Organizations are:
The Northern Consortium for Bilingual Education for Bilingual/Multicultural Education The Southern New Mexico Consortium for Bilingual/Multicultural Education Dual Language Education of New Mexico
603 Dues
The dues for each category shall be specified each year by the Executive Board and indicated in the membership application.
ARTICLE VII: Meetings
701 Meetings
The time, number and place of the meetings shall be established in the minutes of the executive board and announced at least 30 days in advance to those invited.
Executive Board meetings shall be held at least 4 times annually. The minutes of the previous meeting and the agenda shall be provided to all those invited at least 14 days in advance.
Special Meetings. Work sessions, committee meetings, and other meetings with no policy or fiscal decisions on the agenda do not require the specified advance notice.
At least one annual business meeting shall be held for the General Membership.
702 Quorum
Executive Board meetings: a majority constitutes a quorum.
General Membership meetings: One-tenth of the total membership shall constitute a quorum.
The lack of a quorum prevents policy and fiscal decisions from being acted upon, but other agenda items may be considered.
703 Standing Authority
The rules contained in Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedures shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the constitution and Bylaws of the Association.
704 Open Meetings
All meetings of the Executive Board shall be open to the public.
705 National Conference delegate
When the President cannot attend, the president will appoint a delegate to the NABE Conference.
706 National Conference Stipend
The Board may provide a stipend to Board members to attend the national conference.
ARTICLE VIII
Amendments 800
Suggestions for Amendments to the Bylaws may be made by a majority vote at a [specially called] Board meeting. Suggestions for amendments will be published on the website for membership comments. Amendments will be voted on by the Board at a subsequent meeting. The amended Bylaws will be published in El Noticiero.
ARTICLE IX
900 Fiscal Matters
Expenditures and payment All encumbrances for the payment of money, notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued in the name of the Association will be approved by the Board. Once approved, the payment may be made by the Treasurer or Executive Director.
901 Deposits
All funds shall be deposited to the credit of the Association in such federally insured banks or other depositories as the Executive Board my select.
902 Investments
The Association may invest funds to ensure the solvency of the Association.
903 Gifts and Contributions
The Executive Board may accept on behalf of the Association any gift, contribution, bequest or device for the general purpose or any special purpose of the Association.
ARTICLE X: Record Keeping
1000 Records and Accounts
The Association shall keep correct and complete records and accounts, including property, personnel and financial records, to provide proper documentation to comply with audit requirements.
1001 Minutes of Meetings
The Association shall keep accurate and complete minutes of all meetings. A compilation of each year’s minutes shall be submitted to the Executive Director to be archived.
1002 Record of Activities
The Association will keep records of all Association activities for accountability purposes.
1003 Access to Records
All records of the Association will be available for review to members of the Association.
This is to certify that these Bylaws of the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education were approved by the Board on 10 October 2002
President Luis Quiñones Secretary Roy E. Howard