BYLAWS OF THE

NORTH CAROLINA AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

 

MISSION STATEMENT

Promoting professionalism and quality of American Sign Language instruction is highly valued and crucial to the preservation of American Sign Language (ASL) and the Culture of Deaf People.

 

ARTICLE I NAME

The Association shall be known as North Carolina American Sign Language Teachers Association (formerly known as NC Tarheel ASLTA) hereafter, referred to as NC ASLTA.

 

ARTICLE II OBJECTIVES

Section 1: Objectives of NC ASLTA

1. To promote:

1.1 The official recognition of American Sign Language as a language.

1.2 Professional quality in American Sign Language instruction, statewide and nationwide in connection with the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA).

1.3 The certification of American Sign Language instructors by ASLTA.

2. To provide an effective avenue for the exchange of information regarding methods and materials in the instruction of American Sign Language.

3. To provide input to ASLTA in standards and procedures for teaching American Sign Language.

4. To develop and maintain a local directory of certified instructors and NC ASLTA members.

 

ARTICLE III AFFILIATION

The Association shall be a cooperating member of ASLTA and shall maintain its ASLTA membership in active standing annually.

 

ARTICLE IV MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: NC ASLTA membership shall include American Sign Language instructors and any individuals interested in preservation of American Sign Language instruction and Deaf culture.

Section 2: Dues for individual membership in NC ASLTA shall be determined during the General Assembly meeting at its biennial conference.

Section 3: Annual full membership dues shall follow the calendar year (January to December).

Section 4: Honorary members who have made significant contributions to NCASLTA may be granted by the majority vote of the members upon the recommendation from the Executive Board.  They shall serve for life or until they resign or be removed from office upon the recommendation from the Executive Board.

 

ARTICLE V MEETINGS

Section 1: General Assembly shall be held biennially to occur during even years at a time and place to be determined by the General Assembly of the NC ASLTA. Meetings shall be conducted in person or electronically.

Section 2: Board meetings shall be held quarterly and shall be open to the public. Meetings shall be conducted in person or electronically.

Section 3: Special meetings may be called at any time by the Executive Board or the President.

Section 4: Prior to any meeting, the President shall prepare a written agenda which is to be attached to the meeting notice. In any meeting, any member may submit an item for the agenda as time permits.

Section 5: Notice of each meeting shall be given in writing. Notice of any meeting shall be given at least fourteen (14) calendar days in advance.

Section 6: At all board meetings, at least 4 officers shall be present to meet and conduct meetings.

 

ARTICLE VI PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Section 1: Robert Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary authority of the Association of all board and General Assembly meetings. The Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the President.

ARTICLE VII ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS OF OFFICERS

Section 1: The NC ASLTA Board shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Member-at-Large, and Professional Development Chair. The Board shall oversee NC ASLTA affairs between board meetings.

Section 2: All incoming and outgoing monies of NC ASLTA, notices of elections and meetings, and dissemination of materials shall be handled through the Executive Board.

Section 3: The Board must approve any financial expenditure which are not budgeted.

Section 4: The Board shall appoint a current NC ASLTA member to fill any vacancy on the Board, subject to the approval of the board members at their next NC ASLTA meeting. One exception will be the President which shall be filled by the Vice President.

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ARTICLE VIII OFFICERS

Section 1: The President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Member-at-Large, Communications Director, and Professional Development Director shall be elected by ballot at the biennial convention. The President, Vice President, and Professional Development Director shall be not eligible to hold office who has not been the NC ASLTA member for one year immediately preceding the election and hold a certification from the ASLTA. They shall hold and maintain Certified membership with ASLTA in good standing.

Section 2: The President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Member-at-Large, Communications Director, and Professional Development Director shall be eligible to serve no more than two (2) consecutive two-year terms. 

Section 3: The elected Officers shall assume their respective duties immediately after adjournment of the biennial conference.

Section 4: The elected Officers shall assume their respective duties immediately after adjournment of the biennial conference.

Section 5: The elected Officers shall meet at least quarterly each year, or upon the request of the President or the elected Officers.

Section 6: Resignations shall be submitted in writing to the President or the Secretary.

 

ARTICLE IX DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: The President shall preside at all meetings of NC ASLTA and the Executive Board, shall have working knowledge of NC ASLTA affairs, and serve as a liaison between NC ASLTA and external business.

Section 2: The Vice President shall serve in the absence of the President. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President occurs, the Vice President shall succeed to that office. The Vice President shall be the liaison between the Executive Board and the committees of NC ASLTA and shall oversee committee activities.

Section 3: The Secretary shall record the minutes of all NC ASLTA and Executive Board proceedings and shall handle NC ASLTA correspondence and inquiries as designated by the President.

Section 4: The Treasurer shall monitor the financial affairs of the Association and submit a report to each board meeting and general assembly meeting. The Treasurer surrenders to the successor all records belonging to NC ASLTA within thirty (30) days after the election.

Section 5: The Member-at-Large shall serve as a liaison between the Executive Board and NC ASLTA members to do assigned tasks at the discretion of the President.

Section 6: The Professional Development Director shall be responsible for coordinating at least 12 hours professional development per year for chapter members and interested persons. The Professional Development Director shall also be responsible for maintaining records of the workshop program, submitting information for the ASLTA website in a timely manner, workshop outline, and attendance of members at the workshop. The Professional Development Director shall chair the Professional Development Committee.

Section 7: The Communications Director shall be responsible for all publicity and outreach by the Board to the membership.

 

ARTICLE X COMMITTEES

Section 1: Standing committees of the Association shall consist of Professional Development, Public Relations, Bylaws, Finance, and Biennial Conference. 

• Each committee shall consist of at least three (3) members including the chair.

• The President shall appoint the chair of each standing committee. 

• The chairs of each committee shall appoint the remaining committee members and shall submit the list of committee members to the Vice-President of whom oversees the committee activities according to Article IX Section 2.

Section 2: Ad Hoc and Special committees shall also be formed by the President, or the Board as needed, with chair of each to be appointed by the President.

Section 3: Duties of the standing committees:

3.1 The Professional Development Committee shall organize and provide professional development workshops and training that relate to learning and teaching ASL and Deaf Studies, shall maintain records of attendance to workshops and training by members and reports this to ASLTA, and shall encourage members to become involved in the ASLTA evaluation process to gain certification.

3.2 The Public Relations Committee shall recruit, distribute, and inform the membership of NC ASLTA functions to encourage participation of members.

3.3 The Bylaws Committee shall be responsible for amendments of bylaws as referred to Article XII. The committee shall provide support and consultation to local chapters to ensure their compliance to NC ASLTA bylaws.

3.4 The Finance Committee shall make recommendations for NC ASLTA's biennial budget must be approved by the general assembly during NC ASLTA Biennial Conference. Financial affairs are referred to Article XI.

3.5 The Biennial Conference Committee shall work closely with its respective local people to implement and coordinate the plans for its biennial conferences.

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ARTICLE XI FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Section 1: No funds shall be raised or solicited on behalf of NC ASLTA without the consent of the Executive Board and/or by vote of the members.

Section 2: No indebtedness shall be contracted on behalf of NC ASLTA unless voted upon by the membership.

Section 3: The Executive Board may accept, on behalf of NC ASLTA, any contribution, gift, bequest or device for the general or special purposes of NC ASLTA and shall notify the membership of such event.

Section 4: All NCASLTA accounts must be signed by either the treasurer or president

4.1 Should the treasurer and president be unable to sign due to any reason, the secretary will be the designed signee at the discretion of the board.

Section 5: The president shall have access to all the financial activities of the NC ASLTA.

Section 7: In order to change bank accounts or procedures dealing with the financial activities of NC ASLTA it must be approved by the Executive Board.

Section 8: An audit of all NC ASLTA financial activities shall be performed by the NCASLTA Financial Committee biennially prior to the general assembly of the NC ASLTA.

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ARTICLE XII PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Section 1: National SLPI:ASL Services

• Definition: The SLPI:ASL is a test of sign language communication skills which assesses a person’s skills in using American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate in a one-to-one conversation/interview with a highly skilled interviewer.

• NC ASLTA shall provide Sign Language Proficiency Interview: American Sign Language (SLPI:ASL) services to schools, groups, or individuals who request such services.

• The NC ASLTA Board shall appoint a SLPI:ASL Coordinator.

• Duties of the SLPI:ASL Coordinator

• Develop and monitor schedules for interviews and raters

• Collect and maintain all SLPI records

• Use technology for website updates and forms

• Work with the NC ASLTA Treasurer in all SLPI:ASL financial 

• Work with the NC ASLTA Professional Development Chair in providing training and materials for interviewers, raters, and other personnel

• Other duties as assigned by the NC ASLTA Board

• The SLPI:ASL interviewers and raters shall hold membership either in NC ASLTA and/or ASLTA. 

 

ARTICLE XIII AMENDMENTS

Section 1: The Bylaws of NC ASLTA may be amended or revised by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present at the amending meeting or electronically. Notification of the proposed amendment (s) shall be mailed to all members in good standing at least 30 calendar days prior to the meeting at which the vote will be taken.

Section 2: The Executive Board shall have the authority to make changes to the Bylaws to comply with the ASLTA's Bylaws. Changes which may affect the NC ASLTA Bylaws must be presented to the membership according to Section 1.

 

ARTICLE IX DISSOLUTION

Section 1: In the event of the dissolution of the Association, its assets shall be transferred to the ASLTA within six months.

 

1st Revision: 2003

2nd Revision: 2009

3rd Revision: April 1, 2017

4th Revision: April 24, 2022