TASA Constitution & Bylaws
Though established in 1925 by a group of superintendents meeting at the convention of the Texas State Teachers Association, TASA did not adopt a constitution or bylaws until 1965. The documents have been amended over the decades as TASA has grown and changed.
Constitution & Bylaws
Article I. Name
Article II. Purpose
(a) Establish and annually review a statement of the Association’s Mission, Goals, and Objectives.
(b) Cooperate with other organizations dedicated to such purpose.
(c) Work for the improvement of instruction in the schools of the state.
(d) Encourage the improvement of administrative practices in the schools of the state.
(e) Provide means by which administrators may seek self-improvement by participating in the statewide study of problems in school administration.
(f) Promote the involvement of all segments of the membership in the Association’s programs and activities.
Section 2. The Association will work in close cooperation with the Texas Association of School Boards and American Association of School Administrators in all areas of common interest.
Article III. Membership, Dues, and Meetings
Section 2. A person shall be eligible to active membership who meets the requirements for the professional administrator’s certificate as determined by the State Board of Education or who has professional training equivalent thereto or who serves in an administrative position in a public, county, or private school or association, college or university or who teaches persons preparing for education or educational administration in these institutions and who possesses a valid license for the position as required by law.
Section 3. Active members shall be entitled to full voting privileges and shall be eligible to hold office.
Section 4. The dues of the Association for active members shall be four tenths of one percent (.004) of each member’s gross annual salary. The Executive Committee may establish a minimum annual membership fee for active members and may establish a different annual membership fee for members other than superintendents. The membership and fiscal year shall begin September 1 and end August 31.
Section 5. All persons who are interested in any phase of school administration and are not eligible for active membership may become associate members of this Association by paying an annual membership fee of $100, or such greater amount as may be established by the Executive Committee, and shall be entitled to all privileges of this Association except the right to vote and hold office.
Section 6. Upon recommendation of the Executive Committee, the privilege of honorary membership may be extended to an individual who has rendered outstanding service to education; such members to have all privileges of this Association except the right to vote and hold office.
Section 7. There shall be two types of life membership, (a) paid life membership, (b) honorary life membership.
(a) Paid Life Membership-All persons eligible for active membership shall be eligible for paid life membership upon the advance payment of a sum equivalent to ten (10) times the amount of the current annual dues as stipulated in Section 4. Said payment shall be made in not to exceed (3) annual installments. A paid life member shall be entitled to all privileges of the active membership as long as the requirements set out in Section 2 are met.
(b) Honorary Life Membership-With the approval of the Executive Committee a member in good standing at the time of retirement who has ten (10) years of membership in TASA and who has completed twenty-five (25) years of active service in the teaching profession may, upon retirement from positions listed in Article III, Sec. 2, be given an honorary life membership.
Section 8. College professors who are employed full-time in a college or university department of educational administration shall be eligible for active membership in the Association upon payment of one-half of the minimum annual membership fee established by the Executive Committee. Such members shall be entitled to all privileges of this Association except the right to hold office.
All persons who are currently enrolled in a college or university department of educational administration and who are not employed in a full-time administrative position other than a campus-level administrative position are eligible for student membership upon recommendation by the department chair. Such student members shall be entitled to receive all mailings and publications of the Association, and such other services as may be authorized by the Executive Committee by paying the annual membership fee established by the Executive Committee, but shall not have the right to vote or hold office.
Section 9. All persons who are interested in the improvement of administrative practices in the schools of the state may become a sustaining member of this association but shall not have the right to vote or hold office. The dues of the Association for Sustaining Membership shall be $100 annually.
Section 10. The date and place of the annual meeting and any additional meetings shall be determined by the Board of Directors, which shall be the Executive Committee of the Association, and is hereinafter called the “Executive Committee.”
Article IV. Officers and Election
Section 1. The officers of this Association shall consist of a president, president-elect, immediate past president, vice-president, and an executive director.
All officers except the executive director shall serve for a term of one year and may not succeed themselves. The term shall begin June 1 and end May 31.
Section 2. Nomination and election of President-elect.
(a) Each nomination for office of president-elect shall be supported by no fewer than fifty-five signatures of members of the Texas Association of School Administrators, provided that no fewer than five signatures of said members shall come from each of the majority of the Education Service Center Regions. Petitions shall be in the hands of the Executive Director not later than March 1.
(b) Announcements of nomination for the office of president-elect of the Texas Association of School Administrators shall be published in the April issue of the Texas School Administrator and each member shall receive written notice of such nomination.
(c) Each member shall receive an official ballot, no later than April 22. The member shall mark and return the ballot to the Executive Director postmarked not later than May 2.
(d) An election committee, appointed by the president, shall canvass the votes and tabulate the results. The nominee receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected provided this total be not less than 35 percent of votes cast, or in a tie vote, the Executive Committee will elect a president-elect from the certified nominees.
(e) If only one nomination for the office of president-elect is received in accordance with the provisions of this section an official ballot is not required to be mailed to each member and the nominee for president-elect shall be duly elected.”
(f) Provided further that if no nominations for President-elect are received by the Executive Director as provided in subsection (a), a President-elect shall be chosen by vote of the qualified electors present at the business meeting of the Association during the annual convention.
Nominations for president-elect will be from the floor and may be made by any administrator whose dues are paid for the current year.
Each member presenting a nomination must state that the nominee is a paid-up member of the Association for the current year and that permission has been secured from the proposed nominee to offer the nominee’s name as candidate for President-elect.
If there are three or more candidates and one does not receive a majority of the votes cast, a second ballot shall be cast listing the names of the two candidates with the greatest number of first ballot votes.
Section 3. The election of vice-president.
The vice-president shall be elected by the Executive Committee each year at a meeting prior to May 31.
Section 4. The Executive Director shall be elected by the Executive Committee for a period of one, two, or three years at the discretion of the Committee. The contract term shall coincide with the fiscal year of the Association.
Section 5. Vacancies.
(a) In the event of a vacancy in the office of president, the vice-president will complete the unexpired term.
(b) In the event of a vacancy in the office of both president and vice-president, the Executive Committee shall fill the office of president for the unexpired term.
(c) In the event of a vacancy in the office of president-elect, a special election will be held to fill the vacancy, using the same procedure as in the original election for said office.
Section 6. The Executive Committee.
(a) The Executive Committee shall consist of the president, vice-president, president-elect, immediate past president, one member from each of the twenty education service center regions, the chairperson of the Legislative Committee, Advocacy Committee, the Member Engagement Committee, the Professional Learning Committee, and four at-large members. Each president shall appoint, subject to approval by the Executive Committee, two active members from underrepresented segments of the membership who shall serve in these at-large positions on the Executive Committee for a two-year term, beginning simultaneously with the president’s term.
(b) The chairpersons of the Advocacy Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Member Engagement Committee, and the Professional Learning Committee shall be appointed by the President to serve two-year terms as chairperson of the respective committees. The chairpersons’ terms shall be staggered as follows: (i) on or before June 1 of odd-numbered years the chairpersons of the Advocacy Committee and the Legislative Committee shall be appointed to serve a two-year term as committee chair, and (ii) on or before June 1 of even-numbered years the chairpersons of the Member Engagement Committee and the Professional Learning Committee shall be appointed to serve a two-year term as committee chair, provided however, for the year 2021 only, the chairpersons of the Member Engagement Committee and the Professional Learning Committee shall be appointed to serve a one-year term.
(c) Members of the Executive Committee elected from the Education Service Center Regions shall be elected prior to April 1 in accordance with procedures established by the Executive Committee. At the same time, the administrators shall elect a first alternate and a second alternate. Should the elected member of the Executive Committee move from the region or otherwise become ineligible to serve, this place would be taken by the first alternate. Should the first alternate not be able to fill the place, the second alternate would become a member of the Executive Committee. In the event a vacancy occurs in a region that has no duly elected alternate, such vacancy shall be filled by the Texas Association of School Administrators Executive Committee.
(d) Members of the Executive Committee elected from the Education Service Center Regions shall serve two-year terms with the even-numbered regions electing in even years and odd-numbered regions electing in odd years. A member of the Executive Committee shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms. Members so elected shall take office on June 1 following their elections. An at-large member of the Executive Committee appointed by the president shall not be eligible to serve consecutive at-large terms.
(e) The restriction imposed in paragraph (c) is not intended to apply to the president-elect.
Section 7. By action of the executive committee, a vacancy may be declared in the office of president, president-elect, or vice president if, at any time during the term, the officer serving in such capacity is not employed as a superintendent of schools or in another administrative capacity by a school district, other local or regional public education institution, college or university in the State of Texas, and is employed by a private business or corporation. A vacancy declared in accordance with this section shall be filled in the same manner that other vacancies in these positions are filled.
Article V. Duties of Officers
Section 2. The president-elect shall serve as an assistant to the president, shall preside and perform all duties of the president in case of the president’s absence, and shall perform any duties assigned by the president.
Section 3. The vice-president shall preside and perform all duties of the president-elect in case of the president-elect’s absence, and shall perform any duties assigned by the president.
Section 4. The executive director shall be responsible for a complete and accurate record of the proceedings for all meetings of the Association and all meetings of the Executive Committee. The executive director shall receive all monies due to the Association, make an annual financial report to the Association at its annual meetings, keep all funds of the Association deposited in a designated bank, pay out funds of the Association upon approval of the Executive Committee or president and perform such other duties as the Executive Committee may assign. The executive director shall be covered by such bond as may be required by the Executive Committee. At the expiration of the executive director’s term of office, all funds, books, and properties of the Association shall be turned over to the executive director’s successor in office.
Section 5. The Executive Committee shall authorize and/or approve the disbursements of funds of the Association. This committee shall consult with the president in arranging the program. It shall determine the date and place of all meetings of the Association. It shall authorize the appointment of special committees and shall determine the funds necessary to achieve the purposes so designated.
Article VI. Committees
Section 2. The president shall, with the approval of the Executive Committee, appoint:
(a) A committee of seven active Association members who shall be representatives of Colleges of Education from institutions of higher learning offering approved programs in superintendent preparation. The function of this committee shall be to develop recommendations to be submitted to the Executive Committee regarding areas of study, projects, programs, etc., that should be considered by the Association. The membership of the committee shall include three officers of the Texas Professors of Educational Administration (TPEA), and four other college professors.
(b) A President’s Cabinet made up of the president-elect, the vice-president, and the last three immediate past presidents of the association.
Article VII. Departments of TASA
No department may be created that duplicates an existing independent educational professional organization.
Section 2. A person, to be a member of a Department of TASA, must be a member of TASA, if eligible for active membership. If the officers of the department are not eligible for active membership, then the officers of the department must be associate members of TASA.
Section 3. The program of a Department of TASA must be in keeping with the purpose set forth in Article II.
Section 4. A department of TASA may have a constitution and organization pattern under which it operates. The constitution and by-laws shall be approved by the TASA Executive Committee.
Section 5. A department of TASA may have a dues structure for the department which shall be approved by the TASA Executive Committee.
Section 6. An Advisory Committee of five members shall be appointed by the president of each department to meet with the TASA Executive Committee at least once each year to suggest areas of study, projects, programs, etc., that should be considered by the Association.
Article VIII. Rules of Procedure
Article IX. Amendments
Article X. Effective Date
(Adopted originally September 20, 1965)
(Amended September 25, 1967)
(Amended March 11, 1971)
(Amended October 1, 1973)
(Amended January 8, 1975)
(Amended June 1, 1976)
(Amended May 12, 1978)
(Amended January 21, 1980)
(Amended January 17, 1984)
(Amended March 8, 1990)
(Amended July 12, 1992)
(Amended March 22, 1994)
(Amended January 25, 1998)
(Amended January 23, 2000)
The effective date of this constitution and bylaws as amended shall be April 29, 2021.
Election Procedures
TASA has procedures for the election of statewide officers and regional representatives.
Election of Officers & Regional Representatives
President-Elect. TASA members elect the president-elect in a statewide election each year.
Vice-President. The Executive Committee elects the vice-president each year prior to May 31.
One representative from each of the 20 regional education service centers is elected to serve a two-year term on the Executive Committee. The term begins June 1 and ends May 31.
Election Operating Procedures
Each nomination to the Executive Committee shall be supported by signatures of TASA members in the region, totaling a number equal to 15 percent of the active members in the region, but no less than five signatures. The required number shall be based on the total number of active members in the region at the end of the preceding membership year.
A petition may be initiated by the candidate or any TASA member in the region. Petitions shall be in the hands of the TASA executive director not later than February 15 of the year in which the election is to be held.
Each member presenting a nomination must state that the nominee is a paid-up member of the Association for the current year and that permission of the proposed nominee has been secured to offer his/her name as a candidate for election to the Executive Committee. Any active TASA member in the region, other than a paid staff member of the Association, is eligible to sign a petition on behalf of a nominee.
Upon validation of petitions by the TASA executive director, an electronic ballot shall be prepared and emailed from the TASA Executive Office not later than March 1 to each Active TASA member in the region. Each member shall cast their vote by the the date indicated on the ballot, which shall be no later than March 20.
If only one candidate is certified in the petition process, it is not necessary to conduct an election, and the TASA executive director shall notify each active member in the region of that candidate’s election to the Executive Committee.
If no candidate receives a majority, a second ballot will be conducted in the same manner as the first between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes.
Announcement of the election of the new Executive Committee members shall be placed in a TASA publication.
A member of the Executive Committee who is eligible to serve another term on the Committee is not required to submit a petition to be listed on the ballot, but must indicate in writing to the TASA executive director not later than February 15, his or her intent to be a candidate for re-election to the Committee.