INTESOL Constitution

Article I. Name

The name of the Organization shall be the Indiana State Affiliate of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (INTESOL), an affiliate of TESOL, Inc.

Article II. Purpose

INTESOL is a non-profit organization whose purposes are:

• To promote the professional and educational development of the ESOL teacher within the State of Indiana;

• To encourage and improve the teaching of ESOL within the State of Indiana and strengthen research in this area;

• To collect and disseminate useful information about the teaching of ESOL and about new developments in this area and related fields in the State of Indiana and at the national and international levels;

• To provide opportunities for discussion and group study of problems confronting teachers of ESOL in Indiana;

• To promote and actively support programs in local communities (at all levels of instruction) that will improve the teaching of English to speakers of other languages;

• To establish and maintain contacts through affiliation with the national organization, TESOL, and other related organizations;

• To provide professional advice to governmental and private agencies engaged in the implementation of ESOL programs;

• To advocate the recognition of the specialized nature of the ESOL profession on the local, state, and national levels.

INTESOL is organized exclusively for educational purposes, including the making of distributions to an organization that qualifies as exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, INTESOL shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

All monies of INTESOL shall only be disbursed in the support of the purposes of this organization and shall not be disbursed to any member of the organization for his/her own private gain. Monies may be disbursed only with the authorization of the Treasurer of INTESOL with notification given to the Executive Board.

Upon the dissolution of the organization, the Executive Board shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all the liabilities of the organization, dispose of all of the assets of the organization exclusively for the purposes of the organization in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

Article III. Membership

Membership is open to anyone, without regard to race, creed, sex, religion, or national origins, who wishes to promote the purposes of this organization. All individual members in good standing shall be entitled to vote.

Article IV. Officers

The elected officers of this organization shall be: a President, a Vice President, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, an Executive Secretary, a Newsletter Editor, a K-12 Representative, an Adult Basic Education/Community-Based Programs Representative, a Higher Education/Intensive Institutions Representative, and a Student Representative. The officers shall perform duties as prescribed in the By-Laws.

Article V. Executive Board

The Executive Board shall consist of the elected officers and the immediate Past President.

Article VI. Meetings

Section 1. Frequent and regularly scheduled Executive Board meetings shall be held at such times and at such places as the Executive Board shall decide.

Section 2. An Annual Business Meeting shall be held at a time and place determined by the Executive Board.

Section 3. The President shall have the right to call special meetings for the general membership and/or for the Executive Board.

Section 4. Those members in good standing present at a regular meeting shall constitute a quorum for voting purposes. Decisions reached by members present at special meetings are subject to ratification by the Executive Board unless a quorum of two-thirds of the total active membership is present.

Article VII. Standing and Select Committees

Committees and their chairpersons shall be appointed by the President of the Organization with the approval of the Executive Board when such committees are needed.

Article VIII. Amendments

Proposed amendments must be submitted to the President in a petition signed by at least fifteen (15) members in good standing. Proposed amendments to this Constitution must be approved by a majority of the members of the Executive Board prior to their presentation to the general membership. Any such proposed amendment shall be distributed to all members of the Organization at least thirty (30) days before the proposed amendment is voted on by the general membership. To become effective, the proposed amendment must be ratified by at least a two-thirds majority of the ballots cast by the members in good standing present at an annual business meeting of the Organization, or by a majority of those members in good standing who respond to a poll by mail.

Article IX. Standard Authority

The rules in the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall govern the Organization in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with this Constitution.