revised April 12, 2012

Article I: Name of Organization

The name of this organization shall be the Journalism Education Association.

Article II: Purpose of the Organization

The Journalism Education Association exists to protect and enhance scholastic journalism education.

Article III: Membership

Section 1: Eligibility

JEA shall have both individual (teacher/adviser, associate, college student) and organizational (institutional and affiliate) memberships.
a. Teacher/adviser members shall be (1) media advisers and educators of public, private and parochial schools, community colleges, schools or departments of journalism in universities or teachers’ colleges; (2) emeritus teachers/advisers unless their primary employment involves sales and services to schools. (3) lifetime members.
b. Associate members shall be professionals involved in scholastic journalism not otherwise defined in this section.
c. College student members shall be majoring or minoring in journalism, education or related fields.
d. Institutional members shall be (1) all public and private libraries; (2) departments of journalism in secondary schools, colleges and universities; (3) commercial press associations, book, yearbook, magazine or newspaper publishers; (4) all firms, organizations and agencies engaged in the development or sales of software, graphic arts, advertising or media production; (5) other professional media; (6) educational or philanthropic foundations.
e. Affiliate members shall be state, regional or national scholastic press or adviser associations or student collegiate chapters.

Section 2: Dues

The board of directors, by a majority vote, shall have the authority to set annual dues for each membership category. Non-payment of dues or other charges may be grounds for suspension of any member. Membership covers one calendar year from the month dues are received.

Article IV: Board of Directors

Voting members of the board of directors shall consist of the president, the vice president, the secretary, the immediate past president, regional directors and commission chairs.

Section 1: Officers

Officers of the association shall consist of the president, the vice president, the secretary, immediate past president and the executive director.
a. The president shall preside at all meetings and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the board of directors are put into effect. The president shall supervise headquarters staff and the board of directors in the implementation of general policies.
b. The vice president shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned by the president and/or the board of directors. In the absence or disability of the president, the vice president shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the president.
c. The secretary shall keep an accurate record of all regular general information and board meetings and shall perform such additional duties as are incident to the office and any other duties which the president and/or board of directors may assign. In the absence or disability of both the president and vice president, the secretary shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the president.
d. The immediate past president shall serve as a parliamentarian to the association’s board of directors and as convention coordinator with the executive director.
e. The executive director shall be the association’s chief administrative officer. The executive director shall have powers and perform duties assigned by the president and/or the board of directors.

Section 2: Commissioners

It is the duty of the commissioners to carry out the programs and projects of the organization under the direction of the president.

Commissions may be initiated or terminated by action of the board of directors by a two-thirds majority of voting members of the board.

Section 3: Regional Directors

It is the duty of the regional directors to carry out the programs and projects of the organization under the direction of the vice president.

Article V: Elections, Appointments and Removals

Section 1: Elections

The president, vice president, secretary, commissioners, and regional directors shall be elected to three-year terms and shall serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same capacity. After two consecutive terms, the individual may run again for a different office or for the same office again after one term. Appointed positions are three-year commitments, but with no term limits. The general membership shall elect the officers, except for the executive director, and commissions members of each region shall elect their respective regional directors.

To qualify for an office, a candidate must be a teacher/adviser member in good standing and be proposed by the nominations committee or be placed in nomination by any voting member at the general membership meeting when the slate is offered. Candidates for president must be on the board in an elected or appointed position. Terms of office will begin May 1 of each election year.

Voting members are teachers/advisers as defined in Article III, Section 1, current as of Jan. 15 of the election year. The election will take place over a 10-day period in February.

Section 2: Office Vacancies

In case of death or resignation, inability to perform the functions of a board member, or disqualification from the board, the president shall appoint a new board member. The appointment of the board member-designate shall be of such length as to fill the remainder of the unfulfilled board term. Should the office of the president be vacated by death, resignation, removal or otherwise, the vice president shall assume the position unless he/she is unable to do so then the secretary shall do so.

A member of the board of directors may step down at any time with a written letter of resignation to the president.

Section 3: Removal from Office

All officers, commissioners and regional directors of the association may be removed or suspended for cause at any time by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors. Appointees of the president may be removed by him or her at any time or by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors.

Article VI Meetings

Section 1: Board Meetings

The board shall meet at least twice annually at such time and place as designated by the board. A quorum for the board of directors shall consist of a simple majority of the board.
a. The board will give 72-hour notice of any meeting.

Section 2: General Membership Meetings

a. A general membership meeting shall be held at all national conventions and is open to all.
b. All regular JEA members attending a general membership meeting shall each have one vote. A vote may be called for by the president either by voice, show of hands or ballot except on any non-budgetary items. Budgetary motions made at the general membership meeting must be approved by the board of directors.

Section 3: Virtual Meetings

The board may conduct virtual meetings. The president will determine the length and manner of virtual meetings. Asynchronous virtual meetings may be called only by the president, who will establish rules concerning the time and manner of the discussion and voting. The board will discuss the motion for the predetermined and limited length of time, after which the motion cannot be amended. Motions introduced at asynchronous virtual meetings can be passed only with approval of two-thirds of the board.

Article VII: Committees, Editors and Liaisons

Terms of office for all the following commence May 1 of each election year. They are appointed and can be removed by the president for due cause.

Section 1: Standing Committees

Standing committees shall be Awards, Nominations, Write-offs, Executive, Digital Media, Mentoring and Professional Learning Community. Standing committee chairs are appointed by and responsible to the president. The president shall select the committee chair and may select committee members or delegate the responsibility to the chair.

Section 2: Special Committees

Special committees may be appointed by the president and do not require approval of the board of directors. Such committees shall be directly responsible to the president or his or her designee. The president shall select the committee chair and may select committee members or delegate the responsibility to the chair. Subcommittees may be appointed by any board member and shall be directly responsible to that board member and do not require board approval.

Section 3: Liaisons

Liaisons may be appointed by the president to create a link between JEA and other organizations. Such liaisons shall be directly responsible to the president and do not require approval of the board of directors.

Section 4: Editors

Editors of JEA publications shall be appointed by and directly responsible to the president. Editors, upon the discretion of the president, may serve more than one term and may be removed from the publication for cause by the president pending approval by the board of directors.

Article VIII: State Directors

Section 1: Qualifications

State directors must be teacher/adviser JEA members. Each state and the District of Columbia will have one state director. They shall be elected by JEA members of the state organization, appointed by the state organization or appointed by the regional director. He or she must be confirmed by the vice president. If a regional director is unable or fails to select a state director, the vice president will appoint a director.

Section 2: Removal from Office

State directors may be removed from office upon the request of the regional director and subject to the approval of the vice president. A state director must be notified by the regional director of his or her removal.

Article IX: Rules of Order

The president shall be allowed to speak to and vote on all motions. All other rules shall be those contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, most recent copyrighted edition.

Article X: Bylaw Amendment

These bylaws may be amended or new bylaws may be adopted by a majority vote of the board of directors at any meeting. A 10-day notice must be given to the board of specifically worded changes desired, unless the vote by the board is unanimous to approve a change. No action shall be taken that would in any way adversely affect the association’s qualifications under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or any successor thereto.