Constitution
Article 1 – Name
Section 1
The official name of the organization shall be known as Oklahoma Association on Higher Education and Disability (OK-AHEAD).
Section 2
This is a professional career and occupational education association.
Section 3
The Association shall be nationally affiliated with the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).
Article 2 – Purpose
Section 1
The purpose of the association shall be to further full participation for individuals with disabilities in Oklahoma post-secondary education through collaboration and information dissemination, advocacy, professional and policy development, and research.
Article 3 – Membership
Section 1
A member in good standing is a person who expresses an interest in the general aims and purposes of the association. Such persons may be engaged in the administration or provision of services to persons or students with disabilities in a post-secondary setting. A member in good standing will pay dues to the association. The four types of membership shall include Institutional, Professional, Associate, and Affiliate.
Section 2 – Rights and Privileges
Members in good standing shall be entitled to attend meetings of the association, be eligible to serve on committees, and shall have voting privileges.
Section 3
Members who join the association as professional members shall be entitled to continue their professional membership regardless of a change in employment and/or responsibility.
Article 4 – Administration
Section 1 – Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall be elected by the membership to serve as a policymaking body and be responsible for carrying out the affairs of the association. It shall be empowered to do all the things necessary for conducting the affairs of the association consistent with the constitution and bylaws, except those sections specifically reserved for the membership or officers as stated in the Constitution or Bylaws.
Section 2 – Board Make Up
As noted in Amendment II, the board is as follows:
A. The elected officers: president, vice president/president-elect, secretary, and treasurer (voting);
B. Two representatives from two-year colleges (voting)
C. Two representatives from four-year colleges (voting)
D. Two representatives from career technology centers (voting)
E. Three associate members with the purposeful intent to include representation from K-12, vocational rehabilitation, and/or community agencies (voting)
F. One affiliate member (non-voting)
The Board will have 14 members. The increase in associate member representation reflects on amended membership designations. The immediate past president will no longer be needed due to adjustments to terms of office. Those adjustments are:
The terms of both President and Vice President/President-Elect will run for 2 years. All other positions terms will run for 1 year.
Section 3 – Officers
The officers of the association shall be president, vice president/president-elect, treasurer, and secretary.
Article 5 – Nominations of Officers and Board Members
Section 1
The nominations committee shall be comprised of the vice president/president-elect plus at least two other members in good standing. The vice president/president-elect shall serve as chair of the committee.
Section 2
The nominations committee is responsible for preparing a slate of candidates for the elected officials to be voted upon by the general membership at the annual spring conference.
Section 3
The nominations committee shall solicit names of prospective candidates from the membership. The committee shall confirm that each perspective candidate is a member in good standing and accepts the nomination.
Section 4
The nominations committee shall prepare a ballot with the names of those persons nominated. At least one candidate shall be nominated for each position of the Board.
Article 6 – Elections
Section 1
The election of officers and board members shall be conducted in the business meeting at the annual spring conference.
Section 2
The nominations committee chair shall be responsible for conducting the annual elections.
Section 3
The election shall be by secret ballot.
Section 4
The nominating committee shall act as tellers and tally the votes. The results shall be announced to the membership at the conclusion of the elections.
Section 5
Candidates must receive a simple majority of the ballots to be elected.
Section 6
If no candidate for a given office receives a simple majority of the votes cast, the nominations committee chair shall open the floor for additional nominations for that position. Upon closing nominations, an election shall be conducted for that position until a candidate receives a simple majority.
Article 7 – Filling Vacancies
Section 1 - President or Vice President/President-Elect.
In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of president, the vice president/president-elect shall assume the office and serve the balance of the term in the next term. In all cases where the president is temporarily unable to serve for a period of 90 days, the vice president/president-elect will temporarily assume the office until the president can assume the responsibilities again. If the position of the vice president/president-elect becomes vacant, the president shall appoint a member in good standing to fill the vacancy. Such appointments are subject to approval by the Board. If the vice president/president-elect is serving temporarily as president, the vacancy in the vice president/president-elect shall not be filled.
Section 2 – Secretary or Treasurer
The vacancies in the positions of secretary or treasurer will be filled by the Board.
Section 3 – Immediate Past-President
This section is no longer necessary due to the elimination of the immediate past president position.
Section 4 – Board Member
A vacancy in the position of board member shall be filled by appointment by the president and subject to approval by the Board.
Section 5
All members appointed to fill vacant positions on the board shall serve through the unexpired term of the position except in the position of the president, ref., Section 1 of this Article.
Article 8 – Bylaws
To implement this constitution, the membership shall adopt bylaws consistent with this constitution.
Article 9 – Amendments
Section 1
Amendments to the constitution or bylaws may be made by members in good standing presenting a written proposal to the Board. The Board must approve such proposed amendments before presenting them to the membership for adoption. The approved proposed amendment shall be presented to the membership to be voted upon.
Section 2
Such proposed amendment shall be presented in writing to the membership at least 30 days before the vote is taken.
Section 3
An amendment shall be ratified by 2/3 majority vote in favor by the membership in attendance at the business meeting of the annual spring conference or 2/3 majority vote in favor on ballots returned to that were mailed to the total membership.
Section 4
The vice president/president-elect shall conduct the election. It shall be conducted in the same manner prescribed in Article 5. If the ballots is by mail, but chair of the nominations committee shall convene the nominations committee on or as soon after the date stipulated on the ballots for return as practical and tally the votes. The results shall be announced at the next annual meeting or the next meeting of the Board, whichever comes first. If announced at the next Board meeting, the Board shall notify the membership of the results within 30 days after its meeting.
Section 5
The effective date of the amendment shall be the date of the conclusion of the business meeting of the annual spring conference in which the amendment was passed by the membership or the mailing date of the notification of passage of the amendment by the Board, unless otherwise stipulated in the amendment.
Article 10 – Miscellaneous
Section 1 – Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order-Revised shall be used to conduct meetings to the Board, the membership committee, and committees of the association when they are not in conflict with the constitution and bylaws at the unit.
Amendments to the Constitution
Amendment 1
Article 3, Section 1 initially stated:
“A member in good standing is a person who expresses an interest in the general aims and purposes of the association…The four types of membership shall include institutional, professional, associate, and affiliate.”
This amendment, approved by the Board and passed by majority vote from the current membership March 30, 2006, changes the 4 types of membership and their description.
Article 3, Section 1 now states:
A member in good standing is a person who expresses an interest in the general aims and purposes of the association. Such persons may be engaged in the administration of provision of services to persons or students with disabilities in a post-secondary setting. A member in good standing will pay dues to the association. The four types of membership shall include Institutional I and II, Association, and Affiliate.
Below are the new descriptions of each type of membership offered:
INSTITUTIONAL I
Open to those persons engaged in the administration of provision of services to persons enhancing post-secondary educational opportunities for students with disabilities. This membership is for 1-3 persons who are employed on a single or multiple campus setting.
INSTITUTIONAL II
Open to those persons engaged in the administration of provision of services to persons enhancing post-secondary educational opportunities for students with disabilities. This membership is for 4-8 persons who are employed on a single or multiple campus setting.
ASSOCIATE
Open to individuals working in any arena related to services for individuals with disabilities.
AFFILIATE
Open to students (with or without disabilities) in training to become professionals or advocates in arenas serving individuals with disabilities and those who have retired from the disability services fields.
Amendment II
Article 4, Section 2 previously stated the Board would consist of the following:
A. The elected officers: president, vice president/president-elect, secretary, and treasurer;
B. Two representatives from two-year colleges
C. Two representatives from four-year colleges
D. Two representatives from career technology centers
E. One associate member
F. One affiliate member
G. The immediate past president
The Board’s proposal to revise the Board make up and clarify the duties and terms in office was approved by the membership November 3, 2006. Revised Board make up is as follows:
A. The elected officers: president, vice president/president-elect, secretary, and treasurer (voting);
B. Two representatives from two-year colleges (voting)
C. Two representatives from four-year colleges (voting)
D. Two representatives from career technology centers (voting)
E. Three associate members with the purposeful intent to include representation from K-12, vocational rehabilitation, and/or community agencies (voting)
F. One affiliate member (non-voting)
The Board will have 14 members. The increase in associate member representation reflects on amended membership designations. The immediate past president will no longer be needed due to adjustments to terms of office. Those adjustments are:
The terms of both President and Vice President/President-Elect will run for 2 years. All other positions terms will run for 1 year.
ARTICLE 5, Section 1 states the “nominations committee shall be comprised of the immediate past president…” who “shall serve as chair of the committee.” All duties of the immediate past president will be transferred to the vice president/president-elect with Board changes come into effect.
ARTICLE 7, Section 3 will no longer be necessary due to the elimination of the immediate past president position.
ARTICLE 9, Section 4 states the officer who conducts the election to ratify amendments to the constitution will be the immediate past president. This responsibility will be transferred to the vice president/president elect when Board changes come into effect.
The changes to Board, terms of office, and new duties for the vice president/president-elect will take place at the implementation of the new Board during the Spring Conference.