Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders

Article I

NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders, a division of the Florida Association of Instructional Supervisors and Administrators (FAISA).

Article II

PURPOSE

It is the purpose of the Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders to:
A. Share and promote the effective use of technology in the instructional process.

B. Promote cooperation and communication among the district and state leaders
who impact technology use in education.

C. Support technology pre-service and in-service professional development and
accountability; and

D. Positively influence legislation and policies regarding technology funding and
decisions on implementation.

Article III

MEMBERSHIP

A. Membership shall be open to Florida personnel with instructional technology
responsibilities in the areas listed below and to other educators, in the areas listed
below, who are supportive of the purposes of FCITL.
• Personnel from a public school district who have district-wide
responsibilities
• DOE personnel
• Private school personnel
• Post secondary personnel
• Persons retired from any of the preceding positions
• Personnel from an organization with a public school district as a fiscal
agent
• Education consortia personnel

B. Membership for personnel from a 501(c) 3 organization will be allowed with
Board approval.

C. Former FCITL members who, in their current position, can do business and
realize financial gain working with districts are subject to annual review by the
Board before being declared eligible for FCITL membership. Retired FCITL
members, who retired in or prior to September 1999, and had retained
membership through September 1999, can continue to qualify for membership
regardless of future employment status.

D. If a member changes status, during a membership year, so that they no longer
meet the definition of those positions qualifying for membership, they may
complete the membership year for which their dues have been paid, but will not
qualify for rejoining unless their status changes to a qualifying role.

Article IV

Voting

Each Florida, public school, K-12 district will have one vote. Each district shall
designate the FCITL member from their district that shall be the voting member.
Districts shall decide how best to exercise their vote. (Ex. - attending members
from a district may caucus for consensus, with the voting member casting a vote)
In the event a district is unable to name a voting member, the President and/or
the Board may disqualify that district from casting its vote at the meeting in
question.

Article V

BOARD

A. The Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders shall be governed by a
Board of twelve members, each being the member designated by their district as
the voting member. A voting member of FCITL may only fill the offices of
President and President Elect. Regular members may become members of the
Board and hold all other offices and will be entitled to vote solely at the Board
meetings. No more than two members of the Board will come from regular
membership. The President shall not vote at a Board meeting or general
membership meeting except in the case of a tie.

If an individual, serving on the Board as a voting member, changes their status as
the voting member from their district, they shall no longer be a member of the
Board and the president shall appointment a replacement to complete their term,
with the approval of the Board. If such a vacancy occurs while an individual was
serving a multi-year term, the position will be filled by ballot at the next,
regularly scheduled voting meeting of the general membership for the next, full
year portion of the position term remaining.

1. Officers shall be elected by the general membership. The President Elect
shall succeed the President in office the year following his/her election.
Terms shall be for one year and will run from one Florida Educational
Technology Conference to the next. In the event the president becomes
ineligible or resigns from office, the immediate, past president will take office
for the remainder of the term. If the immediate, past president declines to
assume this responsibility, the president-elect will assume the office of
president and will fulfill the president’s term and then their term.
2. Board members shall be elected by the general membership for two-year
terms. Four Board members shall be elected each year. All terms will run
from one Florida Educational Technology Conference to the next.
3. With the approval of the Board, the President may appoint a Parliamentarian,
Historian, and Newsletter Editor who may be selected from among the general
membership and who will serve one-year terms as ex-officio members of the
Board. The immediate past President shall serve on the Board for one year.
4. At the discretion of the Board, representative(s) from the Department of
Education, other state computing or educational organization(s) with similar
interests may be invited to serve as ex-officio, non-voting members of the
Board.

B. Election/Induction of Officers/Board Members
1. Elections shall be held at the annual meeting or may be conducted, preceding the annual meeting, by mail or e-mail ballot, as determined by the Board.
2. Installation of officers/Board members shall take place at the annual meeting.
C. Removal of Officers/Board Members
1. Officers or Board members may be removed from office by a 2/3rds vote of the Board members present at any meeting of the Board.
2. A quorum of the Board must be present in order for such a vote to take place.
D. The duties of the President, President Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Past President, Parliamentarian, Historian, Newsletter Editor shall be as follows.

1. President. The President shall be elected by the general voting membership at the annual meeting. It will be the duty of the President to:
a. Call and preside over all general meetings of the organization.
b. Call and preside over meetings of the Board.
c. Carry out the expressed wishes of the organization.
d. Represent the membership in person and/or in writing at Legislative hearings, Department of Education committee meetings, and such other activities deemed to be appropriate for the attention of the organization.
At the discretion of the President, the President Elect, other officer or Board member may represent the organization at these functions. Such representation shall be done only after ideas and concepts have been shared with and approved by the majority of the members of the Board. This may be done through voice or electronic mail.
e. Cast the deciding vote in case of a tie at either Board or general membership meetings.
f. Make any necessary appointments.
g. Assist the President Elect and Treasurer in the preparation of a budget for the following year.
h. Serve as Past President the following year.

2. President Elect. The President Elect shall be elected by the general voting membership at the annual meeting. It will be the duty of the President Elect to:
a. Act in the absence of the President and act for the President when requested to do so by him/her.
b. Serve as a voting member of the Board.
c. Serve as ex-officio of every committee if requested by the President.
d. Become the President the following year.
e. Prepare a budget for his /her term in office in cooperation with the current
President and Treasurer.
f. At the discretion of the President, represent the membership at Legislative hearings, Department of Education committee meetings, and such other activities deemed to be appropriate for the attention of the organization.

3. Secretary. The Secretary shall be elected by the general voting membership at the annual meeting. The duties of the Secretary are:
a. To record the proceedings of all meetings of the organization and the Board and prepare written minutes of such proceedings for dissemination.
b. Serve as a voting member of the Board.
c. Keep the records in a manner acceptable to the Board.
d. Upon receipt of notification by the Board or President, inform all
candidates for elective office in writing of the results of these elections.

4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be elected by the general voting membership at the annual meeting. It will be the duty of the Treasurer to:
a. Receive and keep account of all funds.
b. Serve as a voting member of the Board.
c. Prepare Treasurer's Annual Report for distribution at the annual meeting.
d. Disburse funds when duly authorized by the President or Board of the organization.
e. Prepare a proposed budget in cooperation with the President and President Elect for the next year following his/her term of service.
f. Prepare all necessary documents as mandated by law.
g. Pass books on to the next Treasurer.
h. Submit to audit when requested by the Board.

5. Past President. It will be the duty of the Past President to:
a. Serve as a voting member of the Board.
b. Assist the new President with the transition of duties and projects as requested.

6. Parliamentarian. (If appointed.) It will be the duty of the Parliamentarian to:
a. Serve as the parliamentary authority at all meetings.
b. Use Robert's Rules of Order to resolve issues.

7. Historian. (If appointed.) It will be the duty of the Historian to:
a. Keep the history of the organization.
b. Keep samples of important articles of information.

8. Newsletter Editor. (If appointed.) It shall be the duty of the Newsletter Editor to:
a. Publish a newsletter four times per year.
b. Disseminate information to the membership as directed by the President.

Article VI

BOARD DUTIES

It will be the duty of the Board to control and manage the affairs and funds of the
organization in accordance with the desires of the members of the organization as
expressed in their general meetings. Among these are:
1. Fill all elected and appointed vacancies that may occur between the annual meetings that are held in conjunction with FETC at which officers and Board members are inducted.
2. Authorize expenditures.
3. Appoint ad hoc committees to study and report on issues affecting instructional technology in Florida.
4. Appoint a nominating committee, for all elected positions, prior to the annual meeting each year.
5. Report all of its actions to the general membership.
6. Conduct Board communications, including voting on necessary By-laws and Board actions via voice, mail or email communications or during regular meetings or special meetings called for such a purpose.
7. Quorum: A majority of the voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum except when voting on By-laws changes, which would then require 2/3rds of the voting members.

Article VII

MEETINGS

There will be a minimum of two and up to three regular meetings of the general membership each year. A meeting of the Board shall precede each meeting.
1. The annual meeting shall be held in conjunction with the Florida Educational Technology Conference. Elections shall be held at the annual meeting. Installation of officers shall take place at the end of the annual meeting.
2. Up to two additional meetings will be scheduled, on an annual basis, by theBoard.
3. In case of need or desirability, the President may, with the advice and consent of the Board, call special meetings of the organization.
4. All members shall be notified, at least thirty (30) days in advance, of the dates of all meetings.

Article VIII

COMMITTEES

All committees will be ad hoc in accordance with the needs of the organization. With the approval of the Board, the President shall appoint the committee chairs. The chairs will appoint the committee members with input from the President.

Article IX

DUES

The Membership year shall be from one Florida Educational Technology Conference to the next. Annual dues of the Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders shall be established in the By-laws.

Article X

DISSOLUTION

If at any time the organization will cease to carry out the purposes as herein stated, all assets and property held by it, whether in trust or otherwise, will, after the payment of its liabilities, be paid over to an organization selected by the "final Board of the Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders" which has similar purpose and has established its tax-exempt status under Section 501 (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as now enacted or as it may hereafter be amended, and such assets and property will be applied exclusively for such charitable, scientific, and educational programs.

Article XI

AMENDMENTS

A. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in either of two ways as follows:

1. By presenting the proposed amendment at a general meeting of the organization with the request that it be voted upon at the next general meeting, by mail or by e-mail, as determined by the Board.

2. By presenting the proposed amendment in writing at a meeting of the Board. If the Board deems the need sufficiently pressing, it may present the proposed amendment for vote at the next general business meeting, provided the proposed amendment has been sent to the members no less than thirty days prior to the proposed vote.

B. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of those present in either of the above cases provided there is a quorum. A quorum for voting by mail or e-mail shall be a majority of the voting members of the general membership. A quorum for the general and annual meetings shall be those members present provided proper announcement has been circulated to the membership. In the event a voting member is unable to attend a meeting at which an announced vote was to take place, voting by mail or e-mail (absentee ballot) will be permitted and that person will be counted as part of the quorum in attendance.

ARTICLE XII

BY-LAWS

A. The Board may provide such By-laws for the conduct of business and the carrying out of its purpose, as it may deem necessary from time to time.

B. Upon proper notice, the By-laws may be amended, altered, or rescinded by a 2/3rds vote of the members of the Board, with such voting taking place either via e- mail, mail or at any regular meetings or special meetings called for that purpose, as determined by the Board. Five days notice, in writing, by mail or e-mail, of proposed changes, shall be given.

Article XIII

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

All matters of procedure not specified in this Constitution will be governed by Robert's Rules of Order.

Article XIV

EFFECTIVE DATE

This Constitution will become effective immediately after being approved by a two-thirds majority vote at the spring meeting on May 12, 1994.

Adopted: May 12, 1994.
Amended February 27, 1997.
Amended November 4, 1999.
Amended January 21, 2004.
Amended January 26, 2005.