Question: Renewing your PTA Bylaws

I am new to the PTA Board. Our Bylaws have not been renewed since 2008. We have a committee. Do we need to send a copy of the bylaws to all of our members or just a note stating that at the next meeting we will be reviewing the bylaws?

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
The process recommended by the National PTA is this: Appoint a small committee to review the bylaws, gather information, and propose changes. (It sounds like you've already done that.) Give members 30 days notice of the proposed changes. (Typically they're reviewed at one meeting and voted on at the next.) A simple majority vote is then required to change the bylaws. If you don't give 30 days notice, you may change the bylaws with a two-thirds vote.

Community Advice

Parttimeparli writes:
Craig, PTAs require previous notice and 2/3rds affirmative vote to amend bylaws as they use Robert's Rules as their parliamentary authority. RROR p. 592 line 10.

Community Advice

mum24kids writes:
I think the advice on getting the members to vote may vary state by state so you want to make sure you check that section of your bylaws. However, to give the members the ability to vote with some intelligence, which is what I think you're trying to do, it's not necessary to physically send a full copy of the bylaws to every member. You can provide access by putting a full copy up on the website, or a list of all the changes. Or put a copy (or a few copies) of the proposed bylaws in the school office and notify people that it is there if they want to read it. If you want to announce a meeting to discuss the changes only, and not actually vote on them, you can do that as well. Any of those things should satisfy the notice requirement as long as they are done within the period specified in the bylaws (which in my state is 30 days).

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
Parttimeparli, good point on Robert's Rules. I was quoting from the National PTA site:

A bylaws change requires a two-thirds majority vote of the members present at the general meeting if 30-days’ notice of the change was not given, and a majority vote if 30-days’ notice was given.

http://www.pta.org/members/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2402