We are looking at revising our By-Laws also, and I was just reading through them with my President earlier today. Ours indicate that any changes have to be read in two consecutive meetings. I suspect everyone's By-Laws will be a little bit different, that's just what ours says.
Ours was similar - fairly vague except for an amount of notice. We made the bylaws available in advance and only discussed the changes and their impact during the meeting/vote.
unfortunately our bylaws state that only a 2 wk notice is to be given if bylaws are to be changed. Do you think that we must have a 1st and 2nd reading of the bylaws at the PTO meeting. Our bylaws are very informal and we are looking into becoming a 501 (c)3 organization. By biggest obstacle is the price for this and getting the parents and teachers on board.
More than likely though your Bylaws only touch, if at all, on what must be done to make Bylaw changes. There may be something in them that could be referenced, like "The Executive Officers have control", or something like that.
In that regard, my best recommendation would be to have the head of the Bylaw committee provide a copy to all members before the meeting and then only highlight the changes, and then take one vote on accepting them, after any discussions if needed.
What do current by-laws stipulate in terms of how amendments are to be made? If your by-laws are silent on the matter, you may wish to post your question on the forum at
The Official Robert's Rules Of Order Web Site
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