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SCASP Constitution


Article I.  Name


Article II.  Purpose

  1. The purpose of the Association shall be to provide opportunities for professional interaction, dissemination of information, and workshops designed to maintain or improve the professional skills of the members. The Association shall meet this purpose, through research and education, by:
    1. serving the mental health and educational needs of all children and youth,
    2. encouraging and providing opportunities for the professional growth of individual members,
    3. informing the public about the services and practice of psychology in the schools, and
    4. advancing the standards of the profession of school psychology.
  2. The purpose shall be carried out in a non-partisan, non-sectarian manner with equal opportunity being given to all, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, or national origin.
  3. As a 501(c)(6) organization:
    1. the Association is an association of persons having some common business interest;
    2. the Association’s interest and purpose is to promote this common business interest;
    3. the Association is a membership organization and has a meaningful extent of membership support;
    4. the Association is not be organized for profit
    5. no part of the Association’s net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual;
    6. the Association’s activities are be directed to the improvement of business conditions of one or more lines of business as distinguished from the performance of particular services for individual persons
    7. the Association’s primary activity does not consist of performing particular services for individual persons; and
    8. the Association’s purpose is not be to engage in a regular business of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit, even if the business is operated on a cooperative basis or produces only sufficient income to be self-sustaining.


Article III.  Membership

  1. The Association shall be composed of the following categories of membership as defined in the By-Laws:  Full Member, Associate Member, Student Member, Retired Member, Patron Member, Honorary Life Member, Leave of Absence Member, and Common Address Members.
  2. Rights, privileges and responsibilities of Full Members, Associate members, Student Members, Retired members, Patron Members, Honorary Life members, Leave of Absence Members, and Common Address Members are delineated in the By-Laws.


Article IV.  Meetings and Elections


Article V.  Officers of the Board

  1. The Officers of the Board shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, six (6) Regional Delegates, and an immediate Past President.
  2. Terms shall be as follows:
    1. The President shall serve for two years and shall not succeed him/herself.  The President shall be elected by the voting membership.  Prior to taking office, the President shall serve two years as a President-Elect.  After leaving office, the President shall serve two years as Past President.
    2. The President-Elect, elected by the voting membership, shall serve for two years.
    3. The Secretary shall serve for two years.  Election shall be on alternate years from that of the Treasurer.
    4. The Treasurer shall serve for two years, elected during alternate years from that of the Secretary.
    5. The six (6) Regional Delegates will serve two years as elected by the Geographic Region they represent.
  3. Duties of the above officers are delineated in the Association’s Bylaws.


Article VI.  The Board

  1. The Board shall include not less than seven (7) officers, all to be elected by the voting membership with the exception of the six (6) Regional Delegates.  The officers of the Board will be composed of the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President, and six (6) Regional Delegates.  The six (6) Regional Delegate positions shall be filled by representatives of Geographic Regions as described in the Bylaws.  The elected officers of the Board shall be the only board members with voting rights.
    1. All officers of this Board shall be Full Members in good standing of SCASP.  A simple majority of the officers shall be required in order to conduct business.
    2. The officers of the Board shall have and exercise the general direction, control, and management of the activities and business of the Association.
    3. The officers of the Board may exercise discretion to appoint ex-officio members to serve on the Board without voting rights.  Such appointments shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the officers of the Board.
    4. For duties of the officers of the Board, refer to the Bylaws.
    5. If an officer of the Board is deemed unfit for service due to medical incapacitation, ethical violations, or criminal misconduct, a referral may be made to the Professional Standards Committee who will make a recommendation to the officers of the Board pertaining to sanctions or removal from office.  An officer of the Board may be removed from office by a majority vote of the officers of the Board.
    6. If a vacancy occurs in the Office of the President, the President-Elect shall serve as Acting President at the beginning of the new term.  If a vacancy occurs in the offices of President-Elect, Secretary, or Treasurer, the position shall be filled by appointment of the officers of the Board to serve only until the end of the current term of office or until replaced by a duly elected successor.  In the case of the office of President-Elect, a vacancy would result in the election of both a President and President-Elect at the next scheduled election.  If a vacancy occurs in the office of Regional Delegate, the Geographic Region from which that Regional Delegate was elected shall select a replacement to serve the remainder of the term.
  2. The standing committees and standing ex-officio members of the Board shall consist of the Membership Committee, the Professional Standards Committee, the Research Committee, the Program Committee, the Nominations Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Public Relation/Public Information Committee, the Newsletter Committee, the Children’s Services Committee (which shall have co-chairs), the Student Representative Committee, the Technology Committee, the Finance Committee, the Scholarship Committee, and the Parliamentarian.
    1. All chairs of the committees and ex-officio members of the Board shall be appointed with the majority approval of the officers of the Board and will serve for a period of two years in staggered terms. Appointed board members do not having voting rights.
    2. Duties of the committee chairs and ex-officio members of the Board are specified in the Association’s Bylaws.
    3. Ad hoc committees may be established and their functions assigned by the President with affirmative approval by a majority of the officers of the Board.  At the time the committee is established, the purpose and length of service must be specified and a record of this submitted to the Secretary.


Article VII.  Executive Director

  1. The officers of the Board may employ a staff member to serve as the chief staff officer of the Association.  The chief staff officer may be given the title of Executive Director of the Association or another title chosen by the officers of the Board.  The Executive Director shall be charged with the conduct of the administrative activities of the Association.  The Executive Director’s initial and continuing employment will be based on a job description which will include a statement of qualifications and sufficient description of duties to allow for adequate evaluation.  The chief staff officer shall have a written employment agreement with the Association.
  2. The performance of the Executive Director shall be evaluated annually in accord with procedures established by the officers of the Board.


Article VIII.  Dues and Assessments


Article IX.  Proposed Amendments

  1. Initiation of Proposed Amendment:
    1. A proposed amendment to the constitution may be presented to the membership for consideration by the officers of the Board, or
    2. A petition may be presented to the officers of the Board stating the proposed amendment and signed by 10 percent (10%) of the voting membership in good standing.  Upon verification of the validity of the signatures, the Board shall include the amendment on the agenda of a regular meeting of the Association.
  2. Procedures for Adoption of Proposed Amendments:
    1. When an amendment has been initiated in accordance with the provisions of Article IX, Section 1, the officers of the Board shall announce its inclusion on the agenda of the next regular meeting and distribute a copy of the proposal to each member in good standing.  This announcement and distribution must be accomplished at least one (1) month before the date of the next regular meeting.  When this is not possible, the proposed amendment should be scheduled for consideration at the first regular meeting when this condition can be met.
    2. The Constitution may be amended, following compliance with Article IX, Section 1.A. or 1.B. and Section 2.A. by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at a regular business meeting.


Article X.  Affiliation

  1. With the approval of the officers of the Board this Association may affiliate with other non-profit organizations of similar purpose.
  2. SCASP representatives to affiliate organizations may be appointed by the President to the Board as ex-officio members to a term of one year.  They may be re-appointed as long as they remain members of the affiliate organization.
  3. Representatives shall serve as a liaison between the South Carolina Association of School psychologists and affiliated organizations.  They shall serve as official spokespersons of the South Carolina Association of School Psychologists to said organizations and represent the point of view of the membership on issues when action by the membership or the Board so directs.


Article XI.  Balloting by Mail/ e-mail/fax

  1. For the purpose of determining the consensus of the membership in respect to items of business which cannot conveniently or expediently be delayed until the next regular meeting, or to allow electoral participation to those persons who may not be able to attend a regularly scheduled meeting, the Board or the President may, when in compliance with the provisions of this section, publish and distribute ballots to the membership.
    1. Such ballots shall include the known information pro and     cons concerning the business being proposed.
    2. The results of balloting shall be included in the minutes of the secretary.
    3. Ballots shall be mailed in a timely fashion before the closing date for their return.
  2. When the issue is a decision between two courses of action, a majority vote is necessary for passage; when there are three or more alternate choices, on choice must receive a majority of the vote for passage.  The vote will be computed on the basis of those responding.


Article XII.  Constitutional Revision

  1. Consideration of the revision of the Constitution shall be mandatory every five (5) years.
  2. A committee shall be appointed by the President to study the Constitution for the purpose of determining whether or not revision is necessary or advisable.  If the study reveals no necessity for revision, this fact shall be reported to the membership for their concurrence.  Should revision seem necessary, the committee shall prepare the revision and submit it to the officers of the Board.  The Board shall then proceed in accordance with the provisions of Article IX, Section 2.


Article XIII.  Parliamentary Procedures


Article XIV.  Dissolution