ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Connecticut Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Inc.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

The purposes of this organization shall be:

a) to encourage the provision of and improvement in clinical services to the communicatively handicapped.

b) to advocate the rights of persons with communication disorders and promote the individual and collective professional interests of the Members of the Association.

1. c) to disseminate information regarding communication disorders and services available for the communicatively handicapped.

    

   d) to share scientific and clinical information to improve the quality of services and programs for the communicatively handicapped.

   e) to stimulate professional growth through continuing education.

   f) to encourage the monitoring and updating of standards for professional training.

   g) to promote consideration of methods for quality assurance to consumers of speech-language pathology and audiology services.

   h) to encourage research in the fields of speech-language pathology, audiology, and speech and hearing science.

   I) to promote the investigation and prevention of disorders of human communication.

   No profits shall proceed to any officer or member of the Association. In the event of dissolution, any assets remaining after payment of debts shall proceed to the State of Connecticut, or to an organization holding a valid tax-exempt permit issued by the State Tax Commission.

   ARTICLE III. DURATION

   The duration of this corporation is unlimited.

ARTICLE IV.  MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Classification

The membership of this Association shall consist of three classes: Active Members- Only Voting Members may hold office, chair committees, and vote.

Section 2. Eligibility

a) Active Members: Voting Members must hold (1) a graduate degree with major emphasis in speech-language pathology, audiology, or speech, language or hearing science or (2) a graduate degree and present evidence of active research, interest, and performance in the field of human communication. A person accepted as a Voting Member in CSHA shall continue to hold Voting Membership as long as the person maintains membership.

b) Student Members: Student members are full-time students in speech pathology, audiology or speech and hearing science or a related field.

d) Voting Members, Associates and Student Members agree to abide by ASHA’s Code of Ethics.
Section 3. Termination of Privileges

a) Any Voting Member, Professional Affiliate or Associate who violates the By-Laws or Code of Ethics of the Association may have his membership revoked by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Executive Board. Such persons may, upon recommendation of the Committee on Ethical Practices, be reinstated after one year by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Executive Board.

b) Any Voting Member, Professional Affiliate, or Associate whose dues are in arrears for four months shall be removed from membership of the Association. To obtain membership after that time the individual must meet membership requirements of the Association in effect at the time of reapplication.

ARTICLE V. MEETINGS

Section 1. Types

a) Regular – There shall be at least one regular meeting annually of the Association.

b) Special

1) Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the Executive Board.

2) The Executive Board shall call a special meeting for a given purpose upon the petition of twenty-five percent (25%) of the Voting Membership of the Association.

ARTICLE VI. NONDISCRIMINATION

The association shall not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender orientation or handicapping condition. All programs and activities of the Association shall be conducted in furtherance of this policy.

ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to these By-Laws may be initiated by the Executive Board or in written proposal to the Board by any ten (10) members. The By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Voting Members present at a Spring meeting of the Association, provided that Voting Members have been notified in writing one week in advance of the intention to present amendments and of the purpose and substance of the amendments proposed. If a quorum is not present, the amendment may be referred to the Voting Membership by mail, and an affirmative vote from two-thirds (2/3) of those members voting within twenty-one (21) days from the mailing of the ballots will be necessary for adoption.

ARTICLE VIII. REGULAR MEETINGS

The regular meeting of the Association shall be held in the spring. The date and place shall be determined by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE IX. OFFICERS

Section 1. Designation

Following are the elective officers: President, Vice President for Planning, Vice President for Educational Programs, Vice President for Governmental Affairs, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President for Public Information.

Section 2. Succession

All officers shall be elected one year prior to the assumption of their duties and shall be installed at the regular spring meeting. Officers-elect shall be nonvoting members of the Executive Board. In the event any current officer becomes incapacitated or resigns, the officer-elect shall immediately succeed to the office to complete the unexpired term as well as the term for which elected. In the event an office is vacated for which there is not a prescribed successor or if an office is left unfilled following a regular election; such vacancy shall be filled by Presidential appointment, with the approval of the Executive Board, for the interim period until the next regular election. If there is no President-elect, the Vice President for Planning shall assume the Presidency until the next regularly scheduled Presidential election. Each President shall serve as Past President, an ex-officio Board member, for one year following the completion of the last presidential term.

Section 3 Terms of Officers

a) All officers are elected to serve for two years.

b) The term of office of incumbents shall be extended to provide for any exigency requiring such extension.

Section 4. Elections
a) Nominations

1. Any Voting Member is eligible to become a candidate for an elective office.

2. The Vice President for Planning shall serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee, and may appoint additional Members to serve on the committee at his/her discretion. The Vice President for Planning, in consultation with the Nominating Committee and/or the Executive Board, shall have the ultimate responsibility as to the selection of candidates for each office, whose names appear on the ballot.

A call for suggestions for candidates to be nominated for the offices to be filled in any given year shall be made to the membership by E-mail, by Jan. 1 each year. Suggestions for nominations shall be returned to the Vice President for Planning by Jan. 31. An extension of this date can be authorized by the Executive Board if necessary.

3. The Vice President for Planning shall certify as to the eligibility and consent to serve if elected, of each candidate, prior to the placement of that person’s name on the ballot.

b) Ballot

(1) The final slate of nominations shall be presented by E-mail ballot to the Voting Members six (6) weeks prior to the date of the Spring meeting. Ballots must be returned to the Recording Secretary of the Association by return E-mail, three (3) weeks prior to the date of the Spring meeting.

(2) A majority of those voting is necessary for election to each office. If a tie for any office is the result of this balloting, notice shall be mailed to the Voting Membership at least eight (8) days prior to the Spring meeting notifying them of the tie vote(s) and informing them that a second balloting shall be held via E-mail prior to the Spring business meeting of the Association. Polls shall be open until 5 pm on the day before the Spring business meeting and the hours shall be stated in said notice. If a tie-vote again results, the election officials shall notify the President, who shall cast the vote to break the tie. The election results shall be announced at the Spring meeting.

(3) Immediately following the certification of the election results by the Recording Secretary, the Recording Secretary shall notify all nominees of election results for all offices. In addition, the Recording Secretary shall notify the current Officers-Elect of their assumption of duties.

(4) The President, Vice President for Planning, Vice President for Governmental Affairs, and Treasurer shall be elected in even-numbered years.

(5) The Vice President for Educational Programs, Recording Secretary, and Vice President for Public Information shall be elected in odd-numbered years.

ARTICLE X – ASHA ADVISORY COUNCILORS IN SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY
CSHA candidates for ASHA Advisory Councilors in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall be nominated by CSHA, as recommended by the Vice President for Planning, who shall certify the eligibility and consent to serve if elected, of each candidate for ASHA Advisory Council, prior to presenting the names to the Executive Board for approval. It shall be the responsibility of the Vice President for Planning to place the names of the CSHA slate for ASHA Advisory Council on the ASHA ballot each year, following approval for each nominee granted by the Executive Board.*
ASHA Legislative Councilors shall be elected in the manner prescribed in the By-Laws of ASHA. They may hold, concurrently, an elective office in CSHA provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

ARTICLE XI – POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

Section 1. Executive Board

The Executive Board shall make all decisions on expenditures.

The Executive Board shall make decisions regarding alleged breaches of ethics

Section 2. President

The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and the statutory agent of the corporation. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board; to call special meetings of the Executive Board or any of its committees; to appoint, with the approval of the Executive Board, all members of committees expect those otherwise specified; to appoint Executive Board members when seats are vacant, and to promote the interests and the purposes of the Association in all ways.

Section 3. Vice President for Planning

The Vice President for Planning shall serve as a liaison at large between the Executive Board and the Continuing Committees and shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President when necessary. The Vice President for Planning shall, in addition, serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee and may, at his/her discretion, appoint additional members to the Nominating Committee. It shall be the responsibility of the Vice President for Planning to present to the Executive Board a slate of eligible members in good standing to run for Executive Board positions each year (President, Vice President for Planning, Vice President for Governmental Affairs, and Treasurer in even-numbered years; Vice President for Educational Programs, Recording Secretary, and Vice President for Public Information in odd-numbered years) at each December meeting, and nominees for ASHA Advisory Councilors at the December meeting every three years (2017, 2020, etc.) In addition, it shall be the responsibility of the Vice President for Planning to submit CSHA’s slate of candidates for Advisory Council to ASHA and ensure that their names appear on the ASHA ballot each year Connecticut is scheduled to elect new Councilors (2017, 2020, etc.).

Section 4. Vice President for Educational Programs

The Vice President for Educational Programs shall appoint members to the Program Committee, subject to the approval of the Executive Board, and shall assume responsibility for coordinating Educational Programs.

Section 5. Vice President for Governmental Affairs

The Vice President for Governmental Affairs shall coordinate the Associations initiatives to promote its interests and purposes through existing and proposed legislation and educational and health related policies. In addition, the Vice President shall serve as the Legislative Liaison for the Association and its members.

Section 6. Vice President for Public Information

The Vice President for Public Information shall be responsible for all paper, electronic, and social media publications of the Association, as well as for chairing a committee to enhance public information and awareness of the professions and human communication disorders.

Section 7. Treasurer

The Treasurer, who shall be bonded, shall have custody of all funds, collect dues, prepare the Association budget, submit an annual financial statement to the membership, and pay all indebtedness upon due authorization of the Executive Board. The Treasurer’s books shall be audited at the discretion of the Executive Board.

Section 8. Recording Secretary

The Recording Secretary shall take and have custody of the minutes of all Executive Board Meetings and general meetings of the Association, shall certify all elections, and shall be the responsible for the storage of the archives of the Association. The Recording Secretary shall also conduct the official correspondence of the Association and the Executive Board and, in general, perform all other duties, which are assigned to this office, or as may be properly required by vote of the members of the Executive Board at any duly authorized meeting. The Recording Secretary shall send out notices of the special meetings of the Executive Board, or any other official mailing of the Association. In addition, the Recording Secretary shall notify all candidates of the election results, and Officer-Elect of the time for assumption of their duties.

ARTICLE XII – COMMITTEES

Section 1. The President, with approval of the Executive Board, shall convene and sunset committees as they are needed to address issues that arise. The Vice President for Planning shall appoint Chairs for committees approved by the Executive Board.

(a) Examples of such committees include:
Program Committee, Public Information Committee, School Leadership Council, Early Childhood and Medical SLP.

(b) The names of the committee chairpersons shall be published on the Association website

Section 2. The Executive Board

• Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice President for Planning, Vice President for Educational Programs, Vice President for Governmental Affairs, Vice President for Public Information, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and the ASHA Advisory Councilors in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. In the event that any of the ASHA Advisory Councils in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology are not members of CSHA, that person shall be a nonvoting member of the Executive Board. Officers-elect and the immediate Past President of CSHA shall be nonvoting members of the Executive Board.

  (b) A majority of the voting members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum to do business.

• (c) The Executive Board shall have the power to call special meetings of the Association, to approve and monitor the actions of the various committees in their efforts to achieve the goals of the Association, authorize the payment of bills, make decisions about ethical violations, and to perform such other duties as are required by the By-Laws and these By-Laws. The Executive Board shall execute plans and policies adopted by the Association.

ARTICLE XIII – DUES

The fiscal year of the Association shall run from January 1 to December 31.  The Association will follow a rolling membership model:  a rolling, or anniversary, membership is one that begins on the day it is purchased and is valid for 365 days. You will receive renewal notices on a schedule tied to the expiration date of your membership, with payment due upon receipt in the amount recommended by the Executive Board and approved by the Voting Members of the Association. All Voting Members, Associates, and Student Members shall receive the publications of the Association.

Dues in full for the first year shall accompany the application for membership. If the applicant is not accepted, the dues shall be refunded.

ARTICLE XIV – QUORUM

At yearly Association meetings, business presented to the membership may be approved by majority vote of those Voting members present.

ARTICLE XV – NOTIFICATION TO MEMBERSHIP

Members, and potential members shall be notified through Association website of meetings of the Association at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting date. Special meetings may, at the direction of the Executive Board, be open to Voting Members only.

ARTICLE XVI – PARLIAMENTARIAN AUTHORITY

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws and any special rules the Association may adopt.

ARTICLE XVII – AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS

These By-Laws can be amended at any regular meeting of this Association by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present provided that the amendment has been submitted to the Membership, in writing, no less than (14) days prior to the Spring meeting.

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