OASAR Constitution 2006

The Constitution of The Ontario Association For Students At Risk - 2007
Click here for proposed addition to the Constitution

DEFINITIONS
In this Constitution
1. "Association" shall mean the Ontario
Association For Students At Risk (OASAR);

2. "Board of Directors" shall mean as
provided for by Article IV of this
Constitution and any Bylaws established
thereunder;

3. "Student At Risk" shall mean a learner
of any age with unique social, emotional, and or intellectual needs which impair functioning as a child or adult;

4. "Member" shall mean a person (e.g. child and youth worker, teacher, probation officer, etc.),who has paid an annual fee, who has
reached the age of majority, and who is
interested in the progress of students at risk,
and

5. "Special Interest Group" shall mean
a committee of OASAR members which conducts a professional program within a special interest area. Special Interest Groups shall include former OASAR Chapters.

ARTICLE I - NAME

The organization shall be known as The
Ontario Association For Students
At Risk (OASAR).

ARTICLE II - STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The objectives of this Association shall be:
1. to provide leadership in the
development of philosophy relative to students at risk;

2. to provide advocacy for students at risk;

3. to improve quality of program;

4. to address needs and interests
of students at risk;

5. to provide a forum for communication
among those serving students at risk;

6. to ensure the development of a network of service providers;

7. to share information on professional
training, research and other related
activities; and,

8. to participate in research.

ARTICLE III - FEES

The annual fee for membership in this
Association shall be that as established by the Board of Directors at the first meeting of the Board of Directors following the annual
membership meeting.

The membership year shall be for twelve months from May 1 of a calendar year to April 30 of the following calendar year.
First year membership fees wll be pro-rated to a monthly rate.

ARTICLE IV - ASSOCIATION
ORGANIZATION

1. Board of Directors
a) The Board of Directors of the Association shall consist of a maximum of 15 directors including: President, Vice-President, Past-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Board of Directors in its membership should represent a cross section of the membership interests.
b) The powers and duties of the Board
of Directors shall be the following:
i) to appoint candidates, to fill vacancy(ies) within the Board of Directors until the next Annual General Meeting
ii) to meet as requested by the Board of
Directors, or the President of the
Association, and a director shall:
a) attend a minimum of 50% of retreats, and
b) attend a minimum of 50% of meetings,
and
c) where a Director works or resides
north of North Bay, be available by telephone at meeting times to comment
and contribute to agenda issues.
iii) to execute the policies and the
business of the Association in accordance with the Association Constitution, By-laws and instructions of the Annual meeting;
iv) to transact the business of the Association between meetings of the membership;
v) to conduct the Annual Meeting of the
Association and/or membership meetings(s);
vi) to establish committees, appoint chairpersons and to delegate to the
Directors areas of responsibility to
meet the needs of the Association;
vii) to ensure that members representing the Association on committees, study groups, etc. represent the views of the Association and report to the Board of Directors
on a regular basis; and
viii) to appoint representative(s) to conferences and organizations with
shared interests.

2. Fiscal Year
The fiscal year shall be from September 1^st to August 31^st. (This is a change made at the AGM in 2007)

ARTICLE V:
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
1. OASAR will encourage special interest groups of OASAR members who conduct
professional programs within their special interest areas.

a) A special interest groupof OASAR members may conduct a professional program within their special interest areas.

2. To function as a special interest group within OASAR, an organized group
of OASAR members must:
a) Secure the official recognition of OASAR and its continuing endorsement. All regalia and written communications of the special interest group shall include the name or logo of OASAR.

3. Submit a report to the OASAR Annual
General Meeting.

4. OASAR may provide funding to
special interest groups of OASAR members who fulfil the mandate of former OASAR Chapters and such a special interest group may submit to OASAR a proposal for funding that mandate.

ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS

1. Annual Membership Meeting
The powers and duties of the Annual Meeting of the Association shall be the following:
a) to elect a Board of Directors of the Association as per Article IV (1)(a);
b) to instruct the Board of Directors to take action on decisions reached
in the Annual meeting;
c) to amend the Constitution
and/or By-laws of the Association; and
d) to appoint an accountant to perform
a review of the financial statement.

2. Other Membership Meetings
These will be held at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

3. Meeting Procedures
a) A quorum for meetings of the Board of Directors shall be not less than 5 directors.
A quorum for other meetings including the Annual General Meeting shall be not less than 8 members.
b) . Robert's Rules of Order shall be the procedural guide in all other
matters at every Membership Meeting.

ARTICLE VII - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

1. There will be a Nominations Committee chaired by the Immediate Past-President
of the Association, or a person designated by the Board of Directors.

2. The Nominations Committee will present a slate of officers to the Annual Meeting.

3. Further nominations for all elective offices will be accepted at the Annual meeting with
the proviso that the member to be
nominated is either present or has submitted a statement showing a willingness to accept office if elected.

4. The election of officers for the ensuing year shall take place at the Annual Meeting.

5. Where any elective office is contested, the vote for that office shall be by secret ballot upon the appointment of a returning officer by the presiding officer.

6. The term of each elective officer named in Article IV shall be until the next
Annual General Meeting or until a
successor has been elected or appointed.

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS

1. The Constitution may be amended at any meetings of the Association upon the affirmative vote of 2/3rds of the
membership present provided that notice of motion to amend shall have been duly published to the members at least 10 days prior to the meeting.

2. No motion to amend this Constitution shall be entertained at any meeting of the
Association unless notice of that motion, duly seconded, shall have been received by the Association Secretary at least one month prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE IX - BYLAWS

1. A meeting of the membership shall have the power to establish by a majority vote such Bylaws under and in accordance with the terms of this Constitution.

2. A meeting of the membership shall have the power to amend or repeal by majority vote any Bylaw previously established under the terms of this Constitution.

BYLAWS OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION FOR
STUDENTS AT RISK

Bylaw I PRESIDENT

The President of the Association shall:
1. preside at all meetings
of the membership and of
the Board of Directors;

2. be an ex-officio member of all committees;

3. call special meetings at the request of the majority of the Board of Directors;

4. prepare an agenda with the Board of Directors for the annual meeting of
the Association;

5. prepare a budget with the Treasurer for the annual meeting of the Association;

6. be a signing officer along with the treasurer for Association funds;

7. keep a log of Association business performed for reporting purposes;

8. consider with the Board of Directors the areas of emphasis and
determine the priorities and thrusts of the business of the Association.

Bylaw II PAST PRESIDENT

Where the Past-President is unable to fulfill the duties of the office of Past-President for any reason,
the most previous Past-President available will assume the office.

<>The Past-President of the Association
shall:
1. liaise with the previous Past-President and with the current President.

2. chair the nominations committee and
present to the Annual General Meeting a slate of nominees to the next
Board of Directors.

3. maintain a Motion Book in which
motions of a policy or procedural nature
are collated.

Bylaw III VICE-PRESIDENT

The Vice President of the Association
shall:
1. be responsible for setting an agenda for Board of Directors meetings in
conjunction with the President, Secretary and Treasurer;

2. assume the duties and responsibilities of the President in the President's absence
or at the President's request;

Bylaw IV SECRETARY

The Secretary of the Association shall:
1. record the minutes of all meetings except those of the committee meetings;

2. receive, answer, and file
all correspondence;

3. distribute minutes of a previous meeting to members of the Board of Directors
prior to the next meeting

4. submit documents from committee chairpersons to the Board of
Directors of the Association.

5. receive all committee annual reports for distribution at the annual meeting.

Bylaw V TREASURER

The Treasurer of the Association shall:
1. keep account of all monies received and disbursed by the Association;

2. deposit in the name of the Association all monies received by the
Association into a recognized financial institution approved by the
Association Board of Directors;

3. present the annual financial statement for the preceding fiscal year
required by the Board of Directors;

4. close the financial books on
December 31 and submit them to the accountant prior to January 31.

5. prepare a budget with the president
for the next fiscal year.

6. sign with the President or designate all cheques issued by the Association.

7. present an outline of the services provided for by the OASAR membership fee.

Bylaw VI DIRECTORS AT LARGE

Directors At Large may be appointed by the Board to execute specific portfolios. The term of office for a
Director At Large will be until the next
annual meeting.

A Director At Large will act as a liason between OASAR's Board of Directors and his/her geographic area and will encourage, facilitate, or organize an application for an OASAR PD Initatives Grant,and act as a conduit between his/her geographic area and the newsletters, "Risky Business", and/or Bar None" and the website at
www.oasar.org,

A Director at Large will act as a liason between OASAR's Board of Directors and his/her area of specialty, and will act as a conduit between his/her area of specialty and the website at www.oasar.org and contribute a minimum of one article per year of office to either of the newsletters, "Risky Business", or "Bar None"..

The minimum expectations of all Directors At Large is that they will be members in good standing, engage in public relations on behalf of OASAR where and when appropriate, and attend either one Board meeting or facilitate an OASAR sponsored PD event where OASAR is explained and credited for its PD grant and supply a written report(s) of these said activities..

Directors At Large may be invited as non-voting members to board meetings. If attending and participating in a board meeting with the prior approval or invitation by the president or designate, Directors At Large will receive travel and hospitality reimbursement as per Board guidelines.

If attending the annual conference with the expectation of assuming work responsibilities as requested by the Conference Committee or the Board of Directors, Directors At Large may be eligible for a complimentary registration. Subsequent to participating in the Conference, Directors At Large may submit a request to the Board for reimbursement of .5 accommodation, and up to $200 for travel that is not covered by an employer or agency, providing that the Director at Large has registered for the current year's conference no later than the "Early Bird" conference registration date.

<>Bylaw VII ORDER OF BUSINESS
Bylaw Repealed

Bylaw VIII QUALIFICATIONS

To qualify as a candidate for President, nominees will have served at least
one year as a member of the association's Board of Directors.

Bylaw IX EXPENSES

The Association shall pay all authorized expenses incurred by any member
who is authorized to perform duties on behalf of the Association, and upon
receipt of any expense statement.

Bylaw X CONFERENCE_

1. The annual conference & annual general meeting is to be convened in
the month of April.

2. Special interest groups of OASAR members may convene conferences of more than one day in the fall of the year.

3. Special interest groups of OASAR members may hold one-day conferences
in any month other than March or April.

Bylaw XI PUBLICATIONS

1. The letterhead of the organization
may be printed in Canada's
two official languages.

Bylaw XII RETREAT

1. A planning retreat may be an annual
event soon following the general
meeting; the time and format of such
meeting is to be set soon following
the annual general meeting.

THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION FOR STUDENTS AT RISK / ASSOCIATION ONTARIENNE ELEVES A RISQUE oasar@yahoo.com

Updated: AGM 2007 April 22,

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