Any bona fide association of teachers of English having 25 or more members (including English sections of city, state, or regional teachers associations) may become an affiliate of the National Council. The Council recognizes the desirability of organizing affiliates at local, state, regional, and interstate levels, and shall encourage local, regional, and state groups to affiliate with the next highest unit as well as with the Council. Normally not more than one affiliate shall be accepted into the Council from any one of these levels in any single geographic area except for justifiable reasons.
Criteria for Affiliation
1. All members of the governing board of the affiliate shall be members of the National Council of Teachers of English.
2. Every affiliate of the Council shall appoint or elect a liaison officer for the purpose of interpreting the affiliate to the Council and the Council to the affiliate.
3. The affiliate shall have a written constitution that:
a) provides for continuity of personnel within the administration of the organization (e.g. by creating a permanent post of Executive Secretary; by appointing the liaison officer for a two-year term or longer; by establishing a clear succession of certain officers for two-year terms or longer, with officers ending their terms in alternate years; or by retaining past officers as members of the governing board);
b) states a relationship between the affiliate and NCTE;
c) for local affiliates, states a relationship between the local council and the state or provincial council;
d) contains a dissolution clause providing for disbursement of the affiliate's treasury to another nonprofit organization should the affiliate become defunct;
e) is on file at NCTE.
If you would like sample constitutions from other organizations, please e-mail affsec@ncte.org.
4. The affiliate shall have a written policy for involvement of people of color (e.g. See NCTE's Policy on Involvement of People of Color).
5. Each affiliate shall pay annual dues: for affiliates having between 25 and 249 members dues shall be $10.00; for affiliates having between 250 and 499 members, annual dues are $15.00; for affiliates having 500 or more members, annual dues are $25.00.
6. The certified members of the Board of Directors of the National Council from an affiliate, or his or her alternate, shall attend the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Council at least once every three years or the affiliate shall be suspended.
7. Each local, state, or regional association affiliated with the Council and with dues fully paid shall be entitled to select one or more of its members who are also members of the National Council to serve as Directors of the Council. Any Director chosen to represent an affiliate shall be familiar with the affairs of the affiliate. All affiliates shall be entitled to name one member of the Board of Directors. Affiliates which have between 150-349 members who are also members of NCTE shall be entitled to name two members of the Board of Directors; affiliates with 350-549 such members, three directors; with 550-749, four directors; and so on, up to a maximum of six directors. Affiliates, which name more than one member to the Board of Directors, shall name their liaison officer as one member of the Board of Directors. Directors shall serve from the opening of one Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors to the opening of the next Annual Meeting, unless in the meantime the affiliation of their association with the Council has lapsed. (The Annual Meeting is held during the national convention in November.)
8. A certified member of the Board of Directors shall make a report to the members of his/her affiliate of the actions taken at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Council.
9. The affiliate shall hold at least one general meeting each year for the total membership, of which a part shall be devoted to the business of the affiliate. In addition, the governing board of the affiliate shall hold at least one additional meeting per year.
10. Each affiliate shall direct its secretary and/or liaison officer to submit reports at least annually to the Council. These reports are to include the following:
a) A statement of the membership of the affiliate accompanied by a membership list
b) A generalized report of an annual meeting
c) The results of the election of officers
d) A summary of projects undertaken or contemplated.
e) Notice of special situations and problems as they arise in the area served by the affiliate
f) Notice of special needs of the affiliate or its committees
11. Each affiliate must maintain effective means of disseminating information to the membership. Among the procedures most frequently used are publication of a journal or newsletter, occasional memoranda or letters from the president, columns appearing regularly in the state or provincial affiliate journal, and reports made at affiliate meetings. The NCTE Division Director of Communications and Affiliate Services as well as the regional representative to the Standing Committee on Affiliates should be on the mailing list to receive these communications.