You are here: Home / About DSNA / By Laws

By Laws

Delaware School Nurse Association By-Laws

Article I‚ Name

The name of this professional organization shall be the Delaware School Nurse
Association. (Hereinafter know as DSNA)

Article II‚ Mission

DSNA’s mission is to promote the profession of school nursing and to advance the
delivery of professional school health services to promote optimal learning in students.

Article III‚ Affiliation

Section 1: DSNA is a unified dues affiliate of the National Association of School Nurses

Article IV‚ Membership and Dues

Section 1: Eligibility.
Active membership in DSNA shall be open to any registered, professional nurse who meets the requirements for school nursing in the State of Delaware.

Section 2: Instatement.
Any person eligible for membership shall become a member upon payment of dues set for his/her class of membership and who meets the requirements set forth in these by-laws.

Section 3: Classification.
There shall six classes of membership: Active, Associate, Retired, Student, Corporate/Business/Professional/Organization, and Member-at-Large.

  1. Active Members
    1. To qualify for Active membership in DSNA one must:
      1. be a registered professional nurse;
      2. meet Delaware‚ criteria for certification as a school nurse (if required);
      3. be employed by a Board of Education, governing board of a private school or the Board of Trustees of an institution of higher education;
      4. primarily assigned to providing school health services in a public, private, parochial or college setting;
    2. Retired Members
      1. Any retired member who desires to remain in the Active membership classification shall be required to pay full Active dues and upon payment of dues, shall be granted Active membership privileges.
  2. Associate members shall be:
    1. Any registered professional nurse who is not eligible for active membership, but who serves a school.
  3. Retired members shall be:
    1. Any school nurse who is a member of DSNA upon retirement shall be eligible to become a Retired member, upon notification to DSNA.
  4. Student members shall be:
    1. Students of a school of professional nursing not employed as a school nurse on a full or part time basis.
    2. Student membership shall not be granted to a person who has previously attained or been eligible for Active status.
    3. Student membership status shall not be renewed more than once for a graduate nurse.
  5. Corporate/Business/Professional Organization members shall be:
    1. Those organizations or persons who desire to support the goals of the Corporation and whose members are not eligible for Active or Associate membership in the Corporation.
    2. Granting of a Corporate/Business/Professional Organization membership shall in no way bind the DSNA to support philosophies or policies of any Corporate/Business/Professional Organization members.
  6. Members-at-Large shall be:
    1. Those persons who hold s special interest in or who are working with the DSNA and who does not fit into any other membership classification.

 

Section 4: Rights.
Active members shall be entitled to exercise full membership rights.

Section 5: Rights-Restrictions.

  1. Associate, Retired and Student members shall have all the privileges of Membership, except the privilege of voting and holding office.
  2. Corporate/Business/Professional Organization and Member-at-Large members shall have all the privileges of membership excepting those of voting, holding office and serving on a committee.

Section 6: Dues.
All annual dues shall be established by the Executive Committee.

Article V, Fiscal and Membership Year

The fiscal and membership year of DSNA shall be from July 1 through June 30.

Article VI, Officers

Section 1: Composition.
The elected officers of the DSNA shall be President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and NASN Director.

Section 2: Eligibility.
Only Active members of DSNA for no less than four consecutive years immediately shall be eligible to hold office and must have been active members for at least four consecutive years prior to holding office.

Section 3: Term of Office

    1. The term of office shall be two (2) years with the exception of the NASN Director, which shall be four (4) years. Officers may be reelected for two (2) consecutive terms with the exception of the NASN Director. The incoming officers shall take office at the first executive committee meeting following the election of the officers with the exception of the NASN director who will be installed at the NASN winter board of directors meeting.
    2. The president-elect shall automatically succeed the office of the president at the expiration of the president‚ term, and shall act for the president in the absence of the president.
    3. The incoming officers shall take office at the first Executive Committee meeting following the election of officers.

Section 4: Vacancy.
Whenever an elected office becomes vacant between elections, the remaining members of the Executive Committee shall choose a member to serve as Officer Protemp until the next election.

Section 5: Duties.

A. President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and at all meetings of the membership of the association. He/she shall appoint the chairs of all committees, shall serve as ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee. He/she shall perform all other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Committee.

B. President-Elect. The President-Elect shall act for the President in his/her absence. In case of death or resignation of the President, the President- Elect will succeed him/her for the unexpired term then shall serve the term for which he/she was elected. If for any reason the President-Elect cannot serve his/her term or fulfill the duties of the office, his/her successor shall be elected at the annual meeting of the association.

C. Secretary. The Secretary shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the Executive Committee and meetings of the membership. He/she shall maintain official files and shall assist the President with association correspondence.

D. Treasurer. The treasurer shall hold the funds of DSNA and disburse them upon authorization of the Executive Committee. He/she shall maintain a roll of members and collect annual dues. Those who have not renewed membership by January 1st annually will be notified. He/she shall keep accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements, shall report to each meeting of the Executive Committee, and shall prepare an annual financial statement for publication to members as directed by the Executive Committee. He/she shall present, for approval, an annual budget to the Executive Committee at the first Executive Meeting after elections.

E.  National Association of School Nurses Director (Hereafter to be known NASN Director). The NASN Director shall attend NASN Board of Directors meetings, annual meetings, NASN conventions as a delegate when possible, all state school nurse organizations, Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings and act as official state spokesperson for NASN. He/she shall also submit NASN news to the assigned areas, be responsible for membership recruitment, for conferring with NASN Directors and State Educational officials

Section 6: Disciplinary Procedures.
Any disciplinary procedures within DSNA shall be conducted as prescribed by our parliamentary authority, Robert Rules of Order Newly Revised.

Article VII ‚ Meetings

Section 1. Semi-Annual Meetings.
There shall be a semi-annual business meeting of the DSNA.

Section 2: Special Meetings.
The Executive Committee may arrange for other special meetings of the DSNA as it may deem proper and necessary.

Section 3. Rules.
The rules contained in Robert‚ Rules of Order shall govern DSNA in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with these By-Laws.

Section 4. Quorum.
A quorum shall consist of a majority of Active members registered at an official meeting.

Article VIII ‚ Executive Committee

Section 1: Executive Committee.
The executive committee shall be composed of:

A. The elected officers: the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and NASN Director.

B. The president or his/her designee shall be an ex-officio member of all committees execpt the nominating committee.

C. Temporary ad-hoc members as deemed by the president for the purpose of advising and planning. Ad-hoc members will serve in a non-voting capacity.

Section 2: Authority.
The executive committee shall:

A. Conduct the affairs of DSNA in accordance with the Articles of Association, by-laws and directives adopted by the membership at the Semi-Annual meetings.

B. Have full power to put into effect the policies and decisions of DSNA.

Section 3: Duties.
The executive committee shall:

A. Establish goals and objectives to accomplish the mission of DSNA

B. Monitor and evaluate the programs designed to implement the established goals and objectives.

C. Ensure that the resources necessary for achievement are available and used efficiently

D. The executive committee shall act for the membership during the year on matters of concern to school nurses and shall have the power to use funds of DSNA as is necessary. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the committee will be necessary for any expenditure.

E. Formulate committee guidelines, which shall be reviewed periodically.

F. Approve committee membership in accordance with Article lX of these By-Laws

Section 4: Meetings.
The executive committee will meet at least three (3) times a year. Any member may call for additional meetings when deemed necessary.

Section 5: Term of Office.
Elected officers shall serve terms of office as state in Article VII of these By-Laws

Section 6: Quorum.
A majority voting members present at the executive committee meeting shall constitute a quorum.

Article IX ‚ Committees

Section 1: Standing and Special Committees.

A. Unless otherwise stated, the composition. power, term, and duties of all Standing and special committees shall be recommended by the president and approved by the executive committee.

B. Standing Committees shall be:

1. Continuing Education

2. Legislative

3. Membership

4. Public Relations

5. Scholarship

6. Website

7. Marketing

8. School Nurse of the Year

Section 2: The Nominating Committee.

A. Shall consist of three (3) members, one from each

B. The chairperson shall be the past- president of DSNA

C. Duties:

1. Seek out qualified candidates for office and to report to the executive committee.

2. Biannually nominate at least two (2) candidates for President-Elect and Secretary

3. On alternate years nominate at least two (2) candidates for Treasurer.

4. Every four (4) years nominate at least (2) candidates for NASN Director.

5. Each Active member will be sent a secret ballot.

D. Vacancy on the nominating committee shall be filled by appointment of the past-president for the unexpired term.

 

Article X ‚ Dissolution

In the event there is dissolution of DSNA, its assets, if any, remaining after payment of all liabilities shall be distributed to one or more organizations having exclusively charitable, scientific or educational purposes of a primary purpose to promote public benefit.

Article XI ‚ Parliamentary Authority

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

Article XII – Amendments

Section: 1 Amendments to By-Laws.
Amendments to these By-Laws may be made at any regular or special meeting of DSNA by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the active members present and voting, provided that notice, in writing, of such proposed amendments shall have been filed with the Secretary of DSNA at least twenty-one (21) days in advance and copies sent to the membership either by US mail or electronic mail at least fourteen (14) days prior to such a meeting.