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Education Caucus

Education Caucus Bylaws

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of the organization is the Oregon Democrats’ Education Caucus, hereinafter
referred to as the Education Caucus or Caucus.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

The Mission of the Oregon Democrats’ Education Caucus is to support the Democratic Party’s goal of enhancing public education in Oregon. For the purposes of this Caucus, “Education” means the informing and training of students through formal instruction and supervised practice. “Public” means education that is answerable to appropriate government entities, funded by public revenues, and inclusive of all Oregon residents. In order achieve this mission, the Education Caucus will

  • Provide a regular forum for the communication and discussion of public education news, ideas, activities, opinions, and legislative actions, within the DPO.
  • Provide information about and stimulate interest in Oregon Public Education among members of the DPO Central Committee and Democratic Party County Central Committees.
  • Research and report to the DPO Executive Committee on issues, proposals, legislation and other activities at all levels, from Federal to local, which may be of interest and concern to public education in Oregon.
  • Develop, maintain, and focus two-way communication with Oregon’s Education Officials, Oregon State legislators, Congressional members, and other individuals and groups concerned with public education in Oregon in accordance with DPO Bylaws.
  • Provide information and recommendations respecting public education in Oregon to the DPO Executive Committee and other committees, such as Platform and Resolutions.
  • Develop proposed Resolutions and Legislative Action Items respecting Oregon public education for submission to the Platform and Resolutions Committee.
  • Abide by Article XV (Special Caucuses) of the Democratic Party of Oregon Bylaws and any additional policies as established by the DPO Executive Committee.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING PRIVILEGE

Membership in the Education Caucus shall be open to registered Democrats who support the goals and objectives of the Caucus. A concerted effort will be made to have representation of members from every region in our state. Members in good standing are those who complete an application form or have attended and signed in to at least one regular meeting in the previous year, and refrain from supporting nonDemocratic partisan candidates in contested elections in their official capacity as a member of the Education Caucus. The Executive Committee may, from time to time, create guidelines on membership that clarify the intent of the organization to represent Oregon Public Education.

ARTICLE IV – QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE

All members of the Education Caucus who are in good standing will qualify for nomination and election to office within the Caucus.

ARTICLE V – CAUCUS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  1. The governing body of the Education Caucus shall be the Executive Committee, which derives its authority and responsibilities from the membership. The Executive Committee shall have authority to transact business on behalf of the Education Caucus between statewide meetings. The Executive Committee may appoint standing and special committees, and may delegate any of its powers to said committees with advice and consent from the general membership.
  2. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the following duly-elected positions:
    • Chair
    • Vice-Chair
    • Communications’ Secretary
    • Recording Secretary
    • Treasurer
  3. The Chair, Vice-Chair, Communications’ Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected by the general membership at the Reorganization Meeting following the state-wide biennial general election .
  4. Duties and responsibilities of standing and special committees not defined in these bylaws shall be established by the Caucus Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall hold their meetings previous to each general member meeting. Executive Committee meetings may be called by the Chair or by any three members by giving notice to all members of the Executive Committee. An emergency meeting or an agenda meeting may be conducted by telephone, or electronically. All Executive Committee meeting notices, except in an emergency, shall be emailed and/or sent by postal service at least two weeks prior to a meeting.
  5. The principal mailing address of the Education Caucus shall be that of the Chair. The Education Caucus may have any such offices or chapters as the Executive Committee determines.

ARTICLE VI – AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  1. The Chair shall:
    • be the Caucus spokesperson.
    • preside at all meetings of the Caucus and the Executive Committee.
    • be responsible for preparing the agenda of all meetings.
    • appoint standing and special committee chairs with advice and consent of the Executive Committee.
  2. The Vice-Chair shall:
    • assume the duties of the Chair if absent or incapacitated.
    • perform other duties as directed by the Executive Committee.
  3. The Communications Secretary shall:
    • in the absence of the chair and vice chair, act as spokesperson of the Executive Committee and preside over meetings.
    • maintain a current list of officers, committee members, including their duties and responsibilities, and the current addresses and phone numbers of all members.
    • maintain a list of all persons attending Regular Meetings of the Caucus, add names of those attending a Regular Meeting for the first time to the membership list as appropriate, and keep a record of all active members of the Caucus using the sign-in sheets and website application form.
    • print the DPO list of members in good standing prior to the Reorganization Meeting and use it as a sign in sheet at the Reorganization Meeting.
    • notify members of upcoming meetings.
    • conduct correspondence and other communications as directed by the Executive Committee.
    • maintain a file of all correspondence and communication.
  4. The Recording Secretary shall:
    • record and transcribe the minutes of all meetings.
    • prepare minutes for reproduction and presentation at all meetings.
    • track and report approved resolutions.
    • be the official custodian of all historical records, files, and books of the Education Caucus.
  5. The Treasurer shall:
    • comply with the DPO Fundraising Policy for Caucuses.
    • prepare a Treasurer’s Report for the Executive Committee and Regular
      Meetings of the General Caucus.

ARTICLE VII – MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

  1. The Education Caucus shall meet:
    • at established caucus meeting times set by the Party during the Democrats’ State Central Committee Quarterly Meetings.
    • during the Platform and Legislative Convention preceding general elections, in order to establish the Education Caucus’s legislative agenda and to review, revise and approve its platform recommendations.
    • at the Reorganization Meeting after each general election to select its leadership (See Article X).
    • at such other times as the Caucus or the Executive Committee shall decide.
  2. Caucus meetings shall be for members to express views, discuss and arrange projects, set policy, and adopt resolutions.
  3. Except when electing officers, all votes may be taken by the acclamation or consensus of those members present. There shall be no proxy votes.
  4. A meeting of the Executive Committee shall be scheduled prior to each membership meeting to discuss agenda items and other essential business.
  5. Standing and special committees shall meet at a time and location of each committee’s choosing. Each committee shall set its own agenda for the meeting. To enhance communication, this agenda shall be forwarded to the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VIII – NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS, AND VACANCIES

  1. The nomination and election of officers shall take place at the Reorganization Meeting held after each general election.
  2. A Nomination and Election Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee to identify and recruit candidates for office. The names of the candidates submitted by the Nomination and Election Committee and the names of candidates submitted from the floor at the time of the Reorganization Meeting shall be submitted to the Caucus members for a vote.
  3. Voting for officers shall be by secret ballot unless only one candidate stands for an office, in which case the vote may be done by acclamation.
  4. Electors shall be the members in good standing (Article III) and present at the Reorganization Meeting.
  5. Prior to the meeting, the Communications Secretary shall print the DPO list of members in good standing to be used as a sign-in sheet. At the beginning of the meeting attendees will state their name and the Communications Secretary will check their name off if they are a member
  6. New attendees shall sign in at the bottom of the sign-in sheet and their names added to the list of regular members for the next meeting. However, for the Reorganization meeting, new attendees will not have voting privileges.
  7. Elections shall be by majority vote. In the event that no candidate receives a majority vote or there is a tie, a runoff of the top two candidates shall be immediately conducted
  8. Vacancies may be temporarily filled by the will of the Executive Committee at its next regular meeting. Vacancies will be permanently filled at the next membership meeting
  9. The Officers will take office at the end of the meeting at which they are elected.

ARTICLE IX – QUORUM

All those present and qualified under Article III of these by-laws shall constitute a quorum at each Caucus meeting. The quorum at Executive Committee meetings shall be a simple majority of members of the Executive Committee. A quorum must be present throughout the meeting to transact the business of the Education Caucus. In the absence of a quorum, there shall be no business transacted except for reports and concluding business previously approved.

ARTICLE X – RECALL

  1. Elected officers may be removed from office by 2/3 (two-thirds) majority vote at a scheduled Executive Committee meeting, provided that the officer proposed to be recalled is notified 30 days before that meeting.
  2. Executive Committee members who are absent from 3 (three) consecutively-scheduled meetings shall be removed from office, unless the member can show just cause.

ARTICLE XI – RULES OF ORDER

The rules of order for the Education Caucus shall be by unanimous consent except for the use of parliamentary procedure when debate is needed. In such a case, the Education Caucus shall operate by Roberts Rules of Order, as most recently amended.

ARTICLE XII – AUTHORITY AND AMENDMENTS

  1. Authority: The State Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Oregon initially approved the Oregon Democrats’ Education Caucus on September 12, 2010. The Oregon Democrats’ Education Caucus is subject to the bylaws of the Democratic Party of Oregon.
  2. Amendments: Amendments to the bylaws take place in two steps:
    • After review by the Executive Committee, these bylaws may be amended after a 2/3 (two-thirds) vote by the Education Caucus’s members present at any membership meeting.
    • Any bylaw change must be submitted to the Rules Committee of the Democratic Party of Oregon for review. Upon review, the Rules Committee will submit to the State Central Committee the amended bylaws for approval according to the bylaws of the Democratic Party of Oregon