Bylaws and Standing Rules

Bylaws and Standing Rules

Bylaws are designed to help your PTA function in an orderly manner

The only official set of PTA bylaws for any PTA is an original approved current set of bylaws, signed and dated by the state parliamentarian, PTA president and secretary, and on file with the unit PTA secretary.

A copy of the association’s Bylaws for the Local PTA/PTSA Units must be made available to any association member upon request. A copy should be provided to all officers and board members. Each executive board member is responsible for making a thorough study of them.

If you need a current copy of  approved bylaws contact your council first for assistance.

Bylaws vs Standing Rules

Standing rules outline the procedures of the organization that are not included in the bylaws and must not conflict with the bylaws or the California State PTA Toolkit. They may be changed or amended without notice with a two-thirds (2/3rd) majority vote of the association, or a majority vote with thirty (30) days’ notice.

Some of the differences between standing rules and bylaws are:

  • Bylaws state when the meetings of the association are held.
  • Standing rules tell where and what time association meetings are held, and when executive board meetings are held.
  • Bylaws give the primary responsibilities of officers and chairmen.
  • Standing rules give the specifics.

If the bylaws state that the first vice president is responsible for programs, the standing rules would list the various special committee chairmen who work under that vice president, such as Founders Day, Honorary Service Awards, etc. The bylaws describe the authority of committees. Standing rules indicate which committees are standing committees whose chairmen are voting members of the executive board and which committees are special committees, whose chairmen do not have executive board voting privileges and to which executive board member they report.

If the organization has supplies or equipment, the standing rules would state who is responsible for them and where they would be kept. They might also list details of the installation of officers, and who has responsibility for securing the past president’s pin.

Did You Know?

  • California State PTA does not provide bylaws to units, councils, districts electronically.
  • Unit, council or district bylaws should NOT be scanned or posted on any publically-accessible website.
  • Bylaws always include officer signatures, which must be protected from inappropriate use.
  • Bylaws should be reviewed annually, and updated every three years by the bylaws committee of the association, chaired by the parliamentarian.
  • See CAPTA.org for much more information on bylaws

How to Update Your Bylaws

For Schools/Units

STEP 1

President – Appoints bylaws committee, chaired by parliamentarian

STEP 2

Parliamentarian – Sets meeting date for bylaws committee

  • Visit the e-Bylaws section of capta.org and request a password
  • Review your current Bylaws prior to meeting
  • Provide copies of current Bylaws for each bylaws committee member

STEP 3

Bylaws Committee – Reviews current Bylaws to see if any changes are necessary and lists proposed amendments, including article, section and page number

STEP 4

Parliamentarian – Uses e-Bylaws Program to complete OR fills out the blank fillable bylaws PDF.  Download and print a copy of your updated bylaws with amendments, if any.

STEP 5

Executive Board – Parliamentarian presents updated Bylaws with proposed amendments at board meeting or recommends no changes.

  • Board votes to approve
  • Secretary records outcome in Minutes

STEP 6

Parliamentarian – Prints 3 double-sided copies of updated Bylaws, 4 blank Signature Pages & fills out the bylaws submittal form listing proposed amendments on page 2.

  • Send all copies to your council