Bylaws

Bylaws are designed to help your PTA function in an orderly manner. PTA bylaws describe the purpose of PTA and its mission, and members’ rights, in addition to officers, committees and their respective duties.

Please see the PROPOSED 2018 Bylaws Amendments that will be presented at our State Convention for delegates to vote on this year! 

The official set of PTA bylaws for any local PTA/PTSA unit in Arizona is the most current edition of the Unified Local PTA/PTSA Unit bylaws. Your PTA/PTSA may not utilize any other bylaws while a charter of Arizona PTA.

A copy of the association’s Bylaws 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.

Local PTAs that need a current copy of the Unified Local PTA/PTSA Unit Bylaws can download a copy from our Local Leader Forms and Resources section of this website.  They are password protected so be sure to contact your Region Director if you are unsure of the password.  Local Unit and Council bylaws should NOT be scanned or posted on any publicly-accessible website as they are the intellectual property of the PTA. Bylaws can be distributed by request. 

The Unified Local PTA/PTSA Unit bylaws and your PTA’s standing rules should be presented annually to your membership for review, even if they aren’t being amended so that everyone is aware of the governing documents of your PTA. . 

If your PTA would like to make an amendment to the Unified Local PTA/PTSA Unit bylaws, please use this form and submit by November 30. 

Standing Rules

Standing rules outline the procedures of the organization that are not included in the bylaws and must not conflict with the Unified Local PTA/PTSA Unit bylaws, Arizona PTA bylaws, or National PTA bylaws. 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 or otherwise as noted in the approved standing rules. A copy of the local unit’s standing rules and the meeting minutes showing the membership’s adoption must be sent to Arizona PTA by September 30 each year. Any amendments thereafter should be identified to Arizona PTA via a copy of the unit’s meeting minutes.

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.

In short, Bylaws are hard and fast rules that cannot be set aside, and may only be amended after review by the Arizona PTA Bylaws committee and adoption by the voting body at the Arizona PTA Annual State Convention with prior notice to the membership. Standing Rules are day-to-day operational policies that may be amended locally with notice as stipulated within the rules themselves.

For a standing rules template, please check out our Local Leaders Forms and Resources section.