Procedural Suggestions

Action in delegate meetings is sometimes prolonged when parliamentary procedure has not been properly followed in difficult situations.  To speed the meeting, delegates might consider the following procedures:

Making Motions

To be discussed, a resolution must be moved by a delegate, preferably from the sponsoring board.  The Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions does not move the resolution but merely reads a summary of the objectives sought in the resolution and the Resolutions Subcommittee’s recommendation for delegate action as sent to all boards of education.

The recommendations proposed to the Delegate Assembly at the end of the discussion pages in this Delegate Handbook are made by the Resolutions Subcommittee.  The Subcommittee is authorized by the NJSBA Bylaws to review all resolutions to come before the Delegate Assembly for policy consideration.  Research on the issues presented in these resolutions sometimes leads the Resolutions Subcommittee to offer an alternative solution to the objectives sought with the Subcommittee recommending a substitute resolved clause for delegate approval.

If you would like to make a motion, or second a motion, you will need to type into the chat box your name, district, and “I would like to move …,” or “I second….”  Once it is in the chat room, the meeting monitor will share your name with the parliamentarian, who will call on you and your microphone will be unmuted.

If a board delegate so chooses, the substitute resolved clause may be moved as the original motion for delegate approval.

When moving a resolution as originally presented by the sponsoring board of education, please say:

I move Resolution No.    _  as originally submitted.

When moving a resolution with the substitute resolved clause recommended in the discussion pages, please say:

I move Resolution No.    _  with the substitute resolved clause and recommended policy language for NJSBA’S Manual of Positions and Policies on Education.

Making Amendments

Delegates wishing to propose amendments to policy language must email them directly to bbarnett@njsba.org. Delegates must clearly indicate language to be deleted, and/or language to be added.  All deletions will be highlighted and [bracketed] in red and additional language will be underlined in blue.

When moving to amend a motion, please clarify your intent by saying one of the following:

• I move to strike on page ____, line ____ the word(s) __________________________________________.
• I move to strike on page ____, line ____ the word(s) _________________________ and insert the word(s) _________________________________________.
• I move to insert the word(s) ________________________between _________________________ and ______________________ on page _____, line _____.
• I move to add at the end of line ____ on page ____ the word(s) _____________________________________________.

Postponing or Referring a Motion

When delegates wish to defer action in order to develop more information, they should move to refer a resolution to a committee for study or refer a report back to the original committee for further study.

Close Votes

Whenever a delegate doubts the result of a vote as inconclusive or a tie, he/she may move that the vote be recast.  If this motion is seconded, a majority vote is required to order a recount.