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 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

Any motion to amend a resolution or committee report recommendations must be submitted in writing to the Chair and official reporter before or at the time the motion is made on the floor.

An amendment form can be obtained at the Legal Table in the meeting room. You can consult with a staff attorney if you want help writing an amendment. The Legal Table is located in the front of the meeting room on the right side.

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 by a showing of credentials, he may move that the vote be counted. If this motion is seconded, a majority vote is required to order a count. Tellers will count the vote by another showing of credentials.