CHAPTER RULES

KAPPA CHAPTER
FLORIDA STATE
Delta Kappa Gamma Society International

I. Name
A. The name of this international organization shall be The Delta Kappa Gamma
Society International, hereinafter also referred to as the Society.
(CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, Section A)
B. Each chapter in the Florida state organization shall be designated by a Greek
letter or a combination of Greek letters. (CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, Section B)
C. The name of this chapter shall be Kappa Chapter (CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I,
Section B)
D. The key is the official symbol of membership.
II. Mission and Purposes
A. The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International promotes professional and
personal growth of women educators and excellence in education.
(CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE II, Section B.)

B. Vision Statement: Leading Women Educators Impacting Education Worldwide

(CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE II, Section C.)
C. The purposes of Kappa Chapter shall be those stated in the CONSTITUTION,
ARTICLE II, Section D.
III. Membership
A. Membership
1. The membership of the Florida State Organization shall be composed of
chapters within the boundaries of the state. All membership is in
accordance with the CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE III and International
Standing Rules 3.
2. An individual becomes a member of the Society when she pays her dues.
B. Classification
1. An active member shall be a woman who is or has been employed as a
professional educator at the time of her election. An active member shall
participate in the activities of the society.

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 2. Reserve membership shall be granted only to a member who is unable to
participate fully in the activities of the chapter because of physical
disabilities and/or geographic location. Reserve membership shall be
granted by a majority vote of the chapter members present at the meeting.
3. An honorary member shall be a woman not eligible for active membership
who has rendered notable service to education or women and is elected to
honorary membership in recognition of such service. An honorary member
may not hold office or participate in voting.
4. Collegiate membership shall be an undergraduate or graduate student
who meets the following criteria:
a. Undergraduate student collegiate members shall
(1) Be enrolled in an institution offering an education degree and have
the intent to continue academically and professionally in the field of
education; and
(2) be enrolled within the last two years of their undergraduate
education degree.
b. Graduate student collegiate members shall have graduate standing in
an institution offering an education degree and have the intent to
continue academically and professionally in the field of education.
When a collegiate member starts her career as a paid educator, she
will pay active member dues and become an active member. If a
collegiate member does not pursue a career as an educator, her
membership will expire upon graduation or withdrawal from the
education degree program.
C. Induction
A candidate for active or collegiate membership shall be selected by the method
established by the chapter’s rules. The vote for acceptance or rejection of
proposed new members shall be held during a chapter meeting by the majority
vote of those present at the meeting. (CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE III, Section C,
1)
D. Transfer
A member in good standing may transfer from one chapter to another upon
notification to Society headquarters.
E. Termination of Membership
Membership in the Society is terminated for nonpayment of dues & fees,
resignation, or death.

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 F. Reinstatement
A former member shall be reinstated to membership by the chapter receiving the
request.
IV. Finances
A. Dues and fees: CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE IV, SECTION A-F, 1, 2, and G,
Florida State By-Laws, ARTICLE IV, SECTION A.
1. Each active, collegiate and reserve member shall pay annual dues. An
Honorary member does not pay dues.
a. International dues shall be an amount recommended by the Executive
Board and approved by the International Convention.
b. State dues shall be an amount determined in accordance with state
organization bylaws.
c. Chapter dues shall be an amount determined in accordance with the
standing rules set by the chapter.
d. Honorary members do not pay dues.
B. Fees
1. Induction Fee
An active and a collegiate member shall pay an induction fee at the time of
induction.
2. Scholarship Fee
Each active & reserve member shall pay a scholarship fee annually.
3. Honorary Fee
The inducting unit of the Society shall pay a lifetime fee for each honorary
member at the time of induction.
C. Payment of Dues and Fees
Annual dues shall be paid no later than June 1. On July 1, members shall be
dropped from the chapter roll for non-payment of dues. On October 1,
members shall be dropped from the international roll for non-payment of
dues. No member shall be dropped until after the treasurer has sent a
second notice of the dues and the delinquent date of June 15 and the
treasurer will refer any continuing delinquencies to the president for a
personal contact.

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 D. The treasurer is authorized to sign all checks. The signature of the treasurer and
one other current member appointed by the president shall appear on the bank
card in order that in an emergency another member can sign checks on the
account.
E. All dues shall be collected by the chapter treasurer. State and International dues
and fees shall be forwarded to the state treasurer.
F. The fiscal year of the Society shall be July 1-June 30 inclusive. The financial
records will be reviewed after the completion of each year of each biennium.
G. Budget & Procedures for Approval of Expenses
1. The Finance Committee shall prepare the available budget annually. The
budget shall enumerate sources for dues & non-dues revenue and shall
include expenditure categories.
2. The budget shall be reviewed each year by the Executive Board and
recommended to the membership for adoption before being approved by the
chapter membership.
3. A review of the financial records will be completed annually by three members
selected by the Executive Board.
V. Organization
A. The chapter shall govern the conduct of its business in a manner consistent with
the CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE V, Section A-1, B 1-4, the Florida State BY-
LAWS and STANDING RULES and PROCEDURES (BY-LAWS, ARTICLE V,
Section A, 1-4).
B. The first meeting of each year shall be a committee workshop meeting.
C. Kappa is comprised of members from Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas
Counties.
D. Kappa Chapter is in District III of Florida State.
E. Kappa belongs to the Southeast Region.
VI. Officers and Related Personnel
A. The officers of the chapter, all of whom must be members, shall be a president, a
vice-president, a secretary, (all elected), a treasurer (selected by the Executive
Board), and a parliamentarian appointed by the president (CONSTITUTION,
ARTICLE VI, Section A- 3, C-1, 2, 7, 9, 10, D-3, E-2).
B. Nominations for chapter officers shall be presented at the January meeting and
voted upon in the March meeting during the second year of the biennium.

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C. Elections and terms of office shall be in accordance with CONSTITUTION,
ARTICLE VI, Section D, 3, a-c. In the case of a vacancy of office prior to the end
of the biennium, the Executive Board will appoint an officer as needed.
D. A meeting of the newly elected officers and the newly appointed committee
chairs will be held in June following the last meeting at which new officers were
installed. At this meeting they shall appoint committee members and plan for the
coming biennium dates and programs.
E. All committee materials will be transferred to new committee chairmen at the
summer organization meeting. Up-to-date Handbooks and Constitution will be
supplied if necessary.
F. The President’s pin shall be presented by the chapter at the time of installation to
office and should be engraved with the President’s name and dates of the
biennium (HANDBOOK, EMBLEMS and SYMBOLS, p. 23).
G. An amount shall be placed in the budget each year to help defray the expenses
of the president to attend State, Regional and International meetings of the Delta
Kappa Gamma Society as a representative of the chapter. In the event the
president cannot attend, another officer or member of the Executive Board may
represent her with the same financial assistance from the chapter.
H. Duties of the Officers (CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE VI, Section C)
1. President
a. The president shall perform those duties in the CONSTITUTION.
b. The president shall serve as a member of the Florida State Executive
Board.
c. The president shall serve as ex-officio member of all committees except
the Nominations Committee.
2. First Vice-President

a. The first vice-president shall perform those duties stated in the

CONSTITUTION.

b. The first vice-president shall be chairman of the Society Missions and

Purposes Committee.
3. Secretary
a. The secretary shall keep minutes of each meeting of the Chapter and
furnish the president and the editor of the Kapers with a copy of such
minutes. She shall serve as secretary to the Executive Board.

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 b. The secretary shall handle any correspondence as may be delegated by
the president.
4. Treasurer—The treasurer shall perform those duties stated in the
CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE VI, Section C, 9.
5. Parliamentarian—The parliamentarian shall perform those duties stated in the
CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE VI Section C, 10. Robert’s Rules of Order Newly
Revised (current edition) shall govern the proceedings in all cases not
provided for in the Constitution, International Standing Rules, Florida State
Bylaws, and Florida State Standing Rules.
VII. Executive Board
The members’ duties and meetings of the Executive Board shall be in accordance
with the CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE VII, Section C, 1-2.

VIII. Committees
A. Structure

1. Chapters may fulfill their constitutional responsibilities by establishing

committees as needed.

a. Standing committees

1. Society Business
Communications and Marketing*
Chapter Rules
Finance*
Leadership Development
Membership*
Nominations
2. Society Mission and Purposes
Educational Excellence*
Scholarship*
World Fellowship*
* State organization and/or chapters are responsible to international for the
work of these committees.

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B. Society Business

1. Finance *Appointed by Executive Board

a. The Chapter Finance Committee shall be responsible for the supervision

of the finances of Kappa Chapter, including for the expenditure and
investment of funds.

b. The committee with the help of the treasurer shall prepare the budget for
review by the Executive Board and then the budget will be presented to
the membership for adoption.

c. The fiscal year of the Society shall be July 1-June 30 inclusive.

2. Leadership Development
a. The Committee is responsible for promoting leadership development of
the members.

b. The committee recommends to the membership participation in the

Jesslyn McBride Leadership Growth Seminar that is held biannually.

3. Membership *Appointed by Executive Board

a. Chapters in the State shall have full power to act in matters of Chapter
Membership.
b. The procedure outlined in the Ceremonies or the Rituals book shall be
followed for Induction.
c. The Necrology Committee shall be responsible for memorials in the event
of the death of a member.
d. Recognition of an achievement by a member of Kappa chapter shall be
promoted by the membership committee.
4. Nominations
a. The Nominations Committee shall be elected at the first meeting of the
second year of the biennium.
b. The Nominations Committee shall meet face-to-face or electronically to
consider nominations for officers.
c. The President shall not serve as a member on this committee.

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5. Chapter Rules
a. The Chapter Rules Committee shall draft chapter rule changes and
present them for the approval of the chapter members.
b. The Chapter Rules Committee is authorized to make any editorial
corrections in numbering, spelling, punctuation and grammar that occur.
c. The Chapter Rules Committee is authorized to make any changes
necessary to bring the rules into compliance with any changes mandated
in the State Bylaws and International Constitution.
d. The Chapter Rules Committee will screen all suggested changes from
individuals, committees or officers. The changes shall be submitted to the
Chapter Rules Committee in writing no later than March 1 of the second
year of the biennium.
e. The Chapter Rules may be amended by a majority vote of the members in
attendance at any regular or a called meeting, provided notice of the
called meeting has been given to all members at least 10 days in
advance.
f. Any Chapter Rule may be suspended for a specified period of time by a
majority vote of the members in attendance at a regular meeting or a
called meeting, provided that notice of the called meeting has been given
all members at least 10 days in advance.
6. Communications
a. Telephone Tree
1. The Telephone Tree and membership committee members in each
county will relay vital information via telephone, emails or text
messages (deaths, serious illness, etc.) to the membership in their
county.
2. Individual members are encouraged to notify the Telephone Tree Chair
to start the communication.
b. Publications
1. The newsletter, Kappa Kapers, shall be published for each business
meeting.
2. Material to be included in the newsletter shall be in the hands of the
editor by the date specified by the editor prior to publication.
3. An electronic copy of the newsletter shall be sent to the Florida State
President, the Florida State Executive Secretary, the District III
Director, and the editor of the Florida Rays.

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 c. Yearbook
1. The Yearbook Chairman shall send an electronic copy of the chapter
yearbook to the State Communications Chairman, one electronic copy
to the District III Director, and one electronic copy to the State
Executive Secretary (Florida State STANDING RULES, Item P).
2. Yearbooks are to be sent electronically to the members with the
exception of those members who request a hard copy.
3. The yearbook shall be in electronic form and a hard copy will be
provided for those members who request a hard copy.
d. Web Page/Social Media
7. Hospitality—The Hospitality Committee will work with all counties or areas to
notify other members of someone’s death, illness, need, or celebration. This is
Kappa’s Special Needs Committee (Florida State STANDING RULES, M).
C. Society Missions and Purposes
1. Educational Excellence
a. The committee shall support and promote the International programs and
projects relating to personal growth of members and services to others.
b. The committee shall be composed of subcommittees of Programs,
Legislation, International Projects, Historian, Personal Growth, Music and
Emergency Relief Fund.
(1) Programs—The Program Committee will formulate the presentations
which will be given at each chapter meeting.
(2) Legislative—The Legislative Committee shall keep the members
informed of current vital issues and support desirable legislation in
the interest of education and of women educators at all levels.
(3) International Projects
(a) Support early career educators
(b) Schools for Africa
(4) Historian—This committee will preserve the Kappa Chapter history.
(5) Personal/Professional Growth—This committee will provide activities
designed to improve the personal and professional growth of
members.
(6) Music—This committee will provide appropriate music for chapter
meetings.

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 (7) Emergency Relief Fund—Members are encouraged to donate to the
Emergency Relief Fund and contact the Kappa Chapter President if
an emergency arises.
2. Educational Scholarships and Grant-in-Aid Committee
a. The Educational Scholarship & Grant-in-Aid Subcommittee will be
responsible for all aspects of the process of promoting, administering
and deciding the winning recipients of any scholarship monies.
b. The committee is composed of three members with no more than 2
from on county. The president and treasurer are ex-officio members.
(1) The committee will recommend to the Executive Board the
recipient(s) of the scholarship award up to $1,000 as funds permit
after receiving approval from the treasurer.
(2) The committee will acknowledge in writing the receipt of donations
to the Scholarship Fund and notifying, in the event of a memorial
gift, the immediate family.
(3) The committee will encourage members who are actively
teaching/working in education to apply for local, state and
international scholarships as well as funds through the International
Foundation and the Florida State Foundation.
(4) The committee may plan events to raise money for the Scholarship
Fund.
(5) The following are the criteria for scholarship recipients:
(a) The applicant for a scholarship must be an active member in
good standing of Kappa Chapter, Florida State Delta Kappa
Gamma for two years or longer.
(b) The applicant must be enrolled in a graduate program at a fully
accredited institution of higher learning preferably pursuing an
advanced degree, or applying for recertification, or participating
in an educational seminar.
(c) The form for the Kappa Chapter Scholarship Award must be
completed and returned to the Scholarship Chairman.
(d) The applicant must show promise of success in her chosen field
of study, show evidence of potential for future service to Delta
Kappa Gamma, and show evidence of community service.
(e) The active member must secure the proper form for application
from the Scholarship Chairman.

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 (f) An active member can only receive the scholarship twice.

c. Grant-in-Aid Subcommittee
(1) The Mary Lou Knight Grant-In-Aid shall be presented once a
biennium. The amount awarded will be from the interest accrued up
to $1000 as funds permit after receiving approval from the treasurer.
(2) The recipient shall be a junior or senior college student or a Kappa
Chapter Collegiate member in a college of education.
(3) The applicant must show promise of success in her chosen field of
education, show evidence of potential for future service to Delta
Kappa Gamma, and show evidence of community service.
(4) The Scholarship Chairman or a member of Kappa Chapter must
secure the application form, present it to the proposed recipient, and
after completion of the application must return it to the Scholarship
Chairman.
(5) The recipient may receive the award twice.
(6) The committee may plan events to raise money for the grant-in-aid
fund.
3. Leadership Development
a. Kappa members will be informed regarding International, State and
Chapter leadership development opportunities.
b. The Chapter will pay the registration fee for recipients of the Florida
State Jesslyn McBride Leadership Growth Seminar.
c. The Committee may coordinate activities to raise funds for the
Leadership Growth Fund.
4. World Fellowship*
a. The chapter World Fellowship committee shall assist in promoting the
work of the International Committee.
b. The chapter committee shall create awareness of the World Fellowship
Program.
c. The chapter committee shall encourage personal contact with any
recipients located in the state or immediate area.

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 d. An annual donation is made by the membership for World Fellowship
recipients.

IX. Meetings
A. Regular meetings of the chapter shall be held 5 times per year (CONSTITUTION,
ARTICLE IX, Section E, 1 a & b). A quorum shall be no less than 5 members
present.
B. The Executive Board will meet before each meeting. The board may meet at
other times upon the call of the president. A quorum shall be three voting
members of the Board. The meeting may be conducted electronically.
(CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE IX, Section E, 2 a-c)
X. Special Occasions

A. Inductions

1. Inductions shall be in accordance with the Florida State Procedures, Item C,

1-4.
2. Induction shall be held during the last meeting of the year or any other times
voted upon by the membership.
3. If an inductee misses two scheduled initiations, her status as an initiate into
the chapter shall be dropped.

4. A person who has missed two scheduled inductions may be considered for
membership at a later time only after having her name proposed again and
voted on in the approved procedure.
B. The Chapter Birthday Celebration shall be observed annually at the meeting
nearest the month and day the chapter was organized. (FLORIDA STATE
PROCEDURES, Item G, 2)
XI. Dissolution
In the event of dissolution of the Chapter, such dissolution shall be in accordance
with the statues of the State of Florida under which Florida State was chartered.
(FLORIDA STATE BYLAWS, ARTICLE IX, section B, Items 1-6)
XII. Parliamentary Authority
Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (current edition) shall govern the
proceedings of the Florida State Organization and its Chapters in all cases not
provided in the Constitution, International Standing Rules, Florida State

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 Organization Bylaws, Florida State Organization Standing Rules, and Kappa
Chapter Rules & Policies and Procedures.
XIII. Amendment
These Chapter Rules may be amended at any regular business meeting of the
chapter by a two-thirds vote, provided the amendment has been submitted in
writing at the previous regular business meeting. Two-thirds vote mean two-
thirds of those present and voting.

CHAPTER RULES COMMITTEE:

Deborah Thomas, Chairman
Fay Murphy
Karol Gotte
Victoria Eastman, Ex-Officio
Amended Summer 2021

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