Committee Descriptions

Executive Committee. Per Article IV, Section 2, of the ELA Constitution, the spacing Executive Committee shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Immediate Past President, and Executive Director (ex officio). Subject to the restrictions of the Constitution and Bylaws and the directives of the Board of Directors, administration and supervision of ELA activities is vested in the Executive Committee, including the authority to oversee management, enter contracts on behalf of ELA, and review ELA’s annual budget, subject to Board of Directors approval.

The Executive Committee oversees following committees, as defined by the Constitution and Bylaws of the Education Law Association.

1. The Awards Committee shall provide overall management of the ELA awards process and coordination among its several subcommittees that shall be responsible for managing nominations and selecting recipients of each of ELA’s awards. The subcommittees, their duties and functions, and the guidelines for the awards are set forth below. Each subcommittee may recommend revisions to the Bylaws relating to its award to the Board of Directors via the Awards Committee. See Bylaws for details about each award and related policies. 

2. The Budget and Finance Committee shall advise the Executive and Managing Directors and the Board on ELA’s budget, financial management, and financial oversight. This shall include assisting other standing committees to build budgets for review and approval. The projected expenses and revenues will be reflected in the Education Law Association budget. To that end, the Treasurer shall ensure that the Budget and Finance Committee is represented on the Membership, Conference, Publications, and Outreach/Partnerships Committees to facilitate fiscal reporting and oversight. The committee shall also review its written policies and procedures annually and, when needed, make recommendations for revisions to the ELA Board for approval.

3. The Community Engagement Committee shall assist with social media, EducationLaw.org, audio/visual productions, social networking, and other aspects of ELA that are designed to connect internal and external constituencies. The Committee shall develop and update, as needed, protocols and guidelines that govern ELA’s online community interactions and make those recommendations to the Board. Similarly, the Membership Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board regarding the committee’s written policies and procedures. The Community Engagement Committee shall work closely with both the Membership Committee and Education Committee to seek membership input regarding areas of education law interest and to facilitate the creation of learning communities and other forms of membership engagement around those areas of interest. The committee also shall advise the Board on how the organization can be more responsive to constituent groups and allied professional organizations and coordinate recruiting efforts with potential partnerships. This shall include working with the Executive and Managing Directors to review affiliate proposals, and then make recommendations to the ELA Board.

4. The Conference Committee shall plan for the activities of the annual meeting, including solicitation of proposals and identification of presenters at general and special sessions and pre-conferences. The Conference Chair or Co-Chairs, appointed by the President, shall select committee members who will review proposals, help prepare for the conference, and help promote the conference. The committee chair shall work with the executive director to prepare preliminary and final conference materials. The Conference Committee for the following year shall be appointed by the President-elect during the current year and shall, to the extent they can, serve as committee members for the current year.

5. The Education Committee shall plan for onsite and online programs for professional development and continuing legal education, as well as curating teaching and learning resources. The Education Committee shall work closely with both the Membership Committee and Community Engagement Committee to seek membership input regarding areas of education law interest and to facilitate the creation of professional development, learning communities, and other forms of membership engagement around those areas of interest. The Education Committee may recommend to the Board that the Education Law Association co-sponsor onsite and online seminar(s) with other organizations and institutions whenever it appears that such sponsorship will further the goals of the Education Law Association. The Executive Director must make clear in writing to the collaborating organization that ELA assumes no financial responsibility or liability with respect to the seminars unless specifically authorized in advance. See Bylaws for policies on approval, pricing, and co-sponsorship. 

6. The Outreach/Partnership Committee shall work closely with the Executive and/or Managing Director to build relationships with organizations, agencies, and individuals to extend ELA’s professional network and increase revenue and other resources. The committee shall coordinate soliciting sponsorships, donations, grants, and pro bono services to decrease Education Law Association's expenses and expand its membership services and benefits.

7. The Membership Committee, chaired by the President-Elect, shall work closely with the Executive and Managing Directors to identify and implement strategies to attract and welcome new members and retain current members. The Membership Committee shall work collaboratively with the Community Engagement Committee and Education Committee to seek membership input regarding areas of education law interest and to facilitate the creation of learning communities and other forms of membership engagement around those areas of interest. The Membership Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board regarding the Classes of Membership under Article III of the bylaws and the fees to be charged for each. Similarly, the committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board regarding the committee’s written policies and procedures.

8. The Nominating Committee shall select a slate of officers and directors for election at the annual business meeting.  The Immediate Past President shall serve as the Chair of the Nomination Committee.  The members of the Nominating Committee must be appointed from the ranks of the past presidents and past members of the Board of Directors of ELA. Past members of the Board of Directors who are current members of the Nominating Committee shall not be considered for nomination to officer and director positions during their term on the Nominating Committee. See Bylaws for nomination criteria, procedures, and vacancies policies.

9. The Past Presidents Committee, chaired by the Immediate Past President, the Past Presidents Committee shall maintain contact with past ELA presidents and coordinate with the Board and the Executive Director on efforts to keep them engaged with ELA, available as an advisory body to the Board and the Executive Director, and aware of their value to ELA.

10. The Periodicals Committee shall review all proposals for publications and make recommendations to the Executive Director and Board President for publishing Education Law Association’s non-book publications, including The Chronicle of Education Law. A periodical is defined as any article, blog, case brief, column, commentary, newsletter, or law article produced in partnership with Affiliate publishers, whether published digitally or in print. Committee members will help shape the proposal submission and publishing workflow and help create new marketing strategies for promoting individual and institutional subscriptions. Decisions to publish periodicals should consider the following: the periodical must have general interest to those who work in the field of education law and be marketable and sellable to education law professionals; the publication must not be written from a personal or advocacy position; the publication must be properly referenced, using The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation; and the presentation of an initial proposal is no guarantee that it will be accepted for publication. 

11. The Publications Committee shall review all proposals for publications and make recommendations to the Executive Director and Board President for publication activities. The Publications Committee shall review the process for soliciting proposals, assess the timeliness and quality of ELA’s publications, develop new publication initiatives and marketing strategies, and make recommendations to the ELA President and Board related to current and future publications.