Share Your Idea with Your Colleagues; Ask Them to Support Your Resolution

The NCTE Committee on Resolutions encourages NCTE members to propose a resolution for consideration in November. The NCTE Executive Committee recently approved changes regarding resolutions, including their content; those changes are reflected in the text below. Additional changes in the process for resolutions will likely be considered in the late summer and fall of 2023.

Each year, NCTE members have the opportunity to take a stand on the issues that matter most to them in the teaching and learning of English and the language arts. These stands come in the form of resolutions that pass through a series of steps, including a vote by our full membership.

Resolutions should be drafted by at least one member; two members are preferred. Proposed resolutions should deal with issues not previously addressed or with aspects of issues not covered by existing resolutions. Your submission should include

• a brief background statement;
• multiple perspectives that support a claim on a topical issue;
• explanation of how the issue affects students, literacy educators, and/or society at large;
• a scholarly base (peer-reviewed publications) cited in the list of references (required); and
• the signatures of at least five NCTE members.

The Committee on Resolutions can provide technical assistance in the development of a new resolution. The Committee decides which of the submitted texts to present to the membership.

Resolutions must be submitted by October 15. Send resolutions, including contact name(s), email address(es), and phone or fax number(s) to the attention of the NCTE Committee on Resolutions Chair at resolutions@ncte.org. Please include the full name(s) and NCTE member number(s) for the author(s) and for each of the five required members who sign to show their support of the resolution text.

Voting: All NCTE members are invited to attend the Annual Business Meeting, scheduled this year for November 17, 2023, from 5:00–6:30 p.m. ET, and to take part in discussions and vote on resolutions about issues of concern to the profession! Membership must be verified before the start of the meeting.

Sense-of-the-House Motions: These statements reflect the opinion of the majority of members attending the Annual Business Meeting. They may be offered for discussion and action at the Annual Business Meeting. To be considered for deliberation, sense-of-the-house motions must be prepared in writing, must not exceed fifty words, and must be submitted to NCTECommittees@ncte.org, to the attention of the NCTE President or Parliamentarian, by noon ET on the day of the meeting. Such motions, if passed, are advisory to the Executive Committee or other appropriate Council bodies. They do not constitute official Council policy.

Learn more here: “How NCTE Resolutions Are Submitted and Processed.” NCTE’s past resolutions are available here.