ACAPT is opening a more formal process for bylaws or standing rules amendments and main motions.  See deadlines, forms & procedures here.

Proposed 2023 bylaws & standing rules amendments

The open comment period for proposed amendments is Wednesday, March 15 - Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

• All ACAPT members can use the discussion board to ask questions, propose edits & share your perspective about the proposed amendments.
  • NOTE:  You will need to login and subscribe to the discussion board in order to post and respond. Be sure to subscribe to the discussion board to receive posts, respond and post.
    
    
• Be sure to share talk with your institution's ACAPT member representative so the rep can take your feedback under consideration when voting.
  
  
• ACAPT member representatives will vote on these amendments at a special meeting on Tuesday, May 23 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm ET.  Any ACAPT member can register to attend the special meeting. 

1.  Amendment #1 - Amend Bylaws of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy to allocate one position for an individual involved in clinical education
2. Amendment #2 - Amend Bylaws of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy to allow all individual members the right to hold office
3. Amendment #3 - Amend Bylaws of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy to Reflect an Amendment Previously Approved by Members Related to Dues

Why these amendments reflect upon the 2018 bylaws

Since 2021, ACAPT has been exploring a realignment of its relationship with APTA through an affiliation agreement to better define the scope and mission of each organization and its offerings within the academic physical therapy profession.  This process involved engaging with ACAPT members and APTA leadership on the terms that would inform that agreement. 

Recently, APTA challenged the legality of ACAPT’s 2021 bylaw amendments, claiming the change would need to be approved by the APTA Board.  As an independently incorporated organization without any affiliation agreement with APTA providing APTA with such rights, our legal counsel and the ACAPT Board disagreed.

This divergence of opinion has halted the affiliation agreement discussions. Recognizing that such an impasse delays the process of reaching an agreement with APTA, the ACAPT Board has agreed to not implement the recent ACAPT Bylaw amendments and to operate under the 2018 Bylaws at this time. The Board has made this decision as a sign of good faith to encourage APTA to resume our discussions.

We value our relationship with APTA and believe that under a new relationship, we can continue our shared goals of advancing the profession of physical therapy, improving the health of society, and building community.

Eligibility to speak and vote

All attendees may speak; attendees who are not ACAPT members must receive permission of the representatives to speak.  Only ACAPT representatives may vote. 

In the event a designated representative is unable to attend the annual meeting, the institution may designate an alternate for the meeting.  The alternate must be an APTA member within the institution following the guidelines for being a representative established by the ACAPT.

Representatives must register no later than one hour prior to the annual meeting in order to establish if a quorum is present. Staff will issue each designated representative a voting card for the annual meeting.

Meeting conduct

• A member wishing to speak shall rise, address the Chair, wait to be recognized, and give his/her name and institution.  If a microphone is available, speakers will be recognized in the order of their lining up at the microphone.
• No member may speak longer than three minutes at one time on any one question, nor more than once until all who wish to speak have been heard.
• A member may speak for a third time, on any one question, only with the consent of the Chair or upon a majority vote of the members present and voting.
• A timekeeper shall be appointed by the Chair.
• In debate, members must limit their remarks to the merits of a question.
• All questions of order or appeal shall be decided by a majority voice or standing vote by representatives present and voting.
• The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the Council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Guidelines, these Standing Rules, or any special rules of order adopted by the Council.

What to expect of the virtual meeting format

• We will not have a chat box nor a Q&A in order to ensure the procedures mentioned above are respected.
• Raise your hand to speak and wait to be called on.  Once you are called on, we will share your video.
• A timekeeper will mention when you are close to your 3-minute speaking limit and when your time is up.
• For non-voting members who wish to speak - you must personally contact a member institution's representative and ask permission to get in the queue with a question.  Then, when that Representative is recognized to speak, s/he will say "Is it permissible for ____ from ____ institution to address the body?"  The Vice President, who is presiding over the meeting, will ask, "Is there any objection to having _____ from ____ institution speak?"  If there is no objection, then that individual may speak.  If there is an objection, please raise your hand.  A vote will then be called to determine the decision for the person to speak, which will be based on a simple majority.  The Vice President will recognize the person to speak should the objection not be made by the majority.
• The meeting will be recorded to ensure the accuracy of the minutes.
• Amendments to motions may require some downtime on the screen as the editing is being made, so please be patient.
• If you wish to present a motion, please contact the ACAPT Reference Committee at acaptrc@gmail.com immediately.