Membership/Eligibility Policies
The membership and eligibility policies of the Nebraska FFA
Association have been approved by the delegates to the annual State FFA
Convention and by the Nebraska FFA Board of Directors.
These policies govern the district and state levels of the organization.
Local policies shall not be in conflict with the state association, but
may be more restrictive.
Article VI of the Nebraska FFA Bylaws reads as follows:
Active
Membership. Any student who is
regularly enrolled in a secondary agricultural education program is entitled to
become an active member of their local chartered FFA chapter.
Secondary agricultural education programs shall be defined as grades
7‑12. To retain membership during high school, the member must:
| 1. |
be enrolled in at least one agricultural education course during the
school year and/or follow a planned course of study for an agricultural
occupation which includes a supervised agricultural experience program, the
objective of which is preparation for an agricultural career.
Members may retain their active membership until November 30, following
the fourth National FFA Convention after graduating from high school or leaving
high school; |
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| 2. |
show an interest in the affairs of the organization
by attending meetings, striving for degrees of membership, and
participating in other organized activities of the chapter; |
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| 3. |
pay all current local, state, and national dues by
the date established by the chapter; |
A
member who is in good standing at the time of induction into the armed forces of
the United States of America shall be in good standing during the period of
active service without further payment of dues or attendance at meetings.
Time spent in the armed forces shall not be considered as elapsed time in
determining the maximum period of four national conventions following graduation
from high school or leaving high school.
Members
using this waiver of service time for the purpose of maintaining active
membership for application for advanced degrees of membership, must resume
active participation within six months after having been honorably discharged
from military service, indicating such a desire by paying of dues and attending
meetings. Members participating in
a six‑month armed service program shall be eligible for one full year of
extended membership. No individual,
however, may retain active membership beyond their 23rd birthday.
The
delegates at the 61st State FFA Convention adopted a policy to allow junior high
students (7th or 8th grade) FFA membership. The following guidelines govern this membership:
| 1. |
Membership¾Any
seventh or eighth grade student who is enrolled in an agricultural education
class will be eligible for membership in the Nebraska FFA Association.
The decision about what constitutes an agricultural education class will
be made by the local agricultural education instructor. |
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| 2. |
Career Development Events/Awards¾Career
development events and award programs may be of a local, district, or state
level, depending on what the local instructor feels is in the best interest of
the program. The Nebraska School
Activities Association rules do not allow junior and senior high students to
compete for recognition. |
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| 3. |
Exhibiting at Fairs¾Junior
High FFA members are allowed to exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair, FFA Division
providing their dues are paid to the Nebraska FFA Association prior to
exhibiting. They may also exhibit
as county/local fairs if the fair rules allow. |
Nebraska
FFA Leadership Skills Events are open to all Nebraska FFA members who are
enrolled in an agricultural education class one or both semesters during the
school year in which the district and/or state leadership skills event is held.
Members
who have competed in the state level of a specific event (excluding Junior
Parliamentary Procedure, Senior Parliamentary Procedure, and Agricultural
Demonstration) are not eligible to compete again in that event on the district
or state level. Members of a state
winning team in the Junior Parliamentary Procedure, Senior Parliamentary
Procedure, or Agricultural Demonstration events are ineligible to compete again
on the district or state level of that event.
The Junior Parliamentary Procedure and Junior Public Speaking events are
limited to freshmen or sophomore FFA members.
The Creed Speaking event is limited to freshmen or sophomores who are in
their first year of FFA membership.
A
member's eligibility for the FFA Leadership Skills Events ends when the member
receives a diploma signifying graduation from high school.
A mid‑term graduate is eligible if they have not yet received their
diploma at the time of the district/state event.
Chapters
with 50 or more in-school members (grades 9-12 only) on their initial roster
(submitted by September 30) are eligible for a second individual or team in the
district leadership skills events.
All
career development participants must be undergraduates, be under 21 years of age
and be bona fide high school students in regular attendance.
To
be eligible for any of the career development events, the student must be having
or have had instruction in agricultural education for at least one semester
within the school year previous to the career development event entered.
To
be eligible to compete, students shall be doing passing work in at least fifteen
credit hours of high school work per week. They shall have credit on the school records for fifteen
credit hours of school work for the last preceding semester in school.
Students
who have participated in interstate, national, or the annual Nebraska high
school agricultural education career development events are ineligible for
further competition on similar teams. Any
infractions of this rule will result in that team forfeiting any awards or
honors.
No
team or team members planning to compete in any of the annual Nebraska
agricultural education judging career development events may use, observe, or
observe being used, any of the livestock, equipment or supplies of the UNL
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in preparation for career
development events. This rule does
not apply to teams or team members that have won a state career development
event and are preparing to enter a national career development event.
Proof will be necessary to satisfy the department involved.
FFA Chapter Eligibility
FFA
chapters shall be considered eligible for Nebraska FFA activities providing the
following criteria is met as outlined in the Nebraska FFA Bylaws.
| Section 6.00 |
Chapters in Good/Bad Standing: |
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| A local FFA chapter will be considered in good standing with the
Association when all of the following conditions are satisfied: |
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| (a) |
The
Association receives full payment for all State and National dues; |
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| (b) |
All reports,
rosters, organizational documents and materials requested by the Board of
Directors are received and approved by the Board of Directors; and |
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| (c) |
The local
chapter’s constitution (and Bylaws where applicable) do not conflict with
these Bylaws or the constitution and Bylaws of the national FFA Association. |
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| If
a local FFA chapter is not in good standing, the local chapter: |
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| (a) |
Will not be
eligible to receive any chapter award during the applicable school year; |
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| (b) |
Will forfeit
all delegate seats for the annual state convention; |
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| (c) |
May not be
represented by any teams or individuals in the State FFA Leadership Skills
Events, and |
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| (d) |
May not allow
any individual or team to represent the Association in national competition. |
The
Board of Directors shall provide notice to local chapters as to whether said
chapters are in good or bad standing. The
Board of Directors may reinstate a local chapter’s good standing upon receipt
of delinquent materials from the chapter and/or upon the completion of any other
remedial action which the Board of Directors deems appropriate, in its sole
discretion.
Nebraska
FFA Membership and Chapter Eligibility Policies:
A
minimum of 10 members at one attendance center is required to establish and
maintain an FFA Chapter.
A
minimum of two agricultural education courses (year-long or 4 semester courses)
taught by a Nebraska certified agricultural education instructor, including FFA
and SAE, shall constitute an agricultural education program.
The
Nebraska certified agricultural education instructor at the school of their
employment shall be the official FFA advisor.
Discontinuance Policy
In
the event an approved agricultural education program is discontinued at a
school, the FFA chapter may continue to exist for one year beyond the
discontinuance provided an FFA sponsor is employed by the school system with the
approval of the State FFA Executive Director.
Eligibility for Land and Range Evaluation Career Development Events
Participants
must be FFA members in good standing and must have not participated in the
national competition of the career development event they wish to enter on the
area or state level.
Eligibility for Proficiency Awards
Nebraska
FFA members may apply for district and state level proficiency awards through
their first year after graduation from high school. Members who are two or more years out of high school are no
longer eligible for proficiency awards. The
students must be bona fide FFA members in good standing with their local FFA
chapters.
Eligibility for Agriscience Student of the Year Awards
Nebraska
FFA members may apply for the Agriscience Student of the Year award through
their first year after graduation from high school. Members who are two or more years out of high school are no
longer eligible for this award.
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Page Last Updated:11/09/2006
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