To organize a PTA, follow these steps:
1. Contact your European PTA
2. Form a Planning Committee
3. Publicize the organizational meeting
4. Conduct the organizational meeting
5. Move forward. . .after your PTA is formed

CONTACT YOUR EUROPEAN PTA

• Contact your European PTA office for guidelines and assistance in organizing a local PTA.

• Identify individuals interested in forming a PTA and set a time and a place for a planning meeting.
• Ask a European PTA representative to address your planning meeting attendees and to provide information and materials about PTA. The European representative will be helpful in making sure that your group meets the eligibility requirements and in explaining the necessary procedures for organizing.
• Form a planning committee from among the attendees at the meeting. Select a chair and secretary to undertake responsibilities temporarily until officers can be elected.
• Organize temporary committees such as bylaws, nominations, publicity, and hospitality. Set a date for an organizational meeting to actually form and charter the new PTA unit.

• Distribute notices of the organizational meeting to all parents, teachers, school staff, community members, and business people. Also put a notice in the local newspaper and contact other media sources.
• Make personal calls to parents, teachers, and other prospective members and place notes in school staff members' mailboxes to remind them of the meeting date.
• Survey your community to find individuals willing to be nominated for office.
• Prepare a set of proposed bylaws to be distributed at the meeting. Work with a European PTA representative who can help you follow the European PTA guidelines for writing the bylaws.

• Call the meeting to order. The chair of the planning committee explains the purpose of the meeting and introduces speakers who explain the policies and purposes of the PTAs. Include representatives of the European and/or district PTAs.
• Move to organize. The chair calls for a motion to organize a local PTA. The PTA is officially established when the motion is made, receives a second, and is carried by a majority vote.
• Distribute and present the bylaws. A member of the temporary bylaws committee reads the proposed bylaws and calls attention to articles and sections required for all local PTA units. The committee member then moves for the adoption of the proposed bylaws. Each article is then read separately so that amendments, if any, can be considered and acted on. As each amendment is offered, it is stated by the committee member, debated, and voted on immediately. A majority vote is required for adoption. Final motion is made to adopt bylaws as amended.
• Hold a short intermission and enroll members. On payment of dues (amount decided on during adoption of bylaws), people become charter members of the new PTA. An accurate list of members should be kept.
• Call for nominating committee report and nomination from the floor. The chair reconvenes the meeting for nominations and elections. All candidates nominated must be members of the PTA and their consent must be obtained before their names are submitted for nomination. The election should be by ballot, unless there is only one nominee, in which case the election may be by voice vote. Officers should be voted on one by one. Only members may vote.
• Install newly elected officers. The European and/or district PTA representative would be an appropriate person to perform the installation.
• The newly elected president takes the chair and calls for further business (deciding on date of first regular meeting, etc.).
• Adjourn meeting.