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Advancing and Advocating for Social Justice & Equity

POLICY ON POSITION STATEMENTS (rev. 6.15.12)

For questions or submissions, please contact: Action@NAMEorg.org

Types of Position Statements:

NAME issues two types of position statements: research briefs and resolutions. A research brief (typically 4-10 pages) presents a critical review (summary and critique) of research related to a topic, and describes how and why the topic is related to NAMEs mission of advancing equity and social justice through multicultural education. A resolution (typically one-half or one page) states NAME’s public position on a controversial issue or debate, and presents recommendations for policy, practice, and/or advocacy.

 
Process for Proposing, Revising, and Approving Position Statements:

 Any member of NAME may propose a position statement (research brief or resolution), and may do so at any time of the year.  The process for proposing, revising, and approving a position statement is as follows:
 
  1. Proposal of a topic and position: NAME members (including but not limited to members of the Political Action Committee [PAC] and members of the Board) who wish to propose a position statement should submit to the chair of the PAC two things: a brief description of the topic and a brief description of the recommended position on this topic.
     
    1. Alternatively, NAME members may choose to submit a complete draft of the position statement to the chair of the PAC. The draft should contain the names and contact information for all authors. Research briefs should adhere to the guidelines for manuscript preparation of NAME’s journal, Multicultural Perspectives, including guidelines for complete citation information.
       
  2. Review by PAC: The PAC will review all proposals for position statements. The PAC can review proposals at one of its regular meetings throughout the year, or can convene a special review for proposals that are urgent.  If the proposal is accepted, the PAC will solicit authors for the position statement (authors can include the proposer, members of the PAC, and/or the general NAME membership), and will work with the authors to develop the position statement and a timeline for completion.
     
  3. Development of Position Statement: The PAC will offer suggestions to the statement author(s) as the statement is being drafted.  The PAC may perform additional revisions before presenting to the Board.
     
  4. Presentation to the Board: The PAC will present to the Board a summary of all proposals, along with the PAC’s recommendations and actions.  The PAC will also present to the Board all submitted positions statements, along with the PAC’s recommendations of whether or not to adopt.
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  5. Adoption by the Board: The Board will review all submitted position statements, and has final authority over the content of all position statements.  The Board will make one of three decisions: approve, approve after revision, or reject.  The Board will communicate to the authors its decision.
     
Ownership of Position Statements:

NAME, rather than individuals, owns the copyright and distribution rights of all its position statements. If individuals are invited to help author a research brief for NAME, they will be acknowledged as contributing authors in the brief. The contributing authors of a NAME research brief will own the intellectual property of that brief and can publish similar content elsewhere as a distinctly different publication, but should note that the research originally appeared as a NAME research brief.
 
Distribution of Position Statements:

NAME strives to distribute its position statements through various means: (1) the NAME website, listserv, and social media, as well as direct communications with members and chapters; (2) printed publication (e.g., a brochure or monograph); (3) one of NAME’s periodical publications (e.g., in the “Advancing the Conversation” section of Multicultural Perspectives; and (4) local or national newspaper distribution.