The state office shall post an online application for state office on the PA FBLA web site. All candidates must adhere to the PA FBLA State Officer Candidate Guidelines the Election Campaign Guidelines, and the Officer Travel Policy.
To be considered a candidate for PA FBLA State President or PA FBLA State First Vice President, candidates are required to have held the elected office of FBLA local chapter president or region president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, or any other state office by October 1 of the year in which they file their application for state office. The candidate must be recommended by the local chapter adviser.
To be considered for the offices of PA FBLA Secretary, PA FBLA Treasurer, or PA FBLA Reporter, a candidate shall hold or have held an elective office in either his/her local or regional chapter or a comparable office in an organization on the approved list of national activities released by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and be recommended by the local chapter adviser. A candidate who wishes to run for the office of vice president at large shall have at least two full years remaining as an active member, but he/she is not required to have held an FBLA local or regional office or a comparable office at the time the application is submitted.
If the prospective candidate meets the qualifications and is willing to accept the responsibilities, he/she should complete the online application and obtain the necessary signatures of the chapter adviser, his/her parent/guardian, school principal, and the chief school administrator (and approval of the School Board/Board of Directors, if required by local policy). The completed application must be submitted to the Executive Director/State Chairman by the December 15 deadline, no later than 11:59 pm. The prospective candidate and respective adviser or adviser designee shall participate in the virtual orientation meeting via Zoom, participate in the mandatory officer candidate interviews, and attend the SLC to meet with the orientation committee before being officially nominated. No more than one candidate from a local chapter may campaign for an elected office. A candidate may apply for one elected office or one appointed office–not both.
Before making a decision to run, the member and the adviser should discuss with the school administrator absence from school and travel expenses for transportation, lodging, and meals. PA FBLA provides an Anticipated Costs for Upcoming School Year Document that is posted on the PA FBLA web site. Most expenses, other than transportation, of the student member of the committee are reimbursed from the state chapter. If the school administrator is unwilling to support the member and adviser AND the adviser is unwilling to attend all meetings with the officer, the application should not be submitted.
A state officer shall be financially liable if he/she resigns his/her position for a reason other than a medical or a catastrophic situation. The State Committee will determine the amount of the financial liability.
The deadline for state officer candidate applications is December 15, no later than 11:59 pm. If there are no candidates for a state office by December 15, all applicants for all offices and their advisers will be notified of the vacancy and will be given an opportunity to switch to the vacant position. To switch to the vacant position, applicants and their advisers must provide written notification to the PA FBLA Executive Director/State Chairman e-mailed no later than December 22.
If there are no applicants by the December 22 deadline, all advisers are to be notified of the vacancy and be given an opportunity to file an application submitted by February 1 unless the position is declared vacant by the Board of Directors.
Officers must comply with the Officer Travel Policy. All elected officers and their candidates are expected to attend all required events as listed as part of the state officer candidate application. In the event a state officer candidate adviser’s inability to travel to the NLC due to a health situation or emergency, a plan will be developed for coverage through collaboration with the PA FBLA Executive Director/State Chairman.
The state committee may appoint a student as a state officer if a vacancy exists after elections are held at the State Leadership Conference. The state committee may choose from among students not elected to other offices; students from schools with already elected state officers; or by advertising a vacancy.
Parliamentarian
The highest scoring ninth- through eleventh-grade member in the parliamentary procedure written test that is administered during the SLC who has indicated his/her desire for the office by submitting the completed application by the date indicated, thus obtaining the approval of his/her school as described in the previous paragraphs, shall be appointed to serve as state parliamentarian during the next school year. All members who are eligible may apply.