SkillsUSA Texas has an identifying system that includes a National Charter number for the entire school and a SkillsUSA Texas Chapter Number for each program area. This has been in place for more than twenty years and guidelines are found in our SkillsUSA Texas Bylaws.
SkillsUSA, the national office, assigns a National Charter number for the entire school campus, they call this local chapter. To receive this a school must complete a Petition for National Chapter and create a Constitution or set of Bylaws for the school. These documents are found a www.skillsusatx.org, click “New Chapter” under the Membership Tab. Completing these documents will allow SkillsUSA to add your school to the registration database for online registration. These documents create the documentation that you may be asked for if audited by the education agency.
In addition, SkillsUSA Texas assigns a chapter number for each training or program area. Chapter numbers must remain on the campus where they started. If an advisor moves to a new campus they will need to look at taking over a chapter number on that campus or getting a new chapter number. Each school has the option to work with one Texas Chapter number for all programs at your school or a Texas Chapter number for each program or training area. Schools have this option to work under one SkillsUSA Texas chapter number, but it limits the number of students that are able to compete, see the Texas Regulations District Guidelines.
Each local charter (the entire school) needs at least 7 members and a professional member to be eligible for competitions. If you create separate Texas chapters for each training program area, each Texas chapter will need at least 7 members to fill a slate of officers. If your school is not able to fulfill this obligation, we will look at your situation and consider making adjustments.
This rule has been in the SkillsUSA Texas Bylaws for more than 20 years. We have been asked to enforce this rule for a couple of reasons. For example, a single competition is being asked to work with over 100 students at a district competition. This may happen when a single training program has multiple Texas chapters with only two members. This does permit an advisor to enter more students from their program at the district level. However, this also overloads competition areas. Forcing the contest chair to find a way to narrow the number of contestants at the competition which could be a written test. Combining an advisor’s students into one Texas chapter and adhering to the rules stated in the Texas Regulations, will hopefully eliminate the need to ask students to travel to a competition only to be eliminated with a written test.
Advisors should first conduct a local competition so that your best students are sent to the district competition. This will allow SkillsUSA Texas to offer quality in our competitions and offer a better experience for those students who are qualified to compete at a district-level competition.
