Become a NCSSFL Member
New members of NCSSFL must meet the requirements for one of the following membership levels. After determining which membership level you meet, click the JOIN button at the bottom of the page.
Membership Requirements
There are three classes of membership: Regular SEA, Associate and Retired.
Those eligible for regular SEA membership are state education agency (SEA) personnel whose area of responsibility includes world language education and the implementation of state policies for languages other than English of any state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States of America. Additionally, directors/administrators within a SEA who were formerly responsible for world language education and who are currently responsible for the oversight of personnel and programs related to world language education are eligible for regular membership.
Regular SEA members shall have full voting privileges.
Associate
Those eligible for associate membership include the following:
- officials or their representatives with responsibility for K-12 world language initiatives from federal government agencies;
- officially designated representatives of national and international non-profit organizations whose mission includes the improvement or promotion of world language education; a letter from the organization is required to confirm a representative, and no more than three representatives may be designated by any one organization;
- SEA personnel who are not eligible for regular SEA membership in NCSSFL but whose area of responsibility includes international or global education;
- an individual designated as the NCSSFL state representative by the SEA in collaboration with the state world language association when there is no one with responsibility for world language education within the SEA; an official letter from the SEA is required to confirm the designee;
- an individual appointed by a regular SEA member as his/her representative when the regular SEA member is unable to attend one or more NCSSFL annual meetings; the individual may be either an SEA employee or a world language educator within the regular SEA member’s state; upon completion of at least one full year of service in this capacity, the individual may continue his/her associate membership;
- individuals who have been NCSSFL regular SEA members in good standing for at least one year prior to a change of employment, who are currently working in the arena of world/second language education at either a public or private educational institution, and who support the mission of NCSSFL; and
- individuals who have been NCSSFL regular SEA members in good standing for at least one year prior to the termination of their SEA employment due to a reduction in force within their SEA; and who are not eligible for retired membership or a., b., c., d., e., or f. above.
Those eligible for Retired Associate membership include the following:
- individuals who have been NCSSFL associate members in good standing for at least one year prior to their retirement.
Associate members shall not have voting privileges.
Retired
Those eligible for retired membership are persons who have held regular SEA membership in NCSSFL and who have retired from positions in the SEA. Retired members who are self-employed are eligible for continued membership.
Retired members shall have full voting privileges.
NCSSFL Ethics Clause
By registering and paying your dues, you agree to the ethics clause below: I hereby declare that, if I ever become employed by or enter into a short- or long-term contract with any for-profit or not-for-profit organization engaged in commercial ventures related to world language education*, I will avoid any conflict of interest with NCSSFL by not revealing or sharing with my employer NCSSFL’s confidential and proprietary information and/or its intellectual property. I further agree not to use my affiliation with NCSSFL while promoting or selling any commercial world language education products. If the NCSSFL Executive Board determines that my actions conflict with these requirements of the organization’s ethics policy, I will immediately surrender my NCSSFL membership without a refund while being affiliated with the commercial enterprise. A renewal of membership benefits will only be approved when the NCSSFL Executive Board determines that all aspects of the conflict of interest have been fully resolved. *Such organizations might include textbook publishers, educational materials or services vendors, or assessment companies among others.