User:Kshannon/Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE ANKENY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL

Article I The name of this representative body will be the “Ankeny High School Student Council,” and shall herein be referred to in this document as “the Student Council” or simply “Student Council” or “Council”.

Article II The purpose of the Student Council will be as follows: 1.	To promote better student/teacher relations. 2.	To present ideas for improving the high school. 3.	To represent the problems faced by students. 4.	To represent the student body’s wishes and interests. 5.	To provide the means for student participation in school. 6.	To make possible self-government, under existing conditions. 7.	To stimulate student self-control. 8.	To promote better student school spirit and citizenship. 9.	To promote the general welfare of Ankeny High School. 10.	To promote better student/student relations.

Article III (Powers of the Student Council) Section A.	These powers and duties shall be granted to the Student Council of Ankeny High School: A.	The right and obligation to conduct its business under the rules and guidelines of the Constitution of this body. B.	The duty of presiding at assembly programs that are selected and arranged by the Student Council. C.	The responsibility of holding and financing the Homecoming Festivities. D.	Sponsor social events and projects for the entire student body. E.	The right to hold Student Council elections. F.	The right to enact programs and policies for the betterment of the student body, school, or community. G.	The duty and obligation to be the spokesbody for the entire student body on its problems, wishes, and desires.

Section B. The advisor(s) and/or administrative team shall have the power to veto any legislation passed or activity planned by the Student Council. The passage of the vetoed legislation shall remain in the minutes and be marked vetoed. The veto shall be used in this manner only.

Article IV (Officers’ Duties)

Section A.	A. The President 1.	Preside at all meetings and assemblies of the Council. 2.	Call for special meetings. 3.	Shall appoint committees and designate chairpersons. 4.	Serve as Chairman of the Executive Council, made up of four student officers. 5.	Shall preside as leader at designated school assemblies. 6.	Shall be viewed as head-spokesperson of the student body and Council.

B. The Vice-President 1.	Serve as president in the absence of the president. 2.	Serve as second in command of all Council activities and programs. 3.	Serve as Watchdog over committee chairpersons. 4.	Shall pick a secretary and treasurer as in Article V, Section C, Letters C&D. C. The Secretary 1.	Keep all accurate and complete minutes of all Council meetings. 2.	Keep current and accurate records of attendance. 3.	Type and review minutes of all meetings, then give to the chairman of the Announcement Committee and the secretary in the front office. 4.	Handle Student Council correspondence. 5.	Keep a complete folder of ALL Student Council activities and meetings for the entire year. D. The Treasurer 1.	Shall be the official purchasing agent for the Council. 2.	See that bills are paid. 3.	Be in charge of collecting all money and ticket sales. 4.	Make financial reports at the beginning of each quarter, and whenever requested by the president. 5.	Have the responsibility to keep a complete and accurate financial record of ALL Council activities and programs. E. The Head of Admissions 1.	Shall assist the president, advisor, or administrative team with elections, balloting, counting of ballots, or new member orientation. 2.	Shall not be a voting member of the Executive Council.

Section B.	For the removal of any Council member, the following steps must be taken:

1.	There must be a formal statement listing all reasons for removal. 2.	The executive council must agree to the removal.

Article V (Membership & Elections)

Section A. The Council shall be composed of twelve (12) members from each grade level: sophomore, junior, and senior. The number of members does not include the vice-president nor the secretary, treasurer, or president. Delegates will be chosen as follows:

1.	All interested candidates must secure a petition from the designated place or person and return it with at least twenty (20) signatures by the designated time. Each candidate may campaign before the election as much or little as he/she chooses. Votes may be cast only for those nominated candidates. 2.	Each spring, the Student Council Advisor(s) shall set up a date and time for elections that shall determine next year’s junior and senior Student Council representatives. 3.	All elections for sophomore representatives will also be held in spring, at the middle school. These elections will be conducted in, as much as possible, the high school election procedures.

Section B. At some point during the last quarter of each year, before the dismissal of senior class, each vice-presidential/presidential candidate will be required to make a speech before the student body prior to the election.

1.	Any sophomore that wishes to run for the vice-president position must return a completed application packet, obtained from the office, which includes a petition with fifty (50) signatures on it. They must also interview with the Student Council Advisor(s). 2.	The speech given by each vice-presidential/presidential candidate will be presented either by television or in front of the student body in a general assembly. 3.	After the election speeches are heard, the junior and sophomore classes will vote for the position described above. 4.	Seniors are excluded from the voting and the signing of petitions.

The following year, the candidate elected will take office as the vice-president, and their senior year, they will become president.

Section C. The officers of the Student Council will be as follows:

A.	A president, elected as in Article IV, Section B. B.	A vice-president, elected as in Article IV, Section B. C.	A secretary, selected by the president, before he takes office-May of his vice-presidential year, and then the Council may challenge his appointment if they so choose to by majority vote. D.	A treasurer, selected by the president, the same formalities as with the secretarial selection in Article IV, Section C, Letter C. E.	An optional head of admissions, selected by the president or former head of admissions, the same formalities as with the secretarial selection in Article IV, Section C, Letter C. F.	A(n) (group of) advisor(s), selected by the administrative team, will be the voice of the school district and School Board with duties and powers as explained in this Constitution.

Article VI (Meetings)

Section A. The student council shall meet on days and times specified by the president. The president and advisor(s) shall have power to call special meetings.

Section B. 1.	If a member of the Council misses three meetings and is unexcused then his/her membership will be questioned by the Council and could be deemed grounds for dismissal. 2.	Excused absences shall be interpreted by the following criteria: a.	illness, and the member is home from school. b.	Absent from school on that day or at the time of the meeting, does not include seniors’ open campus freedoms as an excuse for tardiness. c.	A test in a particular class, when a meeting is held. d.	Any other excuse accepted by the President or advisor(s) is valid. e.	Any other approved school activity.

3.	Unexcused absences will be viewed as such: a.	Forgetfulness. b.	Open campus. c.	Any unexcused absence from school at the meeting. d.	Any excuse the President or advisor(s) deems nonvalid.

4.	If a member is dropped for a violation of the Code of Conduct and by the means described in Article IV, Section B, then the advisor(s) will offer the position to an alternate per the election ballots on a most votes received basis. 5.	If an executive council member is dropped for a violation of the Code of Conduct and by the means described in Article IV, Section B, then the President will appoint a member of the current Student Council to fill that position. 6.	If the President is dropped for a violation of the Code of Conduct and by the means described in Article IV, Section B, then candidates for the Presidency will be gathered from the current Student Council and the Council will then elect a new President

Article VII (Order of Business at Meetings)

Section A. The order of business at all regular and special meetings is up to the president’s decision. The basic structure should be as follows:

a.	Roll call b.	Important business at hand c.	Committee work d.	Committee chairs report e.	Any new business f.	Question period g.	Adjournment

Article VIII (End of Meeting Procedures)

Section A. At the closing of each meeting, a “Hawks on Three” chant, while not required, is strongly encouraged.

Section B. The “Hawks on Three” chant consists of all members gathering around to make a circle, and then putting one arm into the center of the aforementioned circle. One member shall then count in a commanding voice, “One, two, three”, and immediately following this, all members shall join in by saying in a powerful voice, “HAWKS!”

Article IX (Committees)

Section A. Committees shall be created and be disbanded as deemed necessary by the president and advisor(s) throughout each individual school year.

Article X (Enforcement of Constitution)

Section A.	This Constitution, by the ratification of it by the Council of 2002, is enforceable by the means described below:

1.	Any member of any Council in the future or present may bring to the Council’s attention the misuse or the nonuse of the guidelines and rules established in this Constitution. 2.	Any member of the student body may ask for an interpretation of the meaning of any part of the Constitution, and therefore be told, by the president, the meaning of the part in question. 3.	The removal of any member or officer of the Council may be called for on the grounds of misuse and nonuse of the guidelines and rules of this Constitution. Removals from office are handled as in Article V, Sections B&C.

Article XI (Amendments)

Section A.	This constitution may be amended as follows: 1.	Proposed amendments may be presented to the student council by a student or faculty member. The council may decide on totally reviewing the constitution. In this case a committee shall be appointed to propose amendments. 2.	A proposed amendment must be made available to the student body two weeks before voting shall take place, will be voted on by the council, and shall be incorporated herein, without student body vote, if carried by a two-thirds majority. 3.	A proposed amendment, if challenged by a written petition of 10% of the student body, shall be voted upon by the student body. The amendment shall be incorporated herein if carried by a two-thirds majority. Article XII (Ratification)

Section A. Ratification of this constitution shall be made by 2/3 majority of the voting student body.

Section B. The proposed constitution must be made available to the student body two weeks before voting shall take place.

Notes (not an official policy):

For future reference the “Hawks on Three” amendment was added by the 2002-2003 Student Council for several reasons: 1.	It provides a sense of teamwork, with all of the coordination it takes to get forty people to say “Hawks!” at the same time. 2.	The chant unites the council members, reminding them that they are working together for the good of the entire student body. 3.	It’s just plain hilarious.

This constitution was amended and updated in 2007 to reword, grammatically check, and correctly reflect the Student Council as it stood in 2005, 2006, and 2007. 1.	Addition of a Head of Admissions position was created to reflect current traditions. 2.	Reflecting the change in number of assemblies held during the school year, multiple changes were made. 3.	Replacement of an old attendance policy and addition of references to a Code of Conduct were made. 4.	Changes in wording from a one advisor system to the possibility of multiple advisors took place. 5.	Replacing of the word recall to the word removal was done.