CONSTITUTION

Preamble

We, the students of Loveland High School, in order to promote a democratic relationship with the student body, faculty, clubs, and special interest groups, do hereby establish this constitution. The Constitution of the Loveland High School Student Council will govern the activities and duties, define policy, and address the concerns of the student body.

Article I - Name

Section 1. The name of the organization shall be Loveland High School Student Council.

Article II - General Purposes

The general purposes of the Loveland High School Student Council as a representative form of government are to:

Section 1. Voice and elicit student opinion and to work for the well-being of the members of the Loveland High School community.

Section 2. Provide a direct channel of communication between the students and staff of Loveland High School.

Section 3. Promote the understanding of the roles and responsibilities of leadership for students to learn and achieve.

Section 4. Sponsor and organize activities involving the members of Loveland High School in order to promote a more enjoyable atmosphere at school.

Article III - Powers Invested in the Organization

The powers of the Loveland High School Student Council, being allowed by the administration, faculty, and the student body are as follows:

Section 1. Student Council may initiate an all-school or class assembly or activity if asked by a class and/or club.

Section 2. Student Council will monitor and calendar all activities of Loveland High School not under the jurisdiction of the office through a system of activity requests.

Section 3. Student Council will take all appropriate measures needed to voice a student's concern.

Section 4. Any issue deemed critical by the president and/or the council may be taken to the student body before any final voting is done.

Section 5. Student Council will make and govern policy of the student body.

Article IV - Membership

Section 1. The Student Council will include up to 45 voting members. There will be 4 officers, 12 seniors, 10 juniors, 8 sophomores, 6 freshmen, and up to 5 appointed members.

Section 2. The following are the officer positions: President, Vice-president, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Section 3. The Student Council will include up to 5 appointed members from the student body who were not elected into the Student Council. These members will be appointed by the advisor, with input from the officers, and will have voting privileges and receive credit for the class. At least two of the five appointed positions must have had at least 1 full semester of Student Council experience.

Article V - Elections

Section 1. Voting Procedure: All Student Council Representative and Royalty elections will take place during the beginning of B block on an assigned election day. The Student Council Officer Election will take place in the Student Council Room and only the current members of Student Council, current Class Officers, and the representatives of the Inter club Council will be allowed to vote. Class Officer elections will take place in the cafeteria during lunch and after school.

Clause 1. Student Council officers will be in charge of the following elections unless they themselves are a candidate: student body officers, student body representatives, and class officers.

Clause 2. If a tie should occur, there will be a run-off election between the candidates involved as soon after the original election as possible.

Clause 3. All candidates must have at least a 2.50 GPA to participate in the Student Council Representative and / or Officer Elections.

Section 2. Election Ballots and Results.

Clause 1. Ballots will be distributed by a special elections committee to the appropriate B block classes. The current officers and advisor will be responsible for making sure that all classes have received ballots. Additional ballots will be left at the voting booth in the cafeteria for students who do not have a B block class.

Clause 2. Students voting in the cafeteria must return their ballot immediately in order for their vote to be counted. They must also be checked off an official student list identifying them as a student without a B block class.

Clause 3. No write-in candidates will be counted during a Student Council sponsored election.

Clause 4. All ballots for the election will be counted after all class ballots have been accounted for and all are turned in. They will be counted by at least two persons, including one officer and the advisor.

Clause 5. Election results (except Royalty elections) will be made available as soon as all ballots have been counted.

Clause 6. Homecoming Royalty candidates will first have to accept a nomination on the Homecoming Court before the official Court is announced.

Clause 7. All ballots will be kept for six months following each election, along with interview sheets, candidates names, and official final results.

Clause 8. A candidate in any election may see the official results and final ranking of their election thirty days after the actual election date.

Clause 9. A recount will be done only if asked for by a petition signed by 50% of the voters in that election. This petition will only be honored if submitted within one calendar week of the election in question.

Clause 10. There will be no re-vote unless sufficient evidence and a petition of the above specification are presented. Only Student Council Officers may initiate a re-vote using these requirements to reach a decision.

Clause 11. Any student desiring an absentee ballot needs to make a written request to the Vice-president of the council 3 days prior to the election day absence. The absence of the student will be validated and the student will be allowed to vote prior to the regularly scheduled election.

Section 3. Student Body Officers.

Clause 1. The candidate for President must be a senior and the Vice-president must be a senior or junior the following year. All candidates for President must have one full year of experience (2 complete semesters) prior to the election. All other officers will be elected from the future senior, junior, or sophomore classes and must have at least one full semester of experience.

Clause 2. The election of officers will take place in the spring within two weeks of Spring Break.

Clause 3. Candidates for the Student Body Officers of President, Vice-president, Treasurer, and Secretary, will be required to sign up for the election by a designated deadline, campaign for the election unless unopposed, and give a speech highlighting their personal goals and aspirations for the position if selected.

Clause 4. All current Student Council Officers, Representatives, and the Members of the LHS Inter club Council will be the only voting members involved in the Officer Election and must be present during all speeches in order to cast a vote representing their specified group.

Clause 5. The new officers will take office after an induction ceremony held at the end of the school year.

Clause 6. All elected officers are required to be enrolled in Student Council for the entire school year.

Clause 7. Campaign Rules:

*Candidates may spend up to $50.00 for an election campaign.

*Candidates may distribute as many stickers/fliers (under 3Ó X 5Ó) as they wish. They can also be penalized in the election for excessive littering of their materials.

*Candidates may display no more than three election posters of normal poster size. All posters must be hung in designated areas specified by the administration.

*No offensive and/or obscene language will be allowed.

*PA endorsement announcements, KLHS advertising, and usage of the school newspaper will not be allowed.

*Campaigns will be conducted in a professional manner.

Section 4. Members.

Clause 1. If no more than 34 students sign up for Student Council, school elections will be held to elect members by popular vote. This will be done after class registration for the next school year.

Section 5. Class Officers.

Clause 1. Sophomore, Junior and Senior Class Officer elections will be held in the Spring for the following year.

Clause 2. All candidates for the offices of President, Vice- President, Treasurer, and Secretary may be anyone from that class.

Clause 3. Students will vote only for their respective class candidates at the voting booth during lunch and after school on the election day(s).

Clause 4. A primary election can be held to narrow down an election.

Clause 5. Election rules will follow those of Article V, Section 3, Clause 7.

Clause 6. Junior Class Officers will work closely with the Junior Class Sponsor to plan all Prom events and activities. They will also be in charge of their class' Homecoming Float.

Clause 7. Senior Class Officers will work closely with the Senior Class Sponsors to plan all Graduation events and activities. They will also be in charge of their class'Homecoming Float.

Clause 8. Freshman Class Officer elections will be organized by the advisor and Student Body Officers. This elections must take place within the first five weeks of the school year or before Homecoming Week of that year.

Clause 9. Unless a Class Advisor(s) has already been assigned, it is the responsibility of the current Class Officers to find a faculty member to serve as their Advisor for the entire school year.

Section 6. General Homecoming and Prom Royalty Elections.

Clause 1. There will be a preliminary and final election for all royalty during designated B block classes.

Clause 2. All nominees in the preliminary voting round must first accept a nomination before being placed on the final ballot.

Clause 3. Five girls and five boys will be selected from each class for the Homecoming Royalty Court. In the case of a tie for the fifth position, a sixth couple can be selected.

Article VI - Frequency of Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings will be held once a week on Wednesday or as scheduled by the President or Advisor.

Section 2. Special meetings may be called at any time by the President or Advisor.

Section 3. All regular meetings will be run by Parliamentary Procedure as manifested in Robert's Rule of Order.

Article VII - Member Duties and Responsibilities

Section 1. All members will be graded and expected to do the following as a member:

a. Be present at all required functions.

b. Plan yearly student activities approved by the Student Council.

c. Keep and represent an assigned class' views and bring up these ideas in the meetings.

d. Be an active member of a specific committee and carry out all jobs assigned to or carried out by that committee.

e. Members must pay half price at all required events at the advisor's request.

f. Student Council members must support all activities sponsored by Student Council.

g. All members must maintain a 2.5 GPA at semester's end to maintain their position.

Section 2. Standing Committee responsibilities are as follows:

a. Plan and carry out specified activities and projects.

b. Communicate with the faculty, community, other clubs, organizations, and schools, to promote positive public relations.

c. Participate in and improve the morale and spirit at non-fundraiser activities.

d. Organize each event appropriately and keep accurate evaluations and event folders for the following years.

Clause 1. These are the primary functions of these committees and are subject to change or dismissal. Committee membership will be subject to rotation.

Clause 2. Various ad hoc committees will be formed during the year. Members will be pulled from other standing committees to form these special committees.

Section 3. The Executive Board will consist of all Officers and Committee Heads.

Clause 1. The Executive Board will decide and make emergency decisions for the Student Council, construct agendas, decide discipline, and evaluate activities and committees.

Clause 2. Officer duties are defined as follows and are subject to change and revision at any time by a 2/3 majority vote:

a. Monitor and head various ad hoc committees.

b. Be permanent members of the executive board.

c. Correspond with faculty, community, other clubs, organizations, and schools.

d. Run all elections that are Council sponsored with the Advisor.

e. Become a temporary committee as needed to plan events such as but not limited to Freshman Selection and Induction.

f. Subject to discipline other than impeachment as recommended by any Student Council Officer, representative, or Advisor, for not fulfilling his or her given duties and responsibilities as seen fit by a 2/3 majority vote of the Student Council.

Clause 3. The PRESIDENT runs regular and executive board meetings when possible, appoints ad hoc committees, sets the example for the council, monitors officers, arranges student exchanges if wanted, and has the veto power over any item passed by the Council. This veto may be overridden by a 2/3 vote by the Council at the meeting where the veto occurred and/or at the next regular meeting.

Clause 4. The VICE-PRESIDENT serves as parliamentarian during all regular meetings, serves in the place of the President in his or her absence, helps the Secretary with duties, reads and is in charge of all activity requests, orders and maintains all supplies, and heads the LHS Inter Club Council. The Vice-president succeeds the President in the case of a vacancy even if the Vice-president is a junior at the time of vacancy.

Clause 5. The SECRETARY takes daily attendance, writes the agendas, assists the Advisor with quarter grades, keeps the official files organized, types the minutes, assists in organizing all retreats, and handles the official paperwork of the Council.

Clause 6. The TREASURER is consistently in contact with the bookkeeper's office, keeps the Council's running account balances, keeps all financial records, cosigns purchase orders, oversees all fund raisers, teaches all members of the appropriate handling and mailing of all financial documents, and is financial advisor to the entire Student Council.

Section 4. The Advisor's duties must include but are not limited to the following:

a. He/she cannot vote but can interject opinion and advise the Council during any time of a meeting.

b. Assume the role of a disciplinarian and teacher if the class becomes overpowering and/or out of order.

c. May hand pick up to two members of the Council by any method suitable as two of the five appointed positions.

d. Act as a messenger from the administration and faculty to the Council.

e. Act as a counselor if needed.

Article VIII - Ratification

Section 1. The method of ratification for the constitution will be:

a. Pass the first constitution at one of the first meetings of the year.

b. Discuss and change the constitution the following meeting, and then ratify the final draft.

c. Upon a 2/3 majority vote by the Council, the constitution will become effective immediately.

Article IX - Constitution

Section 1. This Constitution, a permanent and vital part of the Student Council, will be kept from year to year by the Advisor.

Section 2. All members of Student Council will receive a constitution at the beginning of their term of office.

Section 3. This Constitution may be amended at any regular meeting provided the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing at the last regular meeting and members of Student Council have discussed the amendment thoroughly. A 2/3 majority vote is required to adopt the amendment. The Secretary is responsible for the drafting of and official changing of the amendment on the Constitution.

Article X - Rules of Conduct

Section 1. A student's behavior in all classes must reflect leadership. Any report from a faculty member will result in a behavioral/conduct warning. The second report will result in a five day suspension from Student Council during which no points will be able to be made up. The third report will obligate a resignation.

Section 2. Any member who is proven to be using drugs and/or alcohol at a school function or event will be immediately removed from any Council position.

Section 3. Any member who receives an illegal violation of city, state, or national laws, (excluding transportation violations and lesser misdemeanors decided by the Council and Advisor), will receive a warning plus a five day suspension from all Student Council events/activities. A second violation will result in an impeachment and removal from the council.

Section 4. All members can be brought before the Council at any time and removed from a position with a 2/3 majority vote if they are not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities as a member.

Section 5. All freshmen representatives must have a 3.0 GPA or higher to continue on to second semester. They must also be approved by the advisor and/or officers.

Article XI - Position Vacancies

Section 1. The position of Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer, will be filled by an in-Council vote if the runner-up in the election itself does not want, or is unfit for the position as decided by the executive board.

Section 2. Representative vacancies will be filled by the advisor by one of the following choices and must be able to fit Student Council into their schedules:

a. By the alternate in the election itself if he or she is fit for the position as determined by the Advisor and President.

b. By a member of the student body who has shown amazing leadership potential since the beginning of the school year.

c. By a past member of Council with prior experience.

Article XII - Lettering

Section 1. In order to letter in Student Council, members must meet four of the following five requirements:

a. Must be enrolled in Student Council for the full year.

b. Must have an average grade of ÒBÓ or better in each quarter of involvement.

c. Must have attended at least 80% of all Student Council sponsored events during their involvement.

d. Must have no more than two unexcused absences per semester.

e. Must have the approval of the Advisor.

Section 2. The Advisor will approve the lettering of a Council member if:

a. They have no B quarter averages.

b. They have no warnings or conduct concerns.

c. They have personal leadership incentive.

d. They have completed their term in office.

e. They have attended some form of leadership training outside of LHS.

f. They are a consistent role model to their peers.