ATTACHMENT A to Regulation #5200-R-1
Schedule C Bylaws in accordance with Board of Education Policy #5200
and Related Regulations #5200-R-1 and #5200-R-2
1. Name of Club/Organization: Student Senate
2. Aim/Purpose:
The purpose of the Student Senate is to represent the student body in its totality and ensure that every student’s voice is heard; to create and promote avenues of communication among students, and between students and administration; to discuss and review school policy; to work in collaboration with the community; and to represent the interests of the student body to the administration and, when necessary, the Board of Education. In short, the basic function of the Student Senate is to provide a forum in which clubs can express their individual concerns.
The Student Senate will not encroach upon any activities sponsored by Student Government, such as homecoming, class dances, fundraisers, et. al. They will not take over any other activities or fundraisers either. That is to say, no activity will be sponsored directly by the Student Senate, but rather the Senate will either delegate sponsorship for an activity to an organization or found an ad hoc committee to sponsor it.
The Student Senate cannot unilaterally enact policy; rather, it is a decision-making body with the purpose of discussing both existing and suggested policy, canvassing student opinion on such policy, and making policy recommendations to the administration based on evidence of student opinion.
The Student Senate does have the power to survey the various extracurricular organizations and determine whether any redundancies or gaps in the offerings exist. It will also serve as a “clearinghouse” for suggested activities and fundraisers by coordinating them with the organizations interested in sponsoring them. For example, if five different organizations all have ideas for Valentine’s Day fundraisers that will conflict in terms of time and space required, the Student Senate has the right to coordinate them so that perhaps more than one organization collaborates on a given fundraiser in order to maximize the effectiveness and success of each. In order to more effectively do this, the Student Senate requires that all clubs use an electronic calendar designated by the Senate which will unify all clubs’ meeting and event dates.
3. Rules of Membership, including prerequisites:
Student Senate Representatives must have:
(a) Exemplary leadership skills, as witnessed by the faculty advisor
(b) Reliability, as witnessed by the faculty advisor
(c) A minimum 3.0 GPA
(d) Attendance of 80% of all organization meetings, sponsored activities, etc. (Legal or excused absences do not count against a nominee’s attendance record.)
4. Rules of Procedure:
All school clubs will select a Student Senate representative for the following year and must notify the Student Senate cabinet of this selection at least two [2] weeks prior to the final Student Senate meeting of the current school year.
A club may choose to elect two [2] representatives if two are needed to represent the interests of a very large club. However, in this case both representatives must attend each meeting (in lieu of having alternating attendance between the two representatives). Additionally, every club gets one vote in the Senate. Because of this, the two representatives of one club must vote jointly and will only have one vote between the two of them. If a club feels that it needs two representatives, it must contact the Student Senate cabinet prior to the aforementioned selection deadline.
5. Frequency of Meetings:
The Student Senate meets once every month for an hour in the evening.
6. Planned Activities Done on a Yearly Basis:
The Student Senate regularly organizes, but is not limited to, these activities:
●Trivia Challenge Competition for Charity
●Voter registration for the senior class
●"Pizza and Politics" with Congressman Jack Martins
7. Process for Electing Officers:
At the end of each academic year, the Executive Board will work alongside the school administration and Senate faculty advisor to nominate candidates for officers for the next year. These nominations will be based on the individual’s qualifications, attendance, and interest in the position. Once candidates are approved, they are then presented to the Senate to be voted on. Candidates are elected via simple majority and assume the responsibilities of the position at the end of the current school year. When elected, officers are not required to abdicate their original club representative duties. If time permits, the last meeting of the year may be used as a transitory time between the current and future officers. If nominated and re-elected, officers may hold a leadership position for up to 4 consecutive school years.
8. Duties/Responsibilities of Officers:
Representatives have the following duties:
Student Senate Representatives are liaisons between the Senate and the club they represent. It is every representative's responsibility to spread the word about any issues, decisions, or other information discussed in the Senate to the club they represent as well as bring information from the club to the Senate. Additionally, representatives must notify the Student Senate of any relevant meeting or event dates in.an effort to keep the Student Senate unified calendar up to date. Representatives must not miss more than 3 Senate meetings. If a Representative has poor Senate attendance, that information will be relayed to the club advisor and that Representative will be replaced. If a Representative cannot attend a meeting, they must send another club member to fill in for them in their absence.
9. Dues or Fees Associated with Membership:
There are no dues or fees associated with membership.
10. Process for Amending Bylaws:
Any necessary amendments may be proposed by the officers of the Senate and will be voted on by the body of Representatives. Simple majority rules.
Elected officers have the following duties:
Each officer must remain in close communication with the Student Senate faculty advisor and the other officers to ensure the Senate is run smoothly and efficiently.
1. President - The President runs the meetings and coordinates Student Senate activities. The President makes the meeting agendas and must meet regularly with the School Principal to communicate about any student or Senate activities. Additionally, the President must be in regular contact with the advisor and must hold monthly executive board meetings. President must also oversee that the EB Members are fulfilling their responsibilities.
2. Vice President - The Vice President assists the President in his/her duties and fills in for the President if/when the President cannot be present for a meeting. The Vice President also acts as the Social Media Coordinator, responsible for all digital communication with the Senate body. The Social Media Coordinator disseminates information and notifications to the Senate via email, social media, and PA announcements and is responsible for the Remind.com notifications. Although not required, the VP is welcome to join the meetings between the President and School Principal.
3. Secretary - The Secretary is responsible for taking detailed minutes of the meeting and taking attendance. Minutes must be formal, typed, and sent to all officers within a week of the meeting. The attendance must be posted to the website and the advisor should be notified via email of any member that has missed more than two meetings so that the Director of Students Activities may be notified in order to keep the individual club advisors updated. The Secretary works with the Webmaster to ensure the minutes and attendance are posted in a timely manner to the school website.
4. Board of Education Representative - The Board of Education Representative attends all Board of Education meetings and acts as the liaison between the student body, administration, and Manhasset community. This officer must take notes from the Board of Education meetings and create a formalized summary of the meeting for the Student Senate. The BOE representative should utilize the minutes for each meeting (Senate and BOE) in the formulation of the reports, which will be presented at each meeting. Reports presented to the BOE should include: discussions/comments/questions made/asked by senators at the latest Senate meeting, upcoming events/initiatives launched by the Senate. The BOE rep should be engaged in the discussions/presentations at the meetings and should also ask questions and give his/her opinion on topics discussed.
5. Webmaster - The Webmaster is responsible for updating and maintaining the Student Senate webpage on a regular basis. The webmaster must frequently communicate with the faculty advisor and the other officers to coordinate the activities of the Senate and to ensure the most current information is always available. The website must be diligently maintained as a clear and concise source of information about the Senate. Additionally, the webmaster should oversee the school activities calendar and notify the student senate advisor on a regular basis of any consistent overlapping on the calendar. It is also the responsibility of the Webmaster to monitor all club webpages and ensure that they are actively updating the information on the club page.
- Treasurer - The Treasurer is responsible for handling all funds related to the Student Senate.
**********All executive board members are expected to regularly attend all meetings of the senate and the executive board. It is important that your schedule will accommodate active participation in the student senate.