Preamble
Student Council, in its existence, survives for the sole purpose of fulfilling the mutual goals and desires of the student body. We feel that it is our responsibility to provide a safe and welcoming environment that encourages school spirit and community unity. Together we will guide and support Thompson Valley.

Article I - Name
Section 1. The name of the organization shall be Thompson Valley High School Student Council.

Article II - General Purposes
The mission of the Thompson Valley High School Student Council as a representative form of government is to develop leadership skills in order to enrich the lives of the TVHS community and encourage positive change. The ways to achieve this are as follows:

Section 1. Voice & elicit student opinion and work for the well-being of the members of the TV community.
Section 2. Create opportunities for interaction within the TVHS community.
Section 3. Promote leadership within the student body.
Section 4. Sponsor & organize activities involving the members of TVHS in order to promote a more enjoyable atmosphere.

Article III - Powers Invested in the Organization
The powers of the TVHS, 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, activity, or sport.
Section 2. Student Council will take all appropriate measures needed to voice a student’s concern.

Article IV - Membership

Section 1. The Student Council will generally include 29 voting members. There will be 5 officers, 6 seniors, 6 juniors, 6 sophomores, and 6 freshmen. Five appointed positions may be included as outlined in sections 3 & 4.
Section 2. The following are the officer positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and Historian. (The President and Vice-President may determine their offices to be “Co-Presidents.”)
Section 3. The Student Council may include up to 5 appointed members who were not elected into the Student Council. These appointees will have voting privileges and receive credit for the class. If the maximum number of positions are appointed, at least two of the five appointed positions must have had at least 1 full semester of Student Council experience. Section 4. The process of appointment is as follows: The incoming Officer Board (5 officers & advisor), may nominate members from the student body for appointment. (Allow 2/3 of class to decide.)

Article V - Elections

Section 1.
Eighth Grade Elections:

Clause 1. Eighth grade packets will be distributed to the middle school students at least one week prior to Christmas break.
Clause 2. Interviews will take place before registration. The existing and future Officer Board and the seniors will serve as the interview team.
Clause 3. The night of the interviews, the interview team will select the 6 eighth graders to be appointed to Student Council for the next school year. They will also appoint one of the 6 to be President of the freshman class and one to be Vice-President.

Section 2.
Officer Elections

Clause 1. Officer elections will take place at least 1 week before the student council representative elections.
Clause 2. Only upcoming juniors and seniors who will have served one full school year in student council are eligible for the position of President. Clause 3. Only upcoming juniors or seniors who will have served one full school year in student council are eligible for the position of Vice President. Clause 4. The positions of Secretary and Treasurer are available to upcoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors who will have served one full school year in student council.
Clause 5. Upcoming sophomores and juniors who will have served one full school year in student council are eligible for the position of Historian. Clause 6. Officer Election Procedure:
· The procedure will continue as follows for each of the respective positions:
· Nominations for positions must be put forth by voting members of the student council.
· Nominees have the option to either decline or accept their nomination.
· Candidates will then exit the room while rest of the council can voice-support whomever they wish to in a positive manner within three minutes. Negative comments will not be tolerated.
· Outside the room, candidates will be given one topic to address in an impromptu statement regarding their qualifications for their position to the voting members of the council. The topic will be decided upon by the current seniors in the council.
· Candidates re-enter the room and address the prompts within two minutes.
· A preliminary vote will be held if there are more than 2 candidates following a question and answer period of two minutes.
· This process will repeat for each position in the following order: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian.
· The advisor is not to participate in voting, even in the event of a tie. However, s/he is required to be present during all discussions & ballot counting for input & validation of procedures.
· In the event of a tie: The current Officer Board will have a separate discussion and vote to break the tie. Should a current officer be running for a position and be one of the candidates to tie, they will not participate in the tie-breaking vote.
Clause 7. Voting members in officer elections are defined as all current members of student council who are present during the voting process (all discussion) to vote upon that position.
Clause 8. If a candidate eligible for an officer position is unable to attend the election process due to a school related event, or another complication as approved by the Officer Board, that candidate may still run for the position if a written and signed affirmation of their nomination acceptance is provided. This candidate waives their rights to the verbal statement sessions.

Section 3.
Representative Elections:

Clause 1. The election process for Student Council representatives will be run by the officers of the upcoming year and will begin with a meeting of all interested candidates at least two weeks before campaign week. The purpose of the meeting will be to inform interested candidates of the screening process (clause 2) prior to campaign week and what will be expected of candidates (clause 3) who wish to run. Resumes will be due within the week after said meeting, allowing at least one week for the screening process. Within that period, candidates will be informed if they are ineligible to run. Campaigning will take place the following week. Elections will take place the last day of campaign week during 2nd or 6th hour, per scantron. Results will be announced at the end of election day.
Clause 2. All candidates must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, no more than 3 unexcused absences in any one class and no more than 8 combined in a given semester, no referrals during the entire school year of the election, no suspensions for an entire school year prior to elections, no more than 2 staff members with concerns regarding students character, and must have submitted their student council resume. Any candidate who does not have the appropriate GPA at the time of the election may still be eligible for a position should they agree to a contract made by the advisor that obliges them to gain a GPA of at least 2.5 by the end of the current calendar school year. Should the said candidate fail to uphold the contract, the position will be given to the candidate with the next most votes in the same class. Extenuating circumstances regarding eligibility to campaign will be determined by the current Officer Board.
Clause 3. Campaign Rules: Candidates may spend up to $50.00 for their campaign. Poster(s) are limited to max area 24x36. They must be stamp approved by the TVHS Athletic Director, and will be placed on the cafeteria wall by current student council, arranged by class. If candidates want to keep their posters, they need to be collected by 3:15pm on election day. PA endorsement announcements, video advertising, and usage of the school newspaper will not be allowed. If any candidate removes another candidate’s poster, they will be disqualified to run for office.
Clause 4. In the event of a tie: If necessary, the current Officer Board will meet to determine the tie breaker.
Clause 5. The advisor will be present during all counting of the ballots.
Clause 6. Students will only vote for their respective classes.
Clause 7. Class officers will be determined based on the number of votes that each receive. The candidate with the most votes will become President and the candidate with the next highest amount of votes will become Vice-President.

Section 4.
General Election Procedure

Clause 1. All students who are unable to vote during the specified time on election day, may obtain an absentee ballot from the advisor prior to election day.
Clause 2. All ballots will be kept for six months following each election, along with screening reports, candidates names, and official final results. Clause 3. A candidate in any election may see the official results and final ranking of their election after the results have been made public, except those votes pertaining to officer elections.
Clause 4. 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 school week of the election in question. There will be no recount unless this condition is met.
Clause 5. There will be no revote unless a recount shows sufficient evidence of tampering with votes.


Article VI - Member Duties and Responsibilities

Section 1. A student council member is defined as any student attending Thompson Valley High School who has been elected or appointed into Student Council.
Section 2.
Clause 1. All members will be graded upon the following:
· Completion of portfolio assignments.
· Attendance at all required functions.
· Participation in organizing yearly student activities as approved by the Student Council.
· Positive contributions to the welfare and betterment of one’s committee and the Student Council as a whole. Officers must also contribute to the betterment of the council, but are not required to participate in any specific committee.
· Student Council members may be exempt from paying for Student Council endorsed, required functions. For the dances, Student Council members on the dance committee or putting in at least 4 hours of set up or clean up will get in for free.
· All members must maintain a 2.5 GPA at semester’s end to maintain their position, as well as the rest of the screening guidelines from elections (section 3, clause 2). Punishment to be decided upon by Officer Board.
Clause 2. Members that are unable to attend Student Council required events or functions need to excuse their absence with a written note citing their legitimate excuse. The student will still lose points from non-participation, but will have ample opportunity throughout the year to make the points back up. If the absence from an activity remains unexcused, the student will be docked 100 points in the “activity” portion, which covers 40% of their entire grade.
Section 3. Standing Committee responsibilities are as follows:
· Plan and carry out specified activities and projects.
· Communicate with the faculty, community, other clubs, organizations, and schools, to promote positive public relations. To maximize participation of other clubs in the school in order to minimize the number of activities and increase school-wide participation and spirit.
· Organize each event appropriately, keep accurate evaluations and timelines, submit and record points for each event. The committee will also be responsible for updating that events event folder, with said data, for the following years.
Section 4. The Executive Board is made up of the Student Council Officer Board and all current committee heads.
Clause 1. The Officer Board, voting members including the current President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian, with verbal input from the advisor will decide and make emergency decisions for the Student Council, and determine disciplinary actions.
Clause 2. Officer duties are defined as follows and are subject to change and revision at any time by a 2/3 majority vote by voting members of the Student Council (all current Student Council members present at the time of discussion and voting procedure):
· Create and head ad hoc committees.
· Correspond with faculty, community, other clubs, organizations, and schools.
· Run all elections that are Council sponsored with the advisor.
· Become a temporary committee as needed to plan events such as but not limited to the selection of freshmen for council.
· Fulfill all stated duties and responsibilities as given to each position, or be subject to impeachment by a 2/3 majority vote by Student Council voting members.
Clause 3. The PRESIDENT runs regular and Executive Board meetings, monitors officers, arranges student exchanges, and has the power to veto 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, orders and maintains all supplies, and heads the TVHS Eagle Council. The Vice-President succeeds the President in the case of a vacancy or fatality even if the Vice-President is a junior at the time of vacancy.
Clause 5. The SECRETARY takes daily attendance and activity attendance/productivity, 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 corresponds with the bookkeeper’s office, keeps all of the Council’s running account balances, keeps all financial records, co-signs purchase orders, oversees all fundraisers, teaches all members of the council all of the appropriate handling and mailing of all financial documents, and is financial adviser to the entire Council.
Clause 7. The HISTORIAN maintains records of all events in the form of photographic imagery and audio/visual media. Assists the Secretary with activity attendance/productivity. Makes sure all committee folders are updated for the following years. The Historian is also responsible for the senior recognition media (senior movie/slide slow). S/he is also responsible for the senior scrapbook.
Section 5. The advisor’s duties must include but are not limited to the follows: · S/he cannot vote but can interject opinion and advise the Council during any meeting. · May nominate members from the student body for appointment. · Act as a messenger between administration, faculty, and the Student Council. · Act as a consultant to the Council.
Section 6. Frequency of meetings:
Clause 1. Regular meetings will be held every Wednesday of Student Council or as scheduled by the President or advisor.
Clause 2. All meetings will be run by Parliamentary Procedure as manifested in *Robert’s Rule of Order. *First written in 1876 by Henry Martyn Robert. Nine editions later, still hailed as the leading manual on parliamentary procedure with the intent of bringing order out of chaos.
Clause 3. All motions in conjunction with points to be passed must be passed two calendar weeks prior to the date of the event, activity, or any other requirement. This does not apply to extra credit.


Article VII - 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. Subsequent reports of bad behavior will be discussed by the Officer Board and a penalty will be decided upon by a majority vote within the Board. Section 2. Any member who is proven to be using drugs and/or alcohol at any time or any place (June 1 to June 1 of the year they are on council) will immediately be put on leave of the council until a timely decision is made by the council as to the consequences of this first offense. Any member making a second offense will immediately and permanently be removed from any Student Council position for the remainder of the school year. The student will receive a failing grade if the removal is after TV’s deadline for withdrawing without a failing grade. The student will be allowed to run for future terms as long as they meet the requirements stated in the election policy. Any member proven to be involved in covering up for another member using drugs and/or alcohol will be subject to disciplinary action.
Section 3. Any member who violates any city, state, or national law, excluding transportation violations, will be subject to penalization as determined by the officer board with a discussion & majority vote.
Section 4. All members can be brought before the Council at any time and removed from a position with a 2/3 majority vote or by a unanimous vote of the Executive Board voting members if they are not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities as a member.


Article VIII - Position Vacancies

Section 1. The position of Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Historian 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 a 2/3 vote of the Executive Board.
Section 2. Representative vacancies may only be filled if the vacancy in that class causes the number of positions in that class to drop below the required level of six members. The Officer Board, with nominations put forth by the advisor, will fill these vacancies with students falling into the following specifications: · An alternate in the election itself, if he or she is fit for the position as determined by a majority vote of the Officer Board. (For this purpose, names and ranking of the next 3-5 candidates from each class, per elections results, will be kept for the entire school year. · A member of the student body worthy of the position as determined by the Officer Board.
Section 3. All vacancies must be filled by members of the class in which the vacancy occurs.


Article IX - Lettering Section 1. In order to letter in Student Council, members must meet all five of the following requirements:

• Must be enrolled in Student Council for the full year.
• Must have an average grade of “A” in each semester of involvement.
• Must have attended at least 80% of all Council sponsored events during their involvement.
• Must have no more than 3 unexcused absences in any one class for the year.
• Must have no outstanding monetary Council fees due, including but not limited to retreat fees.
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Article X – Homecoming

Section 1.
Voting Procedure for Homecoming Royalty:
Clause 1. Royalty elections should be run by the Coronation Committee of Student Council.
Clause 2. Candidates are nominated by the student body on a nomination ballot given out during the week prior to Homecoming week. The final vote to determine royalty will take place during the week of Homecoming.
Clause 3. There will be five nominees of each gender from the senior class.
Clause 4. Candidates will be announced the Friday before Homecoming week after school. The King and Queen will be announced during half time of the Homecoming game.
Clause 5. In the event of a tie during nominations, both candidates will be allowed on the court. In the event of a tie in the final vote, there will be a run-off election between the tying candidates.
Clause 6. Each nominee is able to refuse their nomination for court, and the nominee who holds the next highest amount of votes will take that nominee’s place.
Clause 7. Nomination ballots and final votes will be counted by advisors.
Clause 8. Homecoming King and Queen will not be eligible for Prom royalty.


Article XI- Ratification


Section 1. The constitution, once initially passed, is a permanent establishment within the current and future Councils.
Clause 1. The advisor is responsible for the protection of the constitution, and must pass the constitution down into the hands of future Councils and/or advisors.
Section 2. The method of ratification for the constitution will be as follows: Upon a 2/3 majority vote by the Student Council voting members, the constitution will become effective immediately and will remain in effect indefinitely.


Article XII - Amending the Constitution


Section 1. This Constitution may be amended at any meeting provided the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing at the last meeting and members of Student Council have discussed the amendment. 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.
Section 2. All amendments must be recorded in the section designated “Amendments” located at the end of the constitution.

Amendments Revisions to the constitution may be added without amendment record as long as it does not go beyond simple modification of an existing section or clause.