We, the students, teachers, staff, and administration of Sterling Heights High School, do establish, recognize, and support this Student Senate as the governing organization of the student body, in order to provide a forum for student opinion, foster school spirit, instill proper citizenship skills within students, develop leadership skills within members, promote communication within the school, improve the relationship between the student body and the entire staff, help formulate building policy concerning the student body, and serve as the official representative voice of Sterling Heights High School.

Section 1 Name:

Section 2 School Colors:

Section 3 School Mascot

Section 1 Membership of the Assembly

The Student Senate shall be composed of class senators and alternates elected from their designated classes, members-at-large, the presidents of each school sponsored organization or the appointees thereof, class council officers, and the members of the Leadership Seminar. The elected officers shall be the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.
 

Section 2 Additional Members

Section 3 Advisor

Section 4 Removal

Section 5 Impeachment

Section 5A Grounds for impeachment

(i) Failure to perform the duties of the office

(ii) Falling below the required grade point average

(iii) Known use of drugs or alcohol

(iv) Insubordination

(v) Unlawful interference with school authorities and programs

(vi) Major infractions of the Student Code of Conduct
 

Section 5B Impeachment Procedures

(ii) The individual concerned shall have the option to resign, in which case the senate shall not vote on the impeachment.

(iii) The member in question shall have the opportunity to speak before the assembly in defense of himself or herself.

(iv) No member's impeachment shall be brought to a vote except on adequate cause. In the event of a question as to adequate cause, it shall be decided by a simple majority of the Student Senate Assembly. The Assembly shall remove an individual only on a two-thirds majority.

(v) An impeachment proceeding must come to a conclusion within a single meeting, and no member shall be impeached for the same issue twice.
 

Section 6 Vacancy

(ii) Should any class from which a senator is drawn become unrepresented in the Student Senate Assembly, it shall have the option of selecting a new student senator and a new alternate.

(iii) Should the office of President become vacant, the Vice President shall automatically become President. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer, whether due to succession into the office of President, Resignation, or otherwise, the Student Senate Assembly shall take nominations and vote for the new inhabitant of whatever office is under question.

Section 7 Potential Members

Section 1 President

The President shall preside over all Student Senate meetings and activities, appoint committee chairpersons and other appointed persons created by the senate, represent the school at district and Tri-council meetings, call for committee reports, serve as an ex-officio member of all committees, and serve as the liaison between the student body and the administration.
 

Section 2 Vice President

The vice president shall preside over meetings when the President is absent and shall be responsible for keeping attendance records and information.
 

Section 3 Secretary

The Secretary shall take minutes at all meetings and distribute copies thereof to the teachers' mailboxes within the next five days. The Secretary shall also be responsible for carrying out all Student Senate correspondence and maintaining a file of all Student Senate business.
 

Section 4 Treasurer

Section 4A General

The Treasurer shall be responsible for all Student Senate funds, and shall keep accurate records of receipts and expenditures. The treasurer shall have the power to draft checks of up to $50.00 without the specific consent of the Senate Assembly, but rather only the signature of the Advisor.
 

Section 4B Yearly Budget

At the first meeting the treasurer shall provide a written report of the proposed budget for the coming school year, to be ratified by a two-thirds majority at the next meeting, but any expenditures which are needed in the period between the first and second meetings shall be voted upon at the first meeting.
 

Section 4C Treasurer's Report

(i) For the first meeting, the treasurer shall prepare a report of the proposed budget of the coming year.

(ii) A copy of the currently approved budget shall be kept ready for the members' inspection.
 

Section 5 Committee Chairpersons

The committee chairpersons shall be responsible for calling committee meetings, conducting committee meetings, and, when requested to do so by the President, reporting on committee activities to the Student Senate Assembly.
 

Section 6 Committee Members

Each committee member shall attend all committee meetings unless he or she is told otherwise by his or her teacher or he or she has a reason the Committee Chairman finds to be acceptable. Failure to do so may result in the Committee Chairman's removing the member from the committee.
 

Section 7 Student Senators

Each Student Senator shall make a report to the class from which he or she was elected on the day following each Student Senate meeting and shall serve on two or more committees during the course of the year.
 

Section 8 Alternate Student Senators

In the event that the regular Senator from a class is unable to attend the Student Senate meeting, the Alternate Student Senator shall attend in his or her place.
 

Section 1 Regular Meetings

The President shall choose the time of all regular meetings, which shall be held monthly, but his or her choices shall be subject to the approval of the advisor.
 

Section 2 Special Meetings

Special meetings may be called from time to time by the President or by a signed petition of two-thirds of the membership of the Student Senate Assembly, but in all canes shall be subject to the discretion of the principal.
 

Section 3 Attendance

All members and officers shall attend all meetings of the Student Senate Assembly, but if they cannot attend, their respective alternates shall attend in their place, as under Article III, Section 8 of this Constitution.
 

Section 4 Voting

Section 4A Qualifications for voting

Except for the presiding officer, who shall only vote in case of a tie, and anyone else specifically barred from doing so by this Constitution, all members of the Student Senate Assembly shall have the power to vote.
 

Section 4B Validity of the vote

Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all issues voted upon by the Senate shall require a simple majority for approval.
 

Section 5 Parliamentary Authority

All Student Senate meetings shall be conducted according to the simplified version of Robert's Rules of Order. While the Assembly may adopt these rules at the beginning of a new year, they shall not be amended, modified, changed, or nullified, even under the rules for making changes to this Constitution.
 

Section 6 Quorum

Section 6A Active membership

For the purposes of this document, active membership shall be so construed as to include all persons who would be requires to come to a meeting if it were held.
 

Section 6B Number included

A Quorum of not less than half of the active membership of the Student Senate shall be necessary in order to officially conduct business.
 

Section 1 Qualifications

Section 1A Student Senators

Any student of Sterling Heights High School shall be eligible for membership in the Student Senate if he or she maintains a 2.0 GPA. If any student does not have a 2.0 GPA or falls below during his or her term in office, he or she may still be a member if his or her fifth hour teacher consents.
 

Section 1B Officers

Each candidates for Student Senate office shall, in order to be considered for election to that office,

• (i) have a 3.0 GPA,
• (ii) have a recommendation from
• (a) three of his or her teachers,
• (b) his or her assistant principal
• (c) and his or her counselor, and
• (iii) submit a petition with at least one hundred valid signatures of students who are attending Sterling Heights High School and who have not also signed the petition of any other person competing for the same office.

Section 1C Experience

The Student Senate President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall each have had at least one year of experience serving as Student Senators.
 

Section 1D (Deleted, was Qualifications for the Secretary)

Section 1E Required Courses

Student Senate Officers shall take the Leadership Seminar or Independent Study during their terms in office.
 

Section 1F Term Limitation

No student of Sterling Heights High School shall hold office for more than two years.
 

Section 2 Time of Elections

Section 2A Class Senators

Each English class shall elect its Class Senator at the beginning of the school year.
 

Section 2B Student Senate Officers

Each spring, the student body shall elect the Student Senate Officers for the succeeding year.
 

Section 3 Election Authority

The Leadership Seminar students and teachers shall be responsible for running all elections, but the Student Senate may appoint an election committee to oversee them.
 

Section 4 Voting

Section 4A Student senators

(i) The Student Senator of each class shall be the nominee who receives the highest number of votes cast by the class.
(ii) The Student Senate Alternate of each class shall be the nominee who receives the second highest number of votes from his or her designated class.
 

Section 4B Officers

(i) Student Senate Officers shall be voted on by the entire student body except for the leaving Senior class.
(ii) The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall become the new officer.
(iii) In the case of a tie, a revote of the student body shall be conducted. If a tie also happens this time, the non-senior members of the Student Senate shall convene and decide the election.
 

Section 1 Executive Committee

Section 1A Membership

The Student Senate ExecutiveCommittee shall consist of the four elected officers, the committee chairpersons of the standing committees, and any other special appointees the Executive Committee shall deem necessary from time to time.
 

Section 1B Approval powers

The Executive Committee shall have the power to approve or disapprove all presidential appointments, as, for instance, chairmanships.
 

Section 1C Interpretation Powers

All matters of interpretation of this Constitution shall be decided by the Executive Committee, but such decisions shall be subject to the approval of the Advisor.
 

Section 2 Standing Committees

Each year, the president may create the proper standing committees the Executive Committee feels necessary for the year. Chairpersons shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Executive Committee.
 

Section 3 Special Committees

Special Committees may, from time to time, be created by the President. Chairmen shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Executive Committee.

Section 1 Establishment

Each grade level, or class, shall have a corresponding class council to administer all activities within that class.
 

Section 2 Membership

The Class Officers and the Advisor shall decide how Class Council Membership is to be chosen.
 

Section 3 Leaders

(i) Class Council officers shall consist of
(a) President,
(b) Vice President,
(c) Secretary, and
(d) Treasurer.
(ii) The Administration shall appoint a sponsor to serve as Class Advisor.
 

Section 4 Duties

(i) The duties and responsibilities shall be parallel to those of the Student Senate Officers.
(ii) Class Vice-Presidents shall, unless told otherwise by the Student Senate President, give a general report on their class each Student Senate meeting.
 

Section 5 Meetings

Class Officers, with the Advisors' approval, may call for meetings of their grades' Class Council representatives. Voting shall be as for Student Senate.
 
 

Section 6 Qualifications of Officers

(i) The qualifications to run for Class council office shall be substantially the same as those for Student Senate except as otherwise provided in this Constitution.
(ii) A Class Council candidate shall only need to have
(a) a 2.5 GPA and
(b) seventy-five valid signatures
to be a valid candidate.
(iii) A Class Council candidate shall not need any previous experience to be a valid candidate.
 

Section 7 Elections

Section 7A Time

Election of all officers except those of the incoming class, which shall take place in the early fall, shall take place in the spring.
 

Section 7B Procedure

(i) All members of the class shall be able to vote for Class Council officers, except in the incoming class, where the Class Council shall elect its own officers.
(ii) Any student may only vote for officers within his or her own class council.
 

Section 8 Committees

Class Council officers may create the committees necessary to administer the activities of the Class Council.

Section 1 As students of SHHS and the Warren Consolidated School District, students are obliged to abide by the rules and regulations set down by the board of Education and the School Administration.

Section 2 If a student feels that a rule or policy is unfair or unsatisfactory, he or she may express his or her feelings to his or her class Senator, who must in turn make the opinion known to the Student Senate.

Section 3 The student Senate is the only organization with the capability to influence the administration to change or modify school policy, and must make every effort to make the student body's feelings and desires known to the School Administration.

Section 4 Each student must receive a copy of the most current Student Code of Conduct that has been approved by the Board of Education.

Section 5 Administrators, teachers, and other staff, other than the Senate advisors, shall stand after committee reports on the agenda. No such person shall speak in a meeting unless she or he be introduced by a Senate officer or advisor.
 

Section 1 Proposal

Section 2 Reading

Section 3 Voting