Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL
OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
May, 2003

PREAMBLE

We, the students of International School Bangkok, believing in the principles of democracy and self-government and the importance of student participation in the running of school affairs do hereby establish this constitution.

ARTICLE I. NAME

This organization shall be known as the High School Student Council of the International School Bangkok.

ARTICLE II. THE STUDENT COUNCIL CABINET (S.C.C.)
Section 1. The officers of the Student Council Cabinet shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Liaison. The President is responsible for these officers. All must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0. The advisor will check the GPA of each member at the end of each six-week grading period to determine whether the student will continue to serve on the High School Student Council; however only semester grade point averages will qualify for the student to be removed from office.

Section 2. Qualifications and responsibilities of the President.
Clause 1 He or she shall be a member of the Senior or Junior Class.
Clause 2 He or she is required to have at least one (1) year of experience on the International School Bangkok High School Student Council, or the International School Bangkok Student Senate.

Clause 3 He or she shall be the chief administrator of the Student Council and the S.C.C. The President shall preside at all S.C.C. meetings, executive meetings, and general assemblies.

Clause 4 He or she does not have the right to vote at any meetings except the S.C.C. meetings. At all other meetings, he or she has the deciding vote when necessary.

Clause 5 He or she shall have the power to call special meetings, as well as to postpone or cancel meetings and also to assign responsibilities to Student Council members with the prior consent of the other members of the Student Council Cabinet in order to carry out Student Council and S.C.C. functions most effectively.

Clause 6 He or she is responsible for reporting to the Board of Trustees the processes of the Student Council upon request or when necessary.

Clause 7 At the close of each school year, he or she shall present to the student body a progress report of the Student CouncilТs past legislation, activities, and financial condition. A report shall be the permanent record of the Student Council of the year.

Clause 8 He or she shall do his or her utmost to contribute to participate in all S.C.C. functions.

Section 3. Qualifications and responsibilities of the Vice President
Clause 1. He or she shall be a member of the Senior or Junior class.

Clause 2. He or she must have at least one year of experience on the International School Bangkok High School Student Council, Student Senate or a similar form of Student Government at previous schools.
Clause 3.
 He or she shall preside over all meetings where the President is absent.

Clause 4. He or she shall act as Parliamentarian during all meeting at which he or she is not presiding.

Clause 5.
 He or she must keep liaison with PTA.

Clause 6. He or she will also have the right to assign responsibilities to Student Council members with prior consent of the other members of the S.C.C.

Clause 7. He or she shall do his or her utmost to contribute to participate in all S.C.C. functions.

Section 4. Qualifications and responsibilities of the Secretary.
Clause 1 He or she shall be a member of the Senior, Junior or Sophomore class.

Clause 2.
 He or she shall carry on all official Student Council and S.C.C. correspondence.

Clause 3.
He or she shall record and keep a permanent file of all minutes of S.C.C. meetings, Executive meetings and General Assembly meetings.

Clause 4.
 He or she will help the President and Vice-President in assigning tasks to Student Council officers.

Clause 5.
 He or she is responsible for keeping attendance at all meetings.

Clause 6.
 He or she shall do their utmost to contribute and to participate in all S.C.C. functions.

Section 5.
 Qualifications and Responsibilities of the Treasurer.

Clause 1.
 He or she shall be a member of the Senior, Junior or Sophomore class.

Clause 2.
He or she shall be responsible for the receipts and disbursements of S.C.C. funds. He or she shall be responsible for approving financial assistance granted to registered clubs and activities and shall determine the specific terms and conditions on a case to case basis.

Clause 3.
He or she will help the President and Vice-President in assigning tasks to Student Council officers.

Clause 4.
 At the close of each school year, he or she shall present to the Student Council a financial report to become a permanent record of the Student Council.

Clause 5. He or she shall take the minutes at all meetings where the Secretary is absent.

Clause 6.
 He or she shall do his or her utmost to contribute and to participate in all S.C.C. functions.

Section 6.
 Qualifications and responsibilities of the Liaison.

Clause 1.
 He or she shall be in charge of communications with the ISC (Inter-School Council) and the IASAS Student Union.

Clause 2.
He or she must report current updates on both organizations at every S.C.C. meeting.

Clause 3. He or she is in charge of correspondence with both organizations.

Clause 4.
 He or she shall do his or her utmost to contribute and to participate in all S.C.C. functions.

Clause 5. He or she shall be the chief administrator of the Student Senate/ISC.

Section 7. In order to establish a quorum (or vote) in a General assembly meeting, there must be more than half of the number of members present.

Section 8. The S.C.C. will hold regular Student Council and Student Senate meetings according to the Parliamentary Procedures laid out in the attached Guideline to Meetings.

Section 9.
 The S.C.C. is required to use all feasible methods to inform the Student body of occurring activities or events in order to maintain an effective communicative link between the two aforementioned groups.

Section 10.
 The S.C.C. should endeavor to represent the studentsТ interests in the running of school affairs to the Board and Administration.

ARTICLE III. STUDENT COUNCIL CLASS OFFICERS

Section 1.
 Aside from the five officers of the S.C.C., each class of the Student Body shall elect four Class Officers. These four officers shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. All must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0. The advisor will check the GPA of each member at the end of each six-week grading period to determine whether the student will continue to serve on the High School Student Council.

Section 2.
 Responsibilities of the Class Officers.
Clause 1.
 Class Officers shall act, pass and carry out all legislation in the best interest of their respective classes.

Clause 2.
 Class Officers shall be responsible for organizing activities, which are associated with their own class in particular.

Clause 3.
 Class Officers shall be responsible for organizing the Bulletin Boards by the appointed due date either decided upon by the General Assembly or the Activities Director.

Clause 4.
 Class Officers shall have the primary concern of bringing about good spirit and unity in their respective classes.

Clause 5. Class Officers of the Student Council are to represent and always be responsible to their respective classes.

Clause 6.
 Attendance of Class Officers is mandatory at General Assembly Meetings.

Clause 7.
 At General Assembly meetings, each Class Officer shall have the power to cast one vote during voting procedures. At the meetings of the Student Senate, however, Class Officers have no voting power and can only attend with observer status.

ARTICLE IV. THE STUDENT SENATE

Section 1.
 Apart from the S.C.C. and the Class Officers there shall be a Student Senate. This branch of the Student Council shall consist of one senator elected from each Communication Group of the student body. In addition to the Class Senators, individual clubs will be invited to send representatives to the meetings of the Student Senate on a regular or Уad-hocФ basis. While these club representatives will not carry any votes during voting procedures, they will be encouraged to become involved in all other duties of the senate.

Section 2.
 Responsibilities of the Class Senators.

Clause 1. The Student Senate shall act, pass and carry out legislation in the best interest of the Student Body.

Clause 2.
 Although the Student Senate is a separate branch of the Student Council, Senators will work to communicate regularly with the Class Officers of their respective classes. In doing so, each Senator shall strive to communicate the wishes of their respective communication groups during senate discussions.

Clause 3.
 A primary responsibility of the Student Senate shall be to encourage interschool communication, namely through the ISC.

Clause 4. Attendance is mandatory at all Student Senate meetings.

ARTICLE V. STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTION PROCEDURES FOR STUDENT COUNCIL CABINET, CLASS COUNCILS, AND SENATORS

Section 1. S.C.C. Elections

Clause 1.
 Each candidate who runs for a position on the High School Student Council must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 prior to their year of service.

Clause 2.
 All candidates for the S.C.C. shall be elected by a plurality of 5 (an excess of votes cast for another candidate) of the votes cast by the entire Student Body. These positions are President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Liaison.

Clause 3.
 S.C.C. elections shall take place in the spring semester of the year prior to the year they are to hold office.

Clause 4.
The S.C.C. shall regulate and supervise all aspects of the elections in this constitution.

Clause 5.
 A student may not run at one time for more than one of the offices specified in this constitution.

Clause 6.
Every candidate must turn in a petition signed by at least fifty members of the high school student body and two faculty members.

Section 2. Class Council Elections
Clause 1.
Each High School class shall elect four officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Clause 2.
 The President and Vice-President will be elected in the spring, prior to their term. The Treasurer and Secretary will be elected in the fall of the year of their term.

Clause 3. The four officers shall be elected yearly, the procedure of which shall fulfill the following qualifications:

1) He or she shall be a member of the class in which he or she holds office.

2) He or she shall have and maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0. The Class advisor shall be responsible for ensuring this by checking the GPA of all officers at the end of each six-week grading period.

Section 3.
 All candidates who run for a position in the High School Student Council must be elected by a plurality of five. If there are more than two candidates for the position and there is a difference of five or less votes between the first and second place, the election will be run again between the top two candidates. Any plurality will be final in this election.

ARTICLE VI. PERMANENT DOCUMENTS

Section 1. The Student Council shall keep one official copy of its constitution and Bill of Rights, which shall be available on the Internet at the ISB web site.

Section 2. At the beginning of each year the Student Council shall review and if necessary, revise with the consent of at least two-thirds of the Student Body, the Constitution.

Section 3. The Student Council shall maintain a permanent and separate file of all official documents, which shall be available to any Student Council Officer upon request.

ARTCILE VII. STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Section 1.
It is recommended that the Student Council coordinate their functions with student clubs and activities.

ARTICLE VIII. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE AND SUCCESSION

Section 1 Impeachment

Impeachment with respect to any Student Council Officer may be instituted by a petition containing signatures of more than 75% of the respective constituencies, together with the signature of approval of the Superintendent, the High School Principal and the Student Council Advisor. The Student Council shall have the sole power to implement all such acts of impeachment.

Section 2. Removal from Office

A Student Council Officer will be required to leave his or her respective position if he or she receives an accumulative GPA of below 3.0 during the 3 grading periods.

Clause 1. A total of three (3) demerits will be acceptable before an officer will be removed from office. A demerit will be given for the following:
  1. 1 demerit will be given in the event of an unexcused absence from a Student Council General Assembly, S.C.C. meeting, Executive meeting, and Class Council meeting.
  2. 1 demerit will be given in the event of failure to complete a designated assignment by the assigned date.
  3. 1/2 demerit will be given in the event of any late arrival to a scheduled meeting
Clause 2.
Absence and tardiness will be considered excused with no demerits if the person was absent from school with an excused absence, if the person must attend Уflex-timeФ, their direct involvement with class activities.

Section 3.
 Succession
Clause 1.
 Student Council Cabinet

In case the office of the S.C.C. President is vacated, the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President as well as that of the Vice-President. In the event that the offices of the President and Vice-President are vacated simultaneously, the Treasurer shall temporarily assume the duties of the President. The offices of the President and the Vice-President shall be refilled by an election from the Student Body. The Treasurer shall then resume previous responsibilities. A vacancy created by the Secretary or Treasurer shall be filled by an election from the Student Body.

Clause 2. Student Council Class Officers

If a vacancy should occur during the school year for the position of President, Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer, the remaining officials are allowed to shuffle positions in any order. Shuffling of positions shall be mediated by the S.C.C...


Bill Of Rights

Every student of the International School of Bangkok has the following rights:
  1. The right to an education.
  2. The right to elect, by class suffrage, a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, to Student Council.
  3. The right to elect a Student Cabinet consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Liaison.
  4. The right to have his or her position represented by the aforementioned officials to the Student Council.
  5. The right to have this position taken into consideration by the Board of Trustees, through Student Council, on appropriate matters.
  6. The right to call a meeting with their respective class members or cabinet members if the desire to do so exists, or the right to attend existing meetings of these groups.
  7. The right to have the rules and regulations stated in the Student Handbook and Honor Code, fairly applied to himself or herself.