HCASC Constitution
Article I: Name of Organization
Section 1: The name of the organization shall be the Howard County Association of Student Councils.
Section 2: The official abbreviation of the organization shall be HCASC.
Article II: Purposes, Affiliation, and Association
Section 1: The mission of the organization is to provide students a mechanism to initiate educational reform, a pathway to promote positive relations between schools, coordination between student organizations, a forum to express their opinions, a platform for action, a vehicle to foster leadership, and a voice to express their collective opinion.
Section 2: The organization shall maintain an affiliation with the Maryland Association of Student Councils and the National Student Council.
Section 3: The organization shall maintain ties with the Howard County Board of Education, the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) and all other organizations deemed appropriate by the Executive Board.
Section 4: The organization is an official student group of the Howard County Board of Education and shall act in accordance with all HCPSS procedures and policies.
Article III: Membership
Section 1: Any HCPSS secondary school Student Government Association, Student Councils, or other Student Government organizations within Howard County shall be an organizational Member.
Section 2: Any HCPSS secondary school student that is academically eligible for extracurricular activities, in accordance with HCPSS Policy 9070, shall be eligible to become an official Member.
Section 3: Any eligible HCPSS secondary school student shall become an official Member upon the attendance of their second General Assembly.
Article IV: Officer Team
Section 1: The President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, the Student Member of the Board of Education, Parliamentarian, and Chief of Staff will comprise the Officer Team.
Section 2: A tie vote of the Officer Team shall be settled by the President of the organization, or in their absence, the First Vice President of the organization.
Section 3: The Elected Officers shall have a clear line of succession that goes in the following order: President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Parliamentarian, and Chief of Staff.
Section 4: Any student who would assume office as a ninth through twelfth grade student, is an official Member, and has attended five prior meetings is eligible for election to the positions of President, First Vice President, and Corresponding Secretary, and Recording Secretary.
Section 5: Any student who would assume office as a seventh or eighth grade student, is an official Member, and has attended five prior meetings is eligible for election to the position of Second Vice President.
Section 6: The Elected Officers shall be elected by the official Members, through a majority, popular vote, using ranked choice voting.
Section 7: The President shall oversee all meetings and events, and serve as the primary spokesperson for the organization.
Section 8: The First Vice President shall oversee all legislative affairs and assist the President as needed.
Section 9: The Second Vice President shall assist the First Vice President when needed and represent the views of all middle school students.
Section 10: The Recording Secretary shall record and publish all meeting notes and minutes on the organizational website and digital community page in cooperation with the Webmaster. The Recording Secretary shall ensure all publications follow the proper format and adhere to the visual identity of the organization.
Section 11: The Corresponding Secretary shall be in charge of all communications of the organization, including the social media, electronic mail, digital community page, website, and any future correspondence with the community. The Corresponding Secretary shall also oversee the Webmaster and manage the public relations of the organization, this includes the management of all social media accounts.
Section 12: The Corresponding Secretary shall keep clear and public records of all correspondence to and from the Officer Team, excluding the Student Member of the Board of Education. Upon public request for release, any personally identifiable information shall be redacted.
Section 13: No person shall serve as an Elected Officer while concurrently serving as the Student Member of the Board of Education or Executive Student Government President.
Section 14: The term of office of each elected officer shall be from July 1st of the year they are elected until June 30th of the subsequent year.
Article V: The Student Member of the Board of Education of Howard County
Section 1: The Student Member of the Board of Education shall be a non-voting member of the Officer Team.
Section 2: The election of the Student Member of the Board of Education shall be defined in HCPSS Policy 2010. The Election Coordinating Committee shall be responsible for planning and execution of the Student Member of the Board of Education Nominating Convention and the Student Member of the Board of Education General Election in cooperation with HCPSS staff.
Section 3: The organization will provide support to the Student Member of the Board of Education during their term of office.
Section 4: The organization will hold at least one public town hall meeting between the two final Student Member of the Board of Education candidates prior to the election. During each town hall, students will have the opportunity to ask questions to the candidates.
Section 5: The Student Member of the Board of Education may not vote on organizational stances on HCPSS Policy.
Section 6: Neither the The Student Member of the Board of Education, nor the Student Member of the Board-Elect, may endorse any candidates for elections within the organization.
Article VI: Appointed Staff
Section 1: The term of office of each Appointed Staff Member shall be from July 1st of the year they are appointed until June 30th of the subsequent year with the eligibility for renewal by the incoming officer for the additional term of one year.
Section 2: The Chief of Staff shall be a non-voting member of the Officer Team appointed to their position by consensus of the Elected Officers and the Student Member of the Board of Education. The Chief of Staff must be an official Member of the organization at the time of appointment. The Chief of Staff shall have a vote on all matters of the appointed staff, this includes appointments.
Section 3: The Chief of Staff shall be responsible for distributing information about applications and collecting application submissions for positions among the Appointed Staff. All application submissions shall be passed on to the Officer Team.
Section 4: The Chief of Staff shall coordinate the scheduling of interviews. The Chief of Staff will invite all members of the Officer Team and the HCASC Advisor to the interviews and notify them of the date, time, and location of the interviews with sufficient notice.
Section 5: The Chief of Staff shall provide a brief summary of each interview, the appointed staff candidates preferred placement, and the Chief of Staff’s recommendation to the Officer Team, prior to the Officer Team voting to confirm the appointments.
Section 6: The Chief of Staff shall appoint candidates to Committees or positions after approval by an Officer Team majority vote for each Chief of Staff recommendation.
Section 7: After the appointments of applicants to Committees or positions, the Chief of Staff shall appoint Chairpersons of each committee after approval by an Officer Team majority vote for each Chairperson.
Section 8: The Chief of Staff shall then subsequently oversee all Appointed Staff, and will be responsible for reporting to the Officer Team on the actions of the Appointed Staff.
Section 9: The Chief of Staff shall work in coordination with the HCASC Advisor in selecting representatives of the organization to serve on other boards and committees.
Section 10: The Parliamentarian shall be a non-voting member of the Officer Team appointed to their position by consensus of the Officer Team, including the Chief of Staff. The Parliamentarian must be an official Member of the organization at the time of appointment.
Section 11: The Parliamentarian is responsible for ensuring the organization follows the Constitution, HCPSS Policy, and any other binding agreements.
Section 12: The position of the Chief of Staff shall be fulfilled before the position of the Parliamentarian is fulfilled, and the position of the Parliamentarian shall be fulfilled before any subsequent Appointed Staff.
Section 13: If three of the following: the Student Member of the Board of Education, President, First Vice President, or Secretary are all students from the same school, the Chief of Staff and the Parliamentarian must be from two different schools.
Section 14: The Webmaster shall serve as an Appointed Staff member, and shall regulate and update the organizational website and the organizational digital community page. Section 14: The Webmaster shall be overseen by the Corresponding Secretary, who will report to the Officer Team of the Progress of the Webmaster.
Section 15: The Chief of Staff, Parliamentarian, and Webmaster shall be classified as “Operational Staff” that are required for standard operations of the organization.
Section 16: Each Committee will be required to have a governing charter or other central document that defines their purpose and function. The document shall be reviewed at the beginning of the appointment with any changes approved by the Chief of Staff.
Section 17: There shall be three “Standing Committees” including the Legislative Affairs Committee, Student Organizations Committee, and Election Coordinating Committee. These committees are required for the standard operations of the organization.
Section 18: No member of the Officer Team or Standing Committees shall hold any other position in the organization.
Section 19: The Election Coordinating Committee shall submit a plan to the Chief of Staff for the election of elected officers forty-five days before the planned date of the election. The Election Coordinating Committee, together with the HCASC Advisor and the Student Member of the Board of Education, shall count the votes cast in the election, and the Chairperson of the Election Coordinating Committee shall announce the results of the election.
Section 20: Members of the Election Coordinating Committee who wish to run for an Officer Team position in the same year they serve on the committee must resign from their position on the committee or have transferred to another committee before the committee begins planning for the Officer Team election. The Chief of Staff will provide a deadline before planning of the Officer Team election starts for prospective candidates on the committee to resign or have been transferred to another committee.
Section 21: Special committees shall be formed at the discretion of the Officer Team.
Section 22: If a committee contains only a single member, their title shall be “Coordinator” rather than “Chairperson”.
Article VII: Executive Board
Section 1: The Executive Board shall consist of the Officer Team and all Appointed Staff.
Section 2: The Executive Board shall meet monthly.
Section 3: At the Executive Board Meeting they shall discuss the agenda of the General Assembly and resolve any private business matters.
Article VIII: Meetings
Section 1: The Officer Team shall meet at least monthly separate from the General Assembly, Executive Board, and otherwise as needed.
Section 2: Four out of five voting members of the Officer Team are required to be in attendance for an Officer Team meeting to occur, except for matters of appointments, in which the Chief of Staff must be present, matters of removal, in which members must be present in accordance with Article X, and other agenda items where non-voting members of the officer team will cast a vote. In cases where the Parliamentarian’s advice is needed, but they are not present, the Advisor may act in their capacity.
Section 3: Non-voting members of the Officer Team shall be given sufficient notice of Officer Team meetings, and the voting members of the Officer Team shall make every effort to include non-voting members at meetings. Non-voting members of the Officer Team shall act in an advisory capacity to the voting members except in matters where they are eligible to vote. It is the expectation and responsibility of non-voting members to attend meetings.
Section 4: If a topic of the Officer Team meeting includes removal and replacement of a member of the Officer Team, that member must be notified that removal is on the agenda of the meeting. The member facing removal is not required to be in attendance at the Officer Team meeting for the meeting to occur.
Section 5: Each individual committee shall meet at least monthly from September through May separate from the General Assembly and otherwise as needed.
Section 6: There must be a quorum of two-thirds of the committee members present in order for a committee to meet.
Section 7: Each meeting of the Officer Team and each individual meeting of all Standing and non-Standing Committees shall be open to observers, who may not speak unless recognized by the presiding officer. The Officer Team may vote to enter a closed session to discuss individual personnel and appointment matters, protect the privacy or reputation of an individual with respect to a private matter, conduct investigative proceedings regarding misconduct, or to comply with law or HCPSS policy.
Section 8: The Chairperson of each committee or their Designee shall submit meeting notes and minutes to the Chief of Staff and Recording Secretary no later than 24 hours after the conclusion of a committee meeting to be published on the organizational website and digital community page.
Section 9: The General Assembly shall meet at least once a month from September through May. The Officer Team shall release a schedule of General Assembly meetings for the entire school year before the first General Assembly in September. If a change of this schedule occurs, the Officer Team must notify members and the public as soon as possible.
Section 10: Meetings between both finalists for Student Member of the Board of Education selected at the Nominating Convention with members of the HCASC Officer Team or the HCASC Advisor shall be open to observers unless a closed meeting is necessary to comply with law or HCPSS policy.
Article IX: Legislative Powers
Section 1: All Legislative Matters shall be conducted following Robert’s Rules of Order, New Revised.
Section 2: The General Assembly shall consist of any HCPSS secondary students who attend a meeting or receive any communications from the organization.
Section 3: The General Assembly shall have the authority to produce and pass “Resolutions” by a majority of votes cast, to support, condemn, or recognize specific causes, actions, or events.
Section 4: These “Resolutions” shall be proposed, in writing, by any two or more official Members of the organization, together, by notifying the First Vice President, and then the First Vice President shall then present the “Resolution” to the General Assembly for a vote.
Section 5: The Legislative Affairs Committee shall provide the General Assembly [OFFICER TEAM] stances on HCPSS Policy or Legislative Matters, in writing, and the General Assembly [OFFICER TEAM], by majority vote, will have the ability to vote to uphold or deny that stance. [THE STANCE WILL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY UPON PASSAGE].
Section 6: These “Stances” shall be proposed by the Chairperson of the Legislative Affairs Committee by notifying the First Vice President, and then the [FOLLOWING PASSAGE OF THE STANCE THE] First Vice President and Chairperson of the Legislative Affairs Committee shall then separately present the “Stance” to the General assembly for a vote [IN THE NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING]. Section 7: All votes of the General Assembly may be conducted in person, through a secured online poll service, or a hybrid system created by consent of the Officer Team. Votes will require 24 hours notice, and may be conducted separately from the monthly meetings of the Executive Board and General Assembly.
Section 7: If amendments, resolutions, or stances are presented to the First Vice President within 24 hours of the start of a General Assembly, the First Vice President has the discretion to deny said legislation a presentation at the General Assembly, and the sponsors of the legislation must reintroduce said legislation sometime after the closing of the General Assembly and 24 hours prior to the next one for it to be considered.
Article X: Removal, Replacement, and Resignations
Section 1: Any Officer Team Member, including the Chief of Staff and the Parliamentarian, with the exception of the Student Member of the Board, may be removed from their position with unanimous approval from the Officer Team, excluding the Member facing removal, and then a majority vote of official Members.
Section 2: Any vacancies of the Officer Team must be filed within forty-five days of the beginning of the vacancy. In the case of a vacancy in the Officer Team, the team must compensate responsibilities to ensure operations continue following the Line of Succession, defined in Article IV, Section 3.
Section 3: For elected positions, an election must occur within the forty-five day time period. An election plan must be submitted from the Election Coordinating Committee to the remaining Officer Team for approval by a majority of the remaining Officer Team Members, including the Chief of Staff and the Parliamentarian, within fifteen days of the beginning of the vacancy.
Section 4: For appointed positions of the Officer Team, they shall be replaced by the consensus of the remaining Members of the Officer Team, in accordance with Article IV.
Section 5: Any Appointed Staff Member, with the exception of the Chief of Staff and the Parliamentarian, may be removed from their position with a two-thirds vote of the Officer Team, the Chief of Staff and Parliamentarian, being voting members of the Officer Team on removal and replacement matters.
Section 6: Any member of the Officer Team or Appointed Staff, with the exception of the Student Member of the Board of Education, will have the ability to resign from their position if they provide one week notice to the next General Assembly meeting.
Article XI: Continuity of Organization
Section 1: In the case of an unusual circumstance where the standard proceedings of the organization are not possible, the Student Member of the Board of Education, Advisor, and remaining Executive Board Members will coordinate efforts to continue the organization as close to the Constitution and all supporting documents as possible.
Section 2: In the case of the absence of an Advisor, the Student Member of the Board of Education and President of the organization will work with a volunteer HCPSS staff member to continue operations until HCPSS Central Office has found a replacement Advisor.
Article XII - Amendments
Section 1: Amendments to this document shall be proposed, in writing, by any two or more official Members of the organization, together, by notifying the Parliamentarian, who will then notify the First Vice President, and then the First Vice President and Parliamentarian shall then separately present the amendment to the General Assembly for ratification.
Section 2: Amendments to this document shall be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the official Members of the General Assembly.
Section 3: The Parliamentarian, aided by the First Vice President, shall integrate the amendment into this document, provided that the intent of the clause is not changed from the initial approval.
Article XIII - Ratification
Section 1: This document shall be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. Section 2: Upon ratification all previous governing documents shall be immediately dissolved.