The Constitution of the Student Council of Advanced Department
Article I The name of the organization shall be the Student Council of the Advanced Department, Maryland School for the Deaf
Article II The Student Council will serve the Advanced students of Maryland School for the Deaf, by
Section I helping to make students more aware of the Constitution of the State of Maryland and that of the United States of America ;
Section II cooperating closely with students, faculty, and staff;
Section III promoting closer relationships among faculty, staff, and students;
Section IV endeavoring to promote a wholesome academic and social life for the students of Maryland School for the Deaf;
Section V promoting student rights;
Section VI involving students in planning for student activities at Maryland School for the Deaf;
Section VII helping to coordinate extracurricular activities at Maryland School for the Deaf.
Article III Membership in the Council
Section I All Senior, Junior, Sophomore, and Freshman students of Maryland School for the Deaf shall be members of Student Council.
Section II All members have the same rights and privileges within the Student Council.
Section III All members shall be governed by the same rules of the Student Council Constitution.
Article IV Powers of Student Council
Section I The powers of the Student Council implied in Article II are such as they do not interfere with the policies of Maryland School for the Deaf or the laws of the State.
Section II The Student Council has the power to amend this Constitution
Article V The Officers and Cabinet Members of the Student Council
Section I (A) The following officers of the Student Council shall be members of the Cabinet;
• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Secretary of Academic Affairs and Student Welfare
• Secretary of Extracurricular Activities
• Treasurer
Section I (B) The Class Representatives shall be members of the Cabinet.
Section I (C) Any member of the Student Council who has been in the Advanced Department at Maryland School for the Deaf for one year may be elected as an officer.
Section I (D) No Student Council officer may hold more than one Student Council office.
Section I (E) The officers of the Student Council shall consult among themselves on any action, and shall report their actions to the next Cabinet meeting.
Section I (F) The officers shall assist in the general supervision of the affairs and business of Student Council.
Section I (G) The Cabinet shall meet at least once every two weeks; the time, date, and place shall be determined by the President.
Section I (H) The quorum for the Cabinet meeting shall be at least three Cabinet members.
Section II The President shall:
- Be either a Junior or Senior;
- Conduct all Cabinet, General Assembly, or Special Meetings;
- No-voting member of all meetings of the Student Council and may vote only to break a tie;
- Oversee the activities of all ad-hoc and standing committees;
- Prepare an agenda for all Regular Meetings of the Cabinet and General Assembly; and
- Have the power to veto Student Council actions which he/she feels violate MSD policy or State laws or are not in the best interest of MSD students.
Section III The Vice President shall:
- Be either a Junior or Senior;
- Help the president in his/her duties;
- Oversee the Student Council activities and conduct meetings when the President is absent;
- Select a temporary secretary from among the Student Council Cabinet in case of the Secretary's absence;
- Assist the President in maintaining order during all Student Council meetings.
Section IV The Secretary shall:
- Keep all minutes of the Student Council
- Print or type and post copies of minutes of meetings no later than 5 school days after each meeting;
- Send copies of minutes of meetings to Advanced Principal and Advisors;
- Maintain a file of all correspondence, memoranda, reports, and documents, and
- Keep an attendance record of Student Council members at meetings.
Section V The Secretary of Academic Affairs and Student Welfare shall;
- Keep the Advanced Principal informed of all Student Council activities concerning the academic affairs and student welfare; and
- Assist and initiate projects which enhance the standards of school pride, spirit and honor.
- Section VI The Secretary of Extra Curricular Activities shall;
- Plan and implement Student Council sponsored activities; and
- Assist the faculty in extracurricular and recreational activities.
Section VII The Treasurer shall;
- Be responsible, with the Advisors' assistance for depositing Student Council funds in a Student Council account that is suitable for the Student Council's needs,
- Be responsible for keeping an accurate record of the treasury of the Student Council
- Assist the President in preparing a Student Council Budget; and
- Report the status of the treasury at each Student Council meeting.
Article VI The General Assembly
Section I The General Assembly is the legislative body of Student Council.
Section II The General Assembly meetings shall be held with all Maryland School for the Deaf's Advanced Department students at least three times a year. Times shall be determined jointly by President, Advisors, and Advanced Principal.
Section III No meeting of the General Assembly shall take place without a quorum. A quorum shall consist of one-fourth (1/4) of the students who are not Cabinet members.
Section IV The General Assembly shall make rules, regulations, and by-laws of the Student Council, subject to the approval of the President.
Section V In case of the President's veto, the General Assembly may proceed to make rules, regulations and by-laws stand, provided they obtain a two-third (2/3) majority vote of assembled Advanced students.
Section VI The Advanced Principal shall advise the General Assembly if any of its actions interfere with the policies or philosophy of Maryland School for the Deaf or the laws of the State.
Article VII Other Student Council meetings
Section I Other Student Council meetings shall be meeting other than the Cabinet, General Assembly, and Special Meetings.
Section II They shall be conducted by a chair elected by committee members or selected by the President
Section III The quorum shall be one-half (1/2) of the committee members
Article VIII Special Meetings
Section I Special Meetings of the General Assembly may be called by the President with approval of an Advisor or Advanced Principal.
Section II The Special Meeting shall be limited to the business for which it is called.
Article IV All Meetings
Section I The Agenda shall be prepared by the President or chair.
Section II All Student Council meetings are open to everyone.
Section III All proposals for action must be seconded. A simple majority of assembled Advanced students is required to pass any proposal.
Section IV At least one Advisor shall be present at all Student Council meetings.
Article X Amendments
Section I A proposal amendment to the Constitution shall be announced to the Advanced students two weeks before a General Assembly meeting.
Section II An amendment to the Constitution may be made if two-thirds (2/3) of the student body present at the meeting vote for its approval
Article XI Advisors of the Student Council
Section I The Student Council shall have three staff/faculty Advisors. The Advisors will work with the Student Council and at least one must be present at all regular and special meetings of the Student Council and those of the Cabinet.
Section II At the end of each school year, the Student Council will make recommendations to the Advanced Principal as to the selection of Advisors for the following school year.
Article XII Elections of Officers and Representatives
Section I The procedure for electing Officers and Class Representatives shall be as follows:
- A student from each Advanced Department class may be elected as a Class Representative by his or her class. Each class then selects an alternative member to fill in as a Class Representative if the Class Representative is absent from Cabinet Meetings.
- Any eligible student wishing to run for an office may do so. He or she must not be on the low grade list at the time of election.
- The entire student body elects the officers by simple majority vote through secret ballot.
Section II Election of Class Representatives will take place during May of each school year and that of Officers during May before school ends. However, during the first month following the Ratification of this Constitution, there shall be election of Class Representatives and Officers.
Section III The terms of the Class Representatives and Officers shall continue until the end of the school year.
Article XIII Removal of Officers and Class Representatives
Section I The Cabinet may request resignation of any of its Officers and Class Representatives if any of the following conditions occurs:
- He or she misses two consecutive meetings without an approved excuse; or
- He or she exhibits disorderly or unlawful behavior
Section II An Officer or Class Representative must submit a letter of resignation to the Cabinet if he or she is on the low-grade list.
Section III If the President resigns or is removed, the Vice President becomes the President and the Cabinet may elect a new Vice President.
Amendments
- The President and the Vice President shall be either an incoming Junior or Senior. (Replace Article V, Section II (A) and Section III (A) [Passed on 6/13/91]
- When the Vice President resigns, is removed from cabinet, or becomes the President, the position will be filled by Cabinet Members [Passed on 6/13/91]
- The name of the organization shall be the Student Body Government of High School Department, Maryland School for the Deaf. The name, Student Council, mentioned elsewhere in this Constitution, shall be replaced by the new name. [Passed on 6/2/93]
- The Class Representatives will be elected on the ratio of fifteen (15) students to one (1). [Passed on 10/18/94]
- Student elections will involve the President and Vice President only. This election will occur in the spring. The newly elected President and Vice President will select an Executive Committee consisting of a Treasurer, Secretary, Secretary of Academic Affairs and Student Welfare, and Secretary of Extracurricular Activities. The appointment of the Executive Committee will be approved by the Class Representatives [Passed on 5/16/01]
- Class Representatives will be selected in the Fall of each school year no later than the third week of the semester [Passed on 5/16/01]
- Class Representatives will be the deciding body in approving or vetoing the Executive Committee members. [Passed on 5/16/01]
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