CONSTITUTION
The Constitution of the Rio Americano High School Student Body
PREAMBLE
We, the students of Rio Americano High School, in order to establish workable and equitable
relationships with the faculty and with the administration, to conduct successful activities, to
achieve financial self-support and stability, and to voice student opinions, establish this
Constitution.
PART I: STUDENT BODY ORGANIZATION
ARTICLE I: The RASB Organization
Sec. 1: The name of this organization shall be the Rio Americano Student Body, to be abbreviated RASB.
Sec. 2: All legally enrolled students at Rio Americano High School shall be members of this organization.
Sec. 3: All voting members of this organization shall be entitled to full voting rights in all RASB elections, except where otherwise stipulated by this Constitution.
Sec. 4: The representative colors of the RASB shall be forest green and gold. The representative mascot of the RASB shall be a Raider.
ARTICLE II: Student Government
Sec. 1: The RASB shall be directly governed by the Associated Student Body, to be abbreviated ASB.
Sec. 2: The Student Government class shall include one adult Advisor, appointed by the administration.
A. Some duties of the ASB Advisor shall be:
1. to provide class supervision during the Student Government class period;
2. to provide representation on behalf of the administration at Student Government meetings;
3. to evaluate all Student Government Officers for grading purposes, with recommendations from the Executive Board;
4. to advise Student Government Officers of their duties.
Sec. 3: The members of Student Government shall be as follows: no more than seven Student Body Officers, four class delegations of five members each, no more than ten appointed officers (as stipulated in this Constitution). No one person may hold two Constitutional offices concurrently. The Student Government shall meet during a normal class period as the Student Government class.
A. The Student Body Officers shall be elected by the ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-grade members of the RASB at the time of the elections (and twelfth-grade members, under the conditions stipulated under Part I, Article II, Sec. -J, and Part III, Article II). The Student Body Officers shall include a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Commissioner(s) of Social Affairs, and Commissioner of Publicity
1. The Student Body Officers can be held by eleventh or twelfth graders, with the exception that the office of Student Body President must be held by a twelfth grader.
B. The Appointed Officers of the RASB shall be appointed by the newly elected Student Body Executive Board, and must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the newly elected officers of Student Government before assuming office. At the discretion of the Executive Board, all candidates for an appointed position may be required to submit a resume, give a speech, or give an interview to the newly elected Executive Board. No more than ten officers may be appointed. The Appointed Offices may include, but are not limited to, the following: Election Board Chair(s), Fundraising Chair(s), Community Service Chair(s), Communications and Public Relations liaison, and Assistant(s) to the Commissioner of Social Affairs.
C. The Student Government class shall consist only of the members of Student Government. All members of Student Government must enroll in and attend the Student Government class.
1. A Student Government Officer may be permitted to retain his/her position without enrollment in the Student Government class only while bound to a contract that is approved by a two-thirds majority of the ASB Officers. This contract is to be drawn up by the Student Body Secretary and Executive Board.
D. The Student Government class shall, during normal open sessions, be open to any student, parent, or faculty member who wishes to visit or personally present criticism or suggestions or motions. Nevertheless, the Student Body President has the right to call closed meetings, which no person outside of the Student Government class and its advisor may attend. Closed meetings may also be called by a two-thirds majority approval of Student Government.
Sec. 4: Some of the duties of the Student Government Class shall be:
A. to develop and manage a budget of RASB funds;
B. to issue and regulate Student Body Cards;
C. to coordinate student activities, and to maintain an activity calendar;
D. to initiate and regulate the activities of the Inner-Club Council;
E. to meet with the school administration regularly from September through May;
F. to decide what is necessary and proper for the well-being of the RASB;
G. to act with the administration in order to improve and maintain relations among students, parents, faculty, and the community;
H. to act with the San Juan Unified School District in achieving goals set for the students and school.
Sec. 5: There shall be an Executive Board of Student Government, consisting of the Student Body Officers and the four Class Presidents only.
A. The Executive Board is responsible for meeting twice during each official school quarter. The Executive Board shall meet at the discretion of the Student Body President, or any three members of this Board, of all members of any class delegation to Student Government, of ten members of Student Government or upon presentation to the Student Body President or Vice President of a petition signed by fifteen percent of the members of the ASB and requesting an Executive Board meeting. The Executive Board must meet within two school days, not including any school days during finals week, of a request made by any of the parties indicated in Article II, Sec. 4, of this Constitution.
B. Some duties of the Executive Board shall be:
1. to represent the RASB to the school administration and to the community;
2. to interpret this Constitution;
3. to determine long-term goals for the school year;
4. to recommend disciplinary action for members of Student Government, and ensure that such action is carried out;
5. to form recommendations, at least three weeks before the conclusion of each academic quarter, as to whether each member of Student Government is fulfilling his/her Constitutional responsibilities;
6. to form recommendations, at the conclusion of each academic quarter, as to whether Student Government is fulfilling its goals for the school year;
C. Any decision made by the Executive Board may be repealed by a two-thirds majority vote of all the members of Student Government who are not members of the Executive Board.
Sec. 6: There shall be an Election Board consisting of the Election Board Chair(s) and up to four other members of Student Government, to be appointed by the Election Board Chair(s), with approval of a two-thirds majority vote of the members of Student Government who are not already on the Election Board and not appointed to the Election Board.
A. The Election Board shall meet when necessary to perform its duties at the discretion of the Election Board Chair.
B. The duties of the Election Board shall be:
1. to schedule, write, and distribute all tests on this Constitution;
2. to distribute all nomination petitions;
3. to examine completed petitions and designate nominees;
4. to obtain, distribute, and count all ballots and to announce winners and/or run-off elections;
5. to secure supervision for election assemblies;
6. to accept all initiative, referendum, and recall petitions, and to notify Student Government if an election is necessary;
7. to obtain, distribute, and count initiative, referendum, and recall ballots and to announce the results;
8. to conduct all polls and surveys requested by the Student Government;
9. to monitor all campaign material;
10. to inform candidates of nomination requirements;
11. to ensure that the Student Government Advisor is present and able to assist if necessary during the counting of ballots;
12. to ensure that all numerical results of the election are kept confidential to all those outside of the Election Board and committee;
13. to ensure that each student is given a fair opportunity to vote, according to the voting restrictions established in this Constitution;
14. to recommend to Student Government disciplinary action for candidates who violate campaign procedures established in this Constitution, and to ensure that such action is carried out.
C. The following rules shall apply to all elections for student body and class offices:
1 For every office, a simple majority (one-half plus one vote) shall be necessary to win. This majority will be taken from the total number of votes cast for each individual office;
2 If two people are running and neither receives a simple majority (the event of a tie), then there shall be a run-off election;
3 If three or more people are running and no one receives a simple majority, then there will be a run-off election between the two candidates with the greatest number of votes.
Sec. 7: All candidates for Student Body offices must:
A. Be members of the RASB both at the time of their candidacy and the term of office for which they are running.
B. Have a cumulative grade-point average of2.0, and no F's each quarter and from the previous two semesters if enrolled in Rio Americano for those semesters and from the previous semester if enrolled in Rio Americano for only that semester, or with any F's made up within three weeks with teacher's consent; and a citizenship grade-point average of 3.0 for the same semester(s) and quarter (s).
C. Be willing and able to enroll in the Student Government class in the term for which they are seeking office, unless otherwise permitted under the conditions stipulated in Part L Article II, Sec. 3-1, subsection 1.
D. Pass a general test, which shall be given only on the dates specified by the Election Board Chair(s), on the Constitution before becoming nominees. A candidate may not take the test more than twice during one election period, which shall be outlined by this Constitution as the period in which all elections and appointments take place at the end of each school year for the following school year. The passing grade shall be 70%.
E. Obtain a petition, to be signed by a school official, and obtain the signatures of fifty RASB members. The completed petition must be submitted to and approved by the Election board, which will then designate the candidates as nominees and put their names on the ballot.
Sec. 8: The following rules shall apply to all elections for Student Body offices:
A. No candidate may display campaign materials on campus (e.g. stickers, posters, flyers) unless specifically designated a nominee by passing the Constitution test, having their petition signed, and obtaining and completing a grade check.
B. The Election Board reserves the right to censor any campaign techniques or materials which it deems inappropriate or unfair to another candidate.
C. If the Election Board censors any materials, the action must be reported to the candidate and Student Government immediately.
D. On the day following voting, each nominee must remove all campaign material from the campus.
E. Violation to follow any of the above states policies shall result in a recommendation of disciplinary action by the Election Board.
F. Prior to voting, all ASB officer nominees must deliver a speech to the RASB, supervised by the Election Board. Failure to comply with this policy will make the nominee ineligible for the election, and will remove him or her from the ballot, unless the Election Board approves the absence. An optional question-and-answer period led by a moderator will be designated by the Election Board Chair(s).
G. Voting shall be held the day and day after speeches, or at the time specified by the Election Board Chair(s).
H. Each candidate must be elected independently for office with the exception of Social Affairs Commissioners, which may run as partners of no more than two people.
I. Members of the graduating class shall not vote in the RASB office elections except in the case of a special election.
J. Any student absent from school on the days of voting forfeits his/her right to vote.
K. For all ASB officers, a majority of votes shall be necessary for election. If no one candidate receives a majority of the votes, a run-off election shall be held.
L. There shall be no write-in votes cast for ay office except in the case of a vacant office.
Sec. 9: Unless removed from office, all ASB officers shall serve a term of one school year,
beginning on the first day of the last week of the school year in which they were elected.
Sec. 10: All elected ASB officers must buy a RASB card.
Sec. 11: Individual duties of Student Body officers:
A. President
1. to provide representations at all pertinent organizations (i.e., PTSA meetings, District meetings);
2. to appoint all necessary officers as provided in Part I, Article II, Sec. 3-B;
3. to appoint all necessary Student Government committees and their chairs;
4. to provide representation of the RASB in any pertinent inter-scholastic or community activities;
5. to advise individuals and committee chars within Student Government of their duties with the assistance of the rest of the Executive Board.
6. to oversee all activities of Student Government, with the aid of the rest of the Executive Board;
7. to have the power to call special meetings, closed meetings, Executive board meetings, and meetings of any Student Government committee when necessary;