Parker Constitution

PREAMBLE

We, the members of the Parker community, in order to form an outstanding learning environment, hereby write this Constitution to establish equality, to encourage educational and verbal freedom, and to make this school a safe place where members feel respected.  As a whole, we maintain the balance between order and freedom and grant each individual their own respect, rights and responsibility, in order to attain this exceptional environment we call the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School.

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Community Congress of the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School is the legislative branch of the government.  Its main purpose is the welfare and productiveness of the Parker community.  To that end, the Community Congress meets weekly to debate and create issues of law that concern the community.

I. Membership

A.     The CC shall be composed of one Representative from each advisory, one School Representative for each 60 students and one Teacher Representative for every three advisories.

2. The CC shall meet once every school week.  Every other week, students who are not members of the CC will be allowed to come to the meetings.
    

3. Representatives shall be elected into office by manner of secret ballot.  Every student and teacher will be allowed one vote each.  Elections will take place at the beginning and half‑year mark of the year.
    

4. The Representatives’ terms will be half a year where they can run both at the beginning of year and half‑year mark.

II. Legislative Process

A.  A bill may be proposed by any of the following with the appropriate amount of signatures:

1.   An Advisory Representative from his/her advisory with all of the signatures of 2/3 or more of the advisory members.

2.   The CC if there is interest in it.

3.   A member of the school body with a petition consisting of at least 25% of the students’ and teachers’ signatures.

B.     Once the CC receives an eligible bill, they take a poll (through advisories) of what people in the school want.

C.     After the CC receives the poll, they vote on the bill, taking in and considering the results of the poll.  A 2/3 majority from the CC is needed to pass the bill on to the Co-Advisors.

III. Impeachment

A. Reasons for Impeachment:

1.   If a member of the Community Congress fails to attend meetings regularly and has a regular number of unexcused absences, that person may be requested to resign or be impeached by a majority vote of the CC.

2.   If a member of the CC is found to be committing a crime, that person may be impeached by the CC.

3.   If a member of the CC is found to be repeatedly rude, disrespectful of their position on the CC and is found to be uncommitted to the welfare of the Parker community and the government, that person may be impeached by the CC.

B. Impeachment Process

1.   A person of the Parker Charter School charges a member of the CC with one of the items listed above, at which point the CC may vote or hold a ballot to decide the merit of the complaint.

2.   If the merit of the complaint is agreed upon by a majority vote by the CC, the complaint is then passed to the Justice Committee for a final decision.

Enforcement of Laws

Everyone will be expected to enforce the laws in that if the government or any other people or person commits or attempts to commit an injustice against you, you will file a report and follow judicial procedure.  If it is observed that a person, or people, are breaking a school law, then a report of this should be reported to a person involved in the executive branch.  The executive branch may take a person or people to court for violating the rights of the school in whole or in part.

Constitutional Review

In the interest of keeping the Parker Constitution a dynamic and useful document, a “Constitutional Review” will take place every three (3) years.  Every three (3) years at the beginning of the school year a “Committee With Power” will review the Constitution and make any changes they think appropriate to update the material to make sense given the current situation at Parker.

This committee will be formed of the following representatives of the school:

§         Two (2) Community Congress representatives, chosen by the Community Congress in any way they deem fit.

§         Two (2) Justice Committee representatives, chosen by the Justice Committee in any way they seem fit.

§         The Co-Advisors

§         Six (6) all-school representatives, two (2) from each division, who will be elected by the student body solely for this review.

§         Two (2) teacher representatives, who will be elected by the faculty solely for this review.

§         The Principal.

§         One (1) optional seat to be filled by a trustee at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.

The “Committee With Power” should strive for consensus on all decisions, but if consensus cannot be reached, a change to the constitution can be made by a 2/3-majority vote of the committee.

The official Community Congress Archive will contain copies of the Constitution from each school year.  If any student, faculty member, or member of the administration believes that an amendment made by the “Committee With Power” should be repealed (i.e. returned to its original state, before the Constitutional Review).  They have three (3) months to specify what section they wish to change back and also what they wish to change it back to, by referring to the kept archival copy of the previous year’s constitution.  They must then attempt to have the amendment repealed via the normal amendment process (see Parker Constitution).  The specified changes are all that is needed to be given, NO formal amendment proposal need be written up.  If the repeal is successful the original clauses are returned to their original state.

THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE

A.  The Justice Committee

1.   The Justice Committee (hereafter, JC) will consist of both students and faculty members.

2.   A JC member will represent every advisory (with the school at its maximum size there will be about 30 students on the JC).

3.   There will be at least two, and no more than three teachers on the JC, as well as the guidance counseling staff.

4.   The JC is responsible for resolving all violations of Parker rules and community norms of safety and respect.  The JC is also responsible for mediating issues when they have been requested to do so.

5    The JC does not have jurisdiction in certain designated areas (e.g. weapons, sexual harassment and controlled substances).  All other cases must be heard by the JC, unless the Principal deems that a situation is dangerous and requires an immediate response.  (For details, see JC Handbook)

6.   The JC does not have the authority to suspend or expel students.  However, if they decide that a student has committed a suspendable or expellable offense, they may recommend that consequence to the Principal for a suspension/expulsion hearing (for a list of suspendable and expellable offenses, see Suspension and Expulsion Policy for the Parker School).

7.   Students have the right to have two JC members present at a suspension/expulsion hearing.

8.   The JC is responsible for interpreting the Constitution when there is a disagreement over the meaning of a part of the Constitution.

9.   The JC is responsible for ensuring that the Constitution is upheld at all times.

10. The JC is responsible for administering all school-wide elections.

11. The JC will provide written reports to ensure that the Parker community is kept informed of JC decisions and business.  To ensure that confidentiality is maintained, this report will not contain the names of any offenders.

B.  Hearings/Mediation

1.   The JC will have hearings where a member(s) of the Parker community can bring another member(s) of the Parker community to have a case heard in front of a group of JC students and a faculty member.

2.   Members will include all students, teachers, faculty members and chaperones.

3.   There will be no more than four and no less than two student JC representatives sitting on a case.  There will be one faculty JC member per case.

4.   All JC members will be trained in mediation and counsel hearings.

5.   All JC members will take an oath of confidentiality.

6.   The accuser and the accused must be present at the hearing.  Any other parties/witnesses will be determined by the JC on a case by case basis.

7.   Individual students participating in JC hearings have the right to bring another person to the hearing or mediation with them as a witness to the proceedings.  This person may be any faculty member or JC representative of their choosing.  (For details, see JC Handbook)

8.   Consequences will be determined on a case by case basis.

9.   Attendance at JC hearings is mandatory.

10. All parties must agree to mediation.

11. Each mediation will be done on a case by case basis.  Community members involved in the mediation may decide whether they require JC members and/or the guidance counseling staff.

C.  Elections

1.   Elections for the JC will be on the first Friday in October.

2.   JC terms will last from the day they are elected until the first Friday of the following October.

3.   The JC will meet at least twice a month (once a week if the schedule permits).

4.   Each advisory must select a representative, by voting for one of the members of the advisory who wants to be on the JC.  Student representatives are responsible for communicating relevant information back to their advisory.

5.   The election must be done by secret ballot.

6.   The faculty will select 2-3 teachers interested in serving on the JC in any way that they choose.

7.   In the case of an advisory having no interested students serving on JC, another student (appointed by the counseling staff) will become the representative of that advisory.  That representative will be a full JC member and will be responsible for reporting back to that advisory.

D.  Impeachment

1. Any member of the Parker Community may recommend the impeachment of a JC member.

2.   Reasons for impeachment recommendations:

a.   A member breaks his/her oath of confidentiality.

b.   A member breaks the Parker community norms.

c.   Three-fourths of the members in an advisory vote to have their member replaced.

3.   Members of the JC may be impeached if a majority of the JC finds a violation of the standards listed in the above section.

4.   Impeachment votes must be done by secret ballot.

5.   If an advisory has its JC member impeached, or if that member wishes to resign, the advisory may elect a different JC member to serve for the remainder of the term.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A.     General Rights and Responsibilities

At the beginning of each school year, all members of the Parker community are asked to sign the Parker Community Contract of Rights and Responsibilities.  This document is meant to serve as a compilation of norms by which the Parker community members agree to abide.  It is also contained in the Parker Community Constitution and is intended as “guidelines” for behavior, not as “rules” for which punitive consequences exist.

1.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to be treated with courtesy by all members of the community and the responsibility to treat all faculty, parents, visitors and students with courtesy.

2.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to think what he/she wants to think and the responsibility to employ thoughtful habits of mind/learning.

3.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to express a concern and the responsibility to do so using an appropriate time, place, tone and attitude.

4.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to expect that no one will use his/her personal belongings without his/her permission and the responsibility to give others the same courtesy.

5.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to enjoy and participate in the Parker community and the responsibility not to disrupt the enjoyment and participation of others.

6.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to be supported in his/her learning style and the responsibility to do his/her own work well, ask for help, and give help.

7.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to use materials in the classroom and resources at Parker and the responsibility to use them wisely and return them in the same condition in which they were found.

8.   Every member of the Parker community has the right to have his/her voice heard and the responsibility to listen to others.

B.  Classroom Responsibilities

1.   Students have the responsibility to turn in assignments when due and teachers have the responsibility to return assessed work within a reasonable period of time.  If assessed student work is not returned in a reasonable time, additional time for revision of work should be provided to students.

2.   Both students and teachers should show effort to participate fully in class.

3.   Both students and teachers should show sufficient effort to be on time for class.

4.  A reasonable break time should be provided to both students and teachers during longer class blocks.

AMENDMENTS

If you wish to make, change, or update an amendment, you must have 2/5 (40%) of the student body sign a petition to accept your amendment.  Then the petition will be sent to the CC.  In the CC, they will discuss the amendment and with the author of the amendment they will make any necessary changes.  To pass the amendment, a 2/3 majority of the CC must vote in the favor of the amendment.  Then the amendment will be proposed to the entire school.  After the amendment is explained, the school will vote.  A 2/3 majority of the community will be necessary for the amendment to become activated.

BILL OF RIGHTS

Preamble: We, the Bill of Rights committee, establish the Bill of Rights to ensure students and teachers understand their rights and recognize that they are equal.

Student and Teacher Rights:

1.      The Legislative branch can't make laws against rights of free speech, religion and others, such as respect, fairness and equal treatment.

2.      People have the right to defend themselves in court and on school grounds;  the difference between defensive action and offensive action shall be decided in a student court.

3.      People can't be searched and belongings can't be taken from them without reasonable proof.

4.      People have the right not to answer questions that incriminate them or put them in danger.

5.      People have the right to have their case be heard by the Justice Committee.

6.      People have the right to defend themselves in court with a trial by jury and judge.

7.      No punishment may be given that is cruel or unreasonable.

8.      People have the right to a safe learning environment.

9.      People have a right to vote on all school wide elections.

10.  Students have a right to learn at their own pace.

Parent Rights

1.      A right to give any type of input.

2.      A right to take kids out of school.

Election Policy

Passed by CC on 5-24-2000

1.      For elected positions that represent the entire Parker community (such as the Co-Advisors), students and staff will vote.  For positions that only represent students or faculty (such as All-School CC representatives, students on the Board of Trustees, or Faculty CC representatives), only students or teachers, respectively, may vote.

2.      For elected positions where one candidate or one ticket is to be elected, a candidate/ticket must receive a majority of the ballots cast to be elected.  If no person/ticket receives a majority, a run-off between the top two candidates/tickets will be held.

3.      For elected positions where more than one candidate is to be elected, the candidates with the most votes will take the position.