CADILLAC HIGH SCHOOL
NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY
BYLAWS
Article I: Name and Purpose
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Cadillac High School Chapter of the National Honors Society of Secondary Schools.
Section 2: The purposes of this organization shall be to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of Cadillac High School.
Article II: Principal
Section 1: The principal shall reserve the right to approve all activities and decisions of the chapter.
Section 2: The principal shall appoint a member of the CHS faculty to serve as chapter advisor.
Section 3: The principal shall annually appoint a Faculty Council composed of five members of the high school’s faculty who may serve consecutive terms.
Section 4: The principal shall receive appeals in cases of the disciplining or dismissal of members.
Article III: Faculty Council
Section 1: The Faculty Council shall consist of five voting faculty members appointed by the principal. The chapter adviser shall be a nonvoting, sixth member. No principal or assistant principal may be a voting member of the Faculty Council.
Section 2: The term of the Faculty Council shall be one academic year. Members may be appointed to consecutive terms.
Section 3: The Faculty Council shall meet at least once a year to review the procedures of the chapter, select new members, and meet on an as-needed basis to consider dismissals, other disciplinary actions, and warning cases.
Section 4: The Faculty Council shall develop and revise, when necessary, all chapter procedures for selection, disciplining, and dismissal of members, all of which must remain in compliance with the national guidelines.
Article IV: Membership
Section 1: Membership in this chapter is an honor bestowed upon students. Selection shall be based on outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Once selected, members have the responsibility to continue to demonstrate these qualities.
Section 2: Students must maintain a cumulative 3.5 grade point average. If a member falls below this standard, he or she may remain in good standing with the council by completing five extra hours of community service each year as long as a cumulative GPA between 3.4 and 3.5 is maintained.
Section 3: All members must perform a minimum of twenty hours of community service per academic year to remain in good standing. At least six of these being tutor hours and no more than four shall be performed the summer before the school year for which they will be counted. A minimum of five hours must be fulfilled at chapter-sponsored activities. Seniors who have not completed their service obligation by April 15 will not receive honor cords for use in commencement activities. Juniors who have not completed their service obligation by the last meeting of the year will have the first trimester of the following school year to make up the hours that are deficient from the previous year along with the new obligations for the new academic year.
Article V: Membership Selection
Section 1: To be eligible for membership, a candidate must be a sophomore or junior. Freshman and seniors will not be considered for membership. Candidates must have been in attendance at Cadillac High School for two trimesters.
Section 2: An NHS member transferring from another school shall be accepted into the Cadillac chapter with a letter of recommendation from either the principal or advisor from their previous school. Transfer members must meet the Cadillac chapter’s standards within two trimesters of acceptance to retain membership.
Section 3: The minimum standard for scholarship shall be a grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Character evaluation shall be based upon five teacher nominations. Evaluation of service and leadership shall be judged by the Faculty Council based on an application and short essay question to be submitted after nomination. Applications must be turned in by the specified date.
Section 4: The selection of each member to the chapter shall be by a majority vote of the Faculty Council.
Section 5: Candidates accepted for membership by the Faculty Council shall become full members at the induction ceremony held each year in the spring.
Article VI: Discipline and Dismissal
Section 1: The Faculty Council shall determine the procedure for dismissal and shall make a written description of the standard procedure available to interested parties, upon request.
Section 2: Members who fall below the standards that were the basis for their selection shall be promptly warned in writing by the chapter advisor and given sufficient time to correct the deficiency, in most cases the equivalent of one trimester. This shall include, but not be limited to: a GPA below 3.4, not fulfilling service hours, and inappropriate behavior at the advisor’s discretion. A member is expected to maintain academic standing and take an active role in service and leadership at Cadillac High School and in the community as well.
Section 3: The Faculty Council shall consider dismissal from the chapter after 2 NHS standards violations regardless of category.
Section 4: In cases of legal violation, a member may receive no warnings and shall immediately be called before the Faculty Council (upon the knowledge of the incident) to account for their actions and/or be considered for dismissal. These violations include, but are not limited to: MIP, DUI, stealing, destruction of property, truancy, and possession of, selling, or being under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Section 5: Any disciplinary action bestowed upon an NHS member from Cadillac High School—including punishment for cheating, plagiarism, or the loss of extracurricular privileges—could result in disciplinary action by the Faculty Council.
Section 6: Excessive unexcused absences (3 or more) from chapter meetings shall result in five extra hours of community service hours and possible review by the Faculty Council.
Section 7: In all cases of pending dismissal, a member shall have a right to a hearing before the Faculty Council. This is considered due process for all members.
Section 8: For purposes of dismissal, a majority vote by the Faculty Council is required.
Section 9: The Faculty Council may impose consequences other than dismissal upon members, such as extra community service.
Section 10: A member who has been dismissed by the Faculty Council may appeal the decision of the Council under the same guidelines available for disciplinary appeals in the CAPS school district.
Article VII: Chapter Officers
Section 1: The officers of the chapter shall be president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.
Section 2: In March of each year each member shall have the opportunity to nominate candidates or run for chapter officers at the monthly meeting.
Section 3: Once nominations have taken place an election will occur in April. Each member will have the chance to speak for up to one minute before the election takes place. The secretary will create and copy the ballot.
Section 4: Elections are by closed ballot. A majority of the votes cast is necessary to elect any chapter officer.
Section 5: Only chapter members of the junior class shall vote.
Section 6: New NHS officers shall be sworn in at the induction ceremony held each spring.
Section 7: The president is a motivator, manager and role model. The president’s main duty is public relations. The president’s responsible for seeing that everyone does his/her job and stays on task. The responsibilities of president shall include: running the meetings, sending out reminders about meetings, leading by example and any other duties as needed.
Section 8: The vice president is obligated to stay as well informed on chapter affairs as the president. The responsibilities of vice president shall include running meetings in the absence of the president, orientating new members, and attending any subcommittee meetings as needed.
Section 9: The responsibilities of secretary shall include taking minutes and creating agendas for meetings, taking attendance at all NHS meetings and activities, creating ballots and attending to any other paperwork as needed.
Section 10: The responsibilities of treasurer shall include any monetary business as well as making monthly or bimonthly reports at meetings.
Section 11: In the event that the president vacates the vice president will assume the position. All other vacated positions are filled by an open election from current NHS members of the conserving body.
Article VIII: Meetings
Section 1: The faculty council, along with the principal, shall designate dates and times for meetings throughout the school year. Permission may also be granted to the NHS advisor by the principal or Faculty Council.
Section 2: Mandatory chapter meetings shall be held at least once a month.
Section 3: The faculty advisor, chapter president, or other designated student leaders may call special meetings approved by the officers of NHS.
Section 4: All meetings shall be conducted in parliamentary procedure, according to Robert’s Rules of Order (Revised Edition).
Article IX: Activities
Section 1: The chapter shall determine one or more service projects for each year.
Section 2: All members shall regularly participate in these projects.
Section 3: All projects must fulfill a need within the school or community, have the support of the administration, NHS advisor and the Faculty Council, be appropriate and educationally defensible, and be well planned, organized, and executed.
Section 4: In addition to chapter projects, each member shall have the responsibility of choosing and participating in service projects that reflect his or her particular talents and interest. These projects should be approved by the advisor and/or a panel of NHS members and should follow the criteria above.
Section 5: The chapter shall execute its projects in a positive manner and publicize regular reports of its activities.
Article X: Official Insignia
Section 1: The Cadillac High School NHS shall have an official emblem selected by the National Chapter (pin and/or membership card), to be given to each new member upon induction.
Section 2: Each active, graduated, or honorary member in good standing with the chapter shall be entitled to wear this emblem.
Section 3: Any member who resigns or is dismissed shall be required to return his/her emblem and/or membership card to the chapter advisor.
Article XI: Bylaw Amendment and Revision
Section 1: Any revisions made to the chapter bylaws shall be consistent with the National Honors Society Constitution.
Section 2: The chapter bylaws may be amended at any regular chapter meeting pending approval from the Faculty Council.
Section 3: Any amendment proposed must be submitted to the secretary in writing and must pass with a two-thirds vote at the next meeting. The chapter advisor, principal, and Faculty Council must then approve these amendments.
* The NHS membership adopted these bylaws on April 17, 2008.
* The CHS Faculty Council revised and approved these bylaws on May 14, 2008.
5/14/08