Bylaws
The ( ) High School GSA Club
Adopted (8/13/2013)
Section One – Officers
The ( ) High School GSA shall be governed by 6 elected officers of the student body, who are elected in the second week of May or every year and whose term begins on the last day of the school year. The club shall have a minimum of one advisor acting as both a representative of the school administration and on behalf of the faculty.
Officers are expected to keep a GPA of 3.0 and above. No officer shall be eligible for election without prior signed consent of the club advisor.
Section Two – Elections of officers
All candidates who wish to be officers of the ( ) High School GSA shall submit to the advisor two weeks before elections an application and written declaration of why they are declaring their candidacy. It shall be the responsibility of the advisor to administer elections to ensure fairness. There shall be 6 elected officers and they are as follows:
- President, Vice President, Secretary, Senior Class Representative, Junior Class Representative, and Sophomore Class Representative whose responsibilities are listed in Addendum A.
-Sophomore class representative shall be elected the first week of October and shall submit the same application and declaration of candidacy to the advisor before the end of September.
Section Three – Officers Disciplinary Procedures
If it is decided by a member of the GSA that an officer is not performing their duties, it is the responsibility of that member to inform the advisor of their complaint. Once the advisor receives 3 complaints or as defined by a majority of the club during the first month of the school year, or a serious enough complaint as defined by the advisor, it is the advisor’s duty to verbally inform the officer in question of the complaints, while protecting the identity of the complain-tees. This shall be the first verbal warning, and they shall be given a minimum of two weeks, or a period of time decided by the advisor, to change their behavior. After this time, if the officer in question has not changed or improved their behavior, or satisfactorily performed their duties, a second verbal warning shall be issued. After the second period of warning of minimum of another 2 weeks, if the officer in question still has not modified their behavior to the satisfaction of the members, they shall be asked to resign from their position by the advisor.
All of these procedures and warnings will be known by the other officers within the GSA so that they may support and assist the officer in question in satisfactorily performing their duties and adjusting their behavior to fit the needs of the general membership and the GSA club.
If an officer’s GPA drops below an average of 3.0, they will be able to continue attending presidency and general meetings but will not be given any responsibilities or tasks until their GPA has risen to a 3.0 or higher.
If an officer’s GPA drops below an average or 2.0, they will be asked to temporarily step down from their office until their GPA has risen to an average or 3.0 or higher. They will also be ask to not attend regular presidency meetings but will still be able to attend general meetings and club activities.
If a member of the presidency is involved in sexual harassment as defined by ( ) High School and/or Alpine School district, or if they partake in any form of drugs and/or alcohol, they will be required to immediately resign from their position.
Section Four – Terms of Office for Officers
GSA Officers are elected for a 1 year term. If an officer resigns from their position before the completion of their term then the elected replacement will complete the remainder of the term. A replacement must be elected within one month of an officer’s resignation. If the president resigns before the end of their term then the vice president will immediately become the club president and a replacement vice president shall be elected in the manner previously mentioned.
Section Five – Voting
Prior notice of a minimum of one week shall be given to the general membership before a vote or election is held and a majority ballot vote is required to be an elected officer.
Section 6 – Meetings
The exact date, time, and location will need to be determined to best suit the advisor’s schedule. Any member of the student body may attend meetings. If a meeting is cancelled, it is the responsibility of the officers to inform the membership and in addition, place notification on the meeting room door.
Section 7 – Rules of Order
All meetings shall be conducted by the president unless another officer has been asked to conduct the meeting. It is the responsibility of the president to call meetings to order and end them according to the time constraints laid out in the agenda of the meeting.
-Basic parliamentary procedures adapted from Roberts Rules of Order will be used.
Sections Eight – Bylaws
The bylaws shall be adopted by the officers and advisor before the end of the month of September of each year. It is also the responsibility of the officers to review school and district policies and procedures and if any section of these bylaws is found in conflict with any policy or procedure of the school and/or district then that section shall be amended and adopted by the officers, advisors, and members of the club unless said school or district Policy is thought to be discriminatory, state and/or federally unconstitutional, or going against this club’s, GSA of ( ) High School, constitution.
If a district or school policy or procedure is found to be any of the above mentioned, it will be brought to the attention of the school and/or district as well as one of the following third parties so that an investigation may take place. Those third parties are as follows; National Association of GSA Networks (Gay-Straight Alliance), Utah QSA Network (Queer-Straight Alliance), ACLU of Utah (American Civil Liberties Union), and GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network).
Addendum (A)
( ) High School GSA
Adopted (8/13/2013)
Officers
The Responsibilities of the GSA Club officers shall include but not be limited to the following:
- Set overall strategy and calendar for the GSA club.
- Plan and lead club business, meetings, and activities.
- Lead efforts to revise the Articles of Association, Bylaws, and Addendum as needed to satisfy the requirements of the school and club.
President
The President’s responsibilities include:
- Supervising, facilitating, and coordinating GSA activities and meetings
- Calling and presiding over regular and special meetings of the club.
- Working in conjunction with the officers to create and plan meetings and programming of the GSA
- Serve as primary student liaison with the school.
Vice President
The Vice President’s responsibilities include:
- Coordination of all fundraising activities.
- Preparation of meeting and activity space.
- Assume the responsibilities of the president if said president cannot complete their term or attend the meetings and/or activities.
- Work with the President to create and implement programming for the GSA clubs.
Secretary
The Secretary’s responsibilities include:
- Preparation and documentation of minutes and agendas of the GSA club.
- Recording and documenting club history (includes photographing events)
- Drafting and writing any Club publications or press releases.
Senior Class Representative
The responsibilities of the senior class representative include:
- Liaison of members in their grade level
- Working with class officers of the school for their grade level to learn about potential opportunities for involvement of the GSA club, i.e. parades, dances, pep rallies, publicity and education events.
- Responsibilities of Public Relations such as: informing school and local media of club activities and events (including writing of media publications in conjunction with the Club secretary), and promoting the club in school and local media.
Junior Class Representative
The responsibilities of the junior class representative include:
- Liaison of members in their grade level.
- Working with class officers of the school for their grade level to learn about potential opportunities for involvement of the GSA club, i.e. parades, dances, pep rallies, publicity and education events.
- Also the responsibilities of treasurer such as; tracking and documentation of budget and club fundraising, and to work with the vice president in planning possible and future fundraisers
Sophomore Class Representative
The responsibilities of the sophomore class representative include:
- Liaison of members in their grade level.
- Working with class officers of the school for their grade level to learn about potential opportunities for involvement of the GSA club, i.e. parades, dances, pep rallies, publicity and education events.
- Communication with President and other officers about incoming and youth students needs as the newest members of the student body
- Oversee, in conjunction with the club officers and Club advisor, outreach to local middle/junior high schools.
Advisor
The responsibilities of the club advisor include:
- Overseeing and monitoring the appropriate behavior of all members and officers of the QSA Club.
- Overseeing and conducting fair and honest elections for officers within the club
- Acting as a supportive and mature influence to foster a positive, healthy, and inclusive environment for club membership.
- Working with students as a liaison between students, parents, and school administration.
