NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY BYLAWS

BLUFF DALE ISD

ARTICLE 1: NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Margaret Allen Chapter of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools.

Section 2: The purpose of this chapter shall be to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of character in students in Bluff Dale High School.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership in NHS is an honor bestowed upon a student. Selection for membership is by a Faculty Council and is based on outstanding scholarship, character, service, and leadership. Once selected, members have the responsibility to continue to demonstrate these qualities.

Section 2. Membership shall be known as active, honorary, and graduate. Active members shall become graduate members at graduation. Graduate members shall have no voice or vote in chapter affairs. Active members shall pay dues of $20 annually, payable to BDISD-NHS at a date to be determined.

Section 3. The Faculty Council shall reserve the right to award honorary membership to school officials, principals, teachers, NHS advisers, adults, students with disabilities, or foreign exchange students in recognition of achievement and/or outstanding service rendered to the school in keeping with the purposes of the National Honor Society. Honorary members shall have no voice or vote in chapter affairs.

Section 4. Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.

Section 5. Members who are seniors in good standing are eligible to be nominated by their chapter to compete in the National Honor Society Scholarship Program.

Section 6. An NHS member who transfers from another school and brings a letter from the principal or chapter adviser to the new school adviser shall be accepted automatically as a member in the new school’s chapter. Transfer members must meet the new chapter’s standards within one semester in order to retain membership.

Section 7. Members who resign or are dismissed are never again eligible for membership or its benefits.

ARTICLE III: SELECTION OF MEMBERS

Section 1. To be eligible for membership the candidate must be a member of those classes (sophomore, junior) designated as eligible in the chapter bylaws. (Freshmen [ninth graders] are not eligible.) Candidates must have been in attendance at Bluff Dale High School the equivalent of one semester.

Section 2. The minimum standard for scholarship shall be a cumulative scholastic average of at least 3.2 (GPA will not be rounded). This is determined from the high school career average including weights. Candidates shall then be evaluated on the basis of character, service, and leadership.

Section 3. Character involves no record of expulsion, DAEP, off-campus suspension, ISS, or Saturday School over the current and previous two full semesters. No U in citizenship within the current and previous two full semesters. No more than one N in citizenship within the current and previous two full semesters.

Section 4. Service requires that the candidate be active in at least one service organization, project, or activity in his/her school or community during the previous year. Service is defined as work performed for the good of the school or community from which there is no visible compensation to you. Willingness to serve is an important attribute of members in NHS.

Section 5. Leadership requires that the candidate be active within at least one recognized club, organization, or UIL activity in the school or community that stresses such attributes as leadership, responsibility, initiative, teamwork, and dependability.

Section 6. The scholarship and character requirements must be met to qualify for membership.

Section 7. The selection of each member to the chapter shall be held once a year during the second semester of the school year.

Section 8. A description of the selection procedure shall be published in an official school publication or web site that is widely available in a timely fashion to all students and parents of the school.

Section 9. The final selection of members to this chapter shall be by a majority vote of the Faculty Council consisting of five faculty members appointed by the principal. The chapter adviser shall be the sixth, non-voting, ex-officio member of the Faculty Council.

ARTICLE IV: DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL

Section 1. Any member, who falls below the standards of scholarship, leadership, character, or service that were the basis for their selection, will be placed on probation or dismissed from the Bluff Dale High School Chapter of National Honor Society.

Section 2. The Faculty Council, in compliance with the rules and regulations of the National Honor Society, shall determine the procedure for dismissal which must be agreed upon by majority vote.

Section 3. Members who fall below the standards that were the basis for their selection shall be promptly notified in writing by the chapter adviser and given the rest of the current semester to correct the deficiency. Due process will be in place as outlined in Article IV. Section 5. Exception: In the case of flagrant violation of school rules or the law, probation does not require notification.

Section 4. Members may not be placed on probation more than once. The second time a member falls below the standards of the chapter, he/she will be placed on pending dismissal.

 Section 5. Chapter procedures for probation and/or dismissal for violations:

1. Scholarship – If a member’s cumulative grade point average falls below the standard in effect when the member was selected, the member will be given a written warning through their gmail account of the probation status and a semester for improvement. If the cumulative grade point average remains below the standard in effect (when the member was selected) at the semester or at the end of the 5th six weeks if the member is a senior, the student will be dismissed from the chapter by majority vote of the Faculty Council.

1. Character – Members will be dismissed due to violation of the Student Code of Conduct, or Code of Law. Violations may include, but are not limited to, any violation of the Student Code of Conduct (for offenses such as the use of profanity, failure to comply, unexcused absences, excessive tardiness, etc.); off-campus violations of which the school has been notified by law enforcement; stealing; destruction of property; cheating; truancy; possession, selling, or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or school related activities; ISS; Saturday School; DAEP; expulsion; off-campus suspension.

 Discipline is as follows:

Violation of Student Code of Conduct

1. Written notice of pending dismissal is sent to the member by the faculty adviser. In this notice, the member is given the reason for pending dismissal, notification of the date when the Faculty Council will vote on whether or not to invoke dismissal, and an opportunity for the member and parent to meet with the faculty adviser(s).

2. Dismissal is determined by a majority vote of the Faculty Council. The member and member’s parents are given written notification of pending dismissal with an opportunity for a hearing with the Faculty Council. At this hearing, the member and parent are given the opportunity to present his/her defense. A reasonable deadline is given for the hearing to be conducted.

3. After the hearing occurs or is waived by the member and parent, the Faculty Council, through majority vote, determines whether or not to invoke dismissal. Member and parent are notified in writing of the decision.

Violation of Code of Law

1. Written warning of pending dismissal is sent to the member and parent by the faculty adviser. In this warning, the member and parent are given the reason for pending dismissal, notification of the date when the Faculty Council will vote on whether or not to invoke dismissal, and an opportunity for the member and parent to meet with the Faculty Council to present the student’s defense.

2. After the hearing occurs or is waived by the member and parent, the Faculty Council, through majority vote, determines whether or not to invoke dismissal. Member and parent are notified in writing of the decision.

III. Leadership and/or Service – Members will be placed on probation or dismissed due to lack of fulfillment of chapter leadership and/or service requirements as noted in Article VIII. This includes failure to attend chapter meetings per Article VIII.

Procedure for lack of fulfillment of chapter leadership and/or service requirements:

1. Written notice of probation is sent to the member by the faculty adviser at the end of each semester. In this notice, the member is given the reason for probation and a reasonable deadline to correct the deficiency. An opportunity for the member and parent to meet with the faculty adviser(s) is also given.

2. At the end of the probationary period, if terms of probation are not met and the member has not corrected the deficiencies in service and/or leadership, the member and member’s parent are given written notification of pending dismissal. An opportunity for a hearing with the Faculty Council is given to the member and member’s parent with a reasonable deadline for the hearing to be conducted. At this hearing, the member and parent are given the opportunity to present his/her defense.

3. After the hearing occurs or is waived by the member and parent, the Faculty Council, through majority vote, determines whether or not to invoke dismissal. Member and parent are notified in writing.

Section 6. Terms of dismissal.

1. Dismissed members must surrender any membership emblems to the adviser.
2. Dismissed members will forfeit their right to be members of National Honor Society at any time in the future.
3. The member may appeal the Faculty Council’s decision to the principal and thereafter under the same rules for disciplinary appeals in the school district.
4. The National Council and NASSP shall not hear appeals in dismissal cases.

ARTICLE V: CHAPTER OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the chapter shall be president, vice president, and secretary. Additional positions may be added as necessary.

 Section 2. Student officers shall be elected within the 6th six weeks from chapter members of the junior class first, and then sequential grade order if needed to fill positions. Those elected shall hold office during the following year.

Section 3. A majority vote shall be necessary to elect any officer of this chapter.

Section 4. It shall be the duty of the president to preside at the meetings for this chapter.

Section 5. The vice-president shall preside in the absence of the president and shall also assist in keeping a record of member’s contributions to service and leadership.

 Section 6. The secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings and be responsible for correspondence.

ARTICLE VI: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

Section 1. The executive committee shall consist of the faculty adviser(s) and the chapter officers.

Section 2. The executive committee shall have general charge of the meetings and business of the chapter, but any action by the executive committee is subject to review of the chapter members.

Section 3. The executive committee shall have the responsibility for ensuring that chapter activities and procedures follow school policy and regulations.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

Section 1. Meeting of this chapter shall be held monthly.  Dates and times will be provided by the chapter advisor.  These meetings are mandatory for all members.

Section 2. The chapter president or other designated student leader may call special meetings approved by the other officers of the chapter and the chapter advisers.

Section 3. This chapter shall conduct its meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

ARTICLE VIII: ACTIVITIES

Section 1. This chapter shall determine one service project for each year with all members regularly participating in this project. This project shall have the following characteristics: Fulfill a need within the school or community; have the support of the administration and the faculty; be appropriate and educationally defensible; be well planned, organized, and executed.

Section 2. Each member shall have the responsibility for choosing and participating in an individual service project that reflects his or her particular talents and interests. This is in addition to the chapter project to which all members contribute. The minimum requirement for the individual service project shall be 9 hours per semester.

Section 3. Each member shall participate in at least one club, organization, or UIL activity in the school or community in addition to the National Honor Society.

Section 4. Services used to fulfill National Honor Society requirements may not be applied toward any other organization. Services must be done independently and all credit must be given exclusively to NHS. No hours from another organization may transfer.

Section 5. All services must be turned in on a supplied form with signatures of an adult supervising the service, receiving the service, or can verify the service’s authenticity. Any service turned in without a signature shall not be counted.

 ARTICLE IX: OFFICIAL INSIGNIA

Section 1. The organization shall have an official emblem selected by the National Council. The emblem shall be uniform.

Section 2. The distribution of the emblem and the rules for its use shall be under the exclusive control of the National Council.

Section 3. Each active, graduate, or honorary member in good standing with the chapter shall be entitled to wear this emblem. Any member who withdraws or is dismissed from the chapter shall return the emblem to the chapter.

ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Bylaws and amendments must be consistent with the Constitution of the National Honor Society.