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Section 1. Number:

There shall be a legislative body of the Association known as the Representative Council, composed of members of the Board of Directors, and one or more representatives from each school or area office.

Section 2. Powers and Duties.

The powers and duties of the Representative Council shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

a) Amend or adopt the Standing Rules of the Representative Council at the first regular meeting of each school year.

b) Approve the budget of the Association.

c) Act on reports of committees of the Representative Council.

d) Adopt procedures for the promulgation and enforcement of the By-laws, Policy Handbook and other Association documents.

e) Receive reports of the Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission and be the final judge of the qualifications and election for the officers, members of the Board of Directors, faculty representatives, and any other Association elected officer.

f) Approve, reject, or take no position on the Board of Directors’ recommendation regarding the ratification of a proposed Negotiated Agreement between the Association and the Board of Education, which action by the Representative Council must be reported to the membership along with the Board of Directors’ recommendation at the time of the membership vote on ratification.

g) Approve by 2/3 of the members present and voting, any non-budgeted expenditure in excess of $5,000.00 recommended by the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Faculty Representatives Election, Term of Office, and Qualifications.

Delegates to the Representative Council shall be known as Faculty Representatives. The term of a Faculty Representative shall be for one year and shall be elected annually. To serve as a Faculty Representative or alternate, the member should be at least in the second year of Association membership. The Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission may waive this rule for cause upon any individual request. The Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission shall call for the election of Faculty Representatives at the May Representative Council meeting and the election shall take place during the first four (4) duty weeks of the school year, but no later than September 15. New Faculty Representatives take office immediately following the election and continue in office until the election in the beginning of the following school year. Each school or educational center shall elect one (1) Faculty Representative and one (1) alternate for every twenty-five (25) Association members or fraction thereof and report the election results to the Association on a form provided by the Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission. Only regular members in good standing shall be permitted to vote. Where there is more than one (1) Faculty Representative from a school or center, one (1) shall be designated Chair of the Faculty Delegation by a majority vote of the Faculty Advisory Council in that school or center. Members may not self-appoint to the position of Faculty Representative, nor may anyone appoint a Unit 1 member to the position of Faculty Representative, absent a vote of the membership at that site.

Section 4. Vacancies.

Vacancies in the Representative Council are to be filled by duly elected alternates from the school or center where the vacancy exists to serve out the unexpired term of Faculty Representative. Should there be no alternate, a special election shall be called in the school or center where the vacancy exists within ten (10) school days to elect a new Faculty Representative(s) and alternate(s). When more than one (1) Faculty Representative and alternate exists, alternates shall succeed to the office of Faculty Representative in the order of the highest number of votes cast for each. Any change in Faculty Representative’s status must be reported promptly to the Association by the members of the school or center should there be no Faculty Representative or alternate to make such a report.

Section 5. Attendance.

All Faculty Representatives or alternates shall attend all regular and special meetings of the Representative Council. The chairperson of the Representative Council or his/her designee may waive the aforementioned requirement when a Faculty Representative informs the Chairperson no later than one (1) school day prior to the meeting.

Section 6. Non-Faculty Representative Attendance.

Any member of the Association who is not a member of the Representative Council may attend meetings and participate in accordance with the Council’s Standing Rules.

Section 7. Faculty Representative Duties.

Chairpersons of Faculty Representative Delegations, and/or Faculty Representatives, shall call regular meetings of Association members in their school or center to report on Association actions and to conduct Association business. Faculty Representative Chairpersons and/or Faculty Representatives shall organize and supervise all Association balloting within their school or center; enroll non-members as members of the Association; promptly distribute Association literature and publications; establish an Association bulletin board; serve as member of the school’s or center’s Faculty Advisory Council in accordance with provisions of the Negotiated Agreement; and serve as resource persons and liaison between the members and the Association in any matter of concern to Association members.

Section 8. Regular Meetings.

Regular meetings of the Representative Council shall be held at least once per month from September through May, except for December, at such time and place within Prince George’s County, Maryland, as shall be determined from time to time by the Representative Council’s Standing Rules. Agendas of regular meetings of the Representative Council shall be the responsibility of the President who shall distribute to each Faculty Representative in a manner in which each representative shall receive the agenda at least five (5) school days prior to the date of said meeting.

Section 9. Special Meetings.

Special meetings of the Representative Council may be called by the President, by a majority of the members of the Board of Directors, or by written request submitted to the Chairperson of the Representative Council by twenty-five (25) or more Faculty Representatives representing at least ten (10) different schools or centers. Notice of special meetings of the Representative Council shall be given to each Faculty Representative by mail, by telephone, or by telegraph from the Board secretary at least two (2) days prior to the day named for such meeting.

Section 10. Minutes.

There shall be a staff person assigned to keep the minutes of all meetings of the Representative Council and the annual membership meeting; be responsible for distributing notices, minutes, and agendas to the Representative Council; and shall, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of the secretary to the Representative Council.

Section 11. Referendum on Council/Board Actions.

Any action taken by the Representative Council or the Board of Directors, except legal commitments or actions granted by law or these By-laws to the Representative Council or the Board of Directors, may be petitioned to referendum of the membership when twenty percent (20%) or more of the regular members so indicate with their signatures and social security numbers. Such petition shall clearly state the action to be placed before the membership, along with the necessary signatures, and be presented to the President. The President shall call for a special referendum vote by the membership within thirty (30) school days after his/her receipt of the petition if the Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission verifies that the necessary twenty percent (20%) of the regular member signatures from the official Association files are valid. The Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission shall prepare a ballot on which state the Representative Council or Board of Directors’ action petitioned to referendum along with the statement:

Shall the above action of the Representative Council or Board of Directors be upheld?

Yes __________ No __________

The action of the Representative Council or Board of Directors shall be considered overturned if a majority of those voting vote no.

Section 12. Representative Council Standing Rules.

The Representative Council shall adopt Standing Rules for the conduct of its meetings, including rules for the establishment of a quorum. These rules shall be reviewed, revised if necessary, and adopted at the September meeting of the Representative Council. Unless otherwise stated in the Representative Council’s Standing Rules, Robert’s Rules of Order (latest edition) shall be the authority for the Representative Council.