During the school year, if the administration and/or a particular department head or teacher wishes to make an assembly mandatory to all students of a particular grade or grades, they must first obtain the consent of the Student-Faculty Senate. Consent of the Senate shall be by majority vote. Teachers will retain the right to take their classes to a non-mandatory assembly. Students whose class as a whole is not attending an assembly retain the privilege of attending as an optional in-school field trip.
The high school administration retains the right to call a mandatory assembly in emergency and extraordinary circumstances when convening a meeting of the Senate is not feasible or would be logistically impossible.
Rationale Mandatory assemblies should be held to further some generally goal accepted social or educational goal. The decision concerning these goals should be made by a broader group than the high school administration. Many teachers and students have objected repeatedly to certain mandatory assemblies without results. They feel that their voices have not been heard.
Non-mandatory assemblies which last two or more blocks can be treated as optional field trips.
“Administration” as used in this bill is intended to include both the high school administration and those at the central office.