Branches of Government
Executive Branch
Our President is elected by the class, and will approve or veto new laws passed by the Legislative branch. Mrs. Buxton is an advisor to the President. The President’s 1st term of office is from September through January. The 2nd term is from January through June. The 1st term President can run to be re-elected for the 2nd term. Although the President cannot start a bill or participate on a committee, he or she can lobby Senate or House members to start a bill. The President (with help from the Senate Leader) operates the ‘classroom store’ where class members can use the classroom money they’ve earned to buy privileges.
Legislative Branch – The Senate
The Senate Leader is elected by the entire class. The Senate Leader only votes if it is necessary to break a tie by the 6-member Senate body. The Senate Leader is responsible for running the Senate meetings. The Senate selects its own Vice-Senate leader, who will substitute for the Senate Leader when necessary. The Senate is responsible for classroom policies and procedures. Issues relating to “classroom finances” originate in the House of Representatives.
The Senate will meet once a week (usually on Friday). When a Senate committee has finished writing a bill, the Leader will log it in and assign a number to it. That bill then becomes part of the Senate agenda. The Senate Leader decides the order that bills will be discussed (they do not have to be discussed in the order they were logged), and only the Senate Leader can call for a vote. The bill is read to the Senate body by the leader EXACTLY AS WRITTEN for discussion and voting. No interpretations or modifications of the wording is allowed. Votes are taken using a secret ballot.
It is the Leader’s responsibility to make sure the meetings are fair, and that everyone has a chance to express themselves. The Senate Leader also assists the President in the operation of the ‘classroom store’ where class members can use the classroom money they’ve earned to buy privileges.
Legislative Branch – House of Representatives
The Speaker of the House is elected by the entire class. The Speaker is responsible for running the House meetings. The Treasurer (also elected by the class) also serves as the Vice-House Leader and will fill in when needed.
The House of Representatives is a much larger body than the Senate, so it is more difficult for it to run smoothly (just like in our State and Federal government). The House of Representatives is responsible for issues relating to “classroom finances”. Classroom policies and procedures originate in the Senate. The House will meet once a week (usually on Friday).
When a House committee has finished writing a bill, the Leader will log it in and assign a number to it. That bill then becomes part of the Senate agenda. The Speaker decides the order that bills will be discussed (they do not have to be discussed in the order they were logged), and only the House Leader can call for a vote. The bill is read to the House of Representatives body by the leader EXACTLY AS WRITTEN for discussion and voting. No interpretations or modifications of the wording is allowed. Votes are taken by secret ballot. The House leader will only vote if required to break a tie.
It is the Leader’s responsibility to make sure the meetings are fair, and that everyone has a chance to express themselves. When required, the House leader will assist the Treasurer in his ‘payday’ duties, and help collect taxes.
Judicial Branch
Mrs. Buxton serves as our Supreme Court Justice. She reviews new laws and determines if they are ‘constitutional’, meaning there is no conflict with school policies. She also makes sure that they don’t interfere with our primary reason for being here, academic development.
All information adapted from R. Cummins at http://www.cvs.k12.mi.us/rcummins/