Lexington (MA) High School Senate

LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-FACULTY SENATE

2001-2002

Moderator Ilana Kessler, Assistant Moderator Michael Fiveash, Secretary Sara Enders

<http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/senate>

Agenda

For the February 14, 2002 meeting:

1. Announcements

2. Committee Reports

3. MCAS Resolution

4. Ten Minute Rule Bill

5. Final Exam Bill

Minutes

From the February 7, 2002 meeting:

Quorum reached at 7:50 AM.

[Minutes Approved]

[Agenda Approved]

Announcements

Conklin: Could the Elections Committee please meet at the end of today's meeting?

S. Enders: Of the (student) Senators who are in violation of the attendance policy, one has resigned and two have requested hearings before the Elections Committee.

David: Welcome to the newly elected Senate Representative of the GSA, Anna Vogelzang.

Vogelzang: I am not quite official yet as the GSA meeting was snowed-out and we did not get a chance to hold an election.

S. Girondel: I've heard people comment on the Senate minutes that they received by email, so I think Senator Enders' idea was a good one.

Committee Reports

Burson: Oversight is working on the annual bill review.

David: The Ad-Hoc committee has submitted the testing day survey, which should be administered in next Monday's homeroom. As we were not able to get a hold of enough scantron forms, we will need volunteers to help tabulate the results.

K. Girondel: The former Ad-Hoc GPA committee had many forms left over from last year's survey that you may be able to use.

Kieft: Policy met and discussed a proposal by Senator Kirby to address the issue of whether students may use walkmen/headphones during study halls. We are considering forming a general resolution regarding study halls, to incorporate this and the several other ideas that people have brought forward regarding study halls.

S. Girondel: Social Action met Monday - please note that we meet before and after school on Mondays. We discussed changes to the community service packet.

Collins: Climate met and talked about CRUD, which will probably take place this year on the last Thursday in April.

S. Enders: Communications is still working on inviting the LHS list serve to receive Senate minutes, and ways to link the school Senate site to discussion boards about Senate topics.

Level Override Bill

Kessler: We are in discussion of Shield's amendment to part B of this bill, to change the words "one and only one" to "a."

David: Changing this wording basically takes the guts out of the intention of the bill.

Rehman: I am confused as to how changing the wording changes the bill. I think the whole point is to make the override process easier on students and teachers. However, if students are prevented from moving up levels, I think teachers will more often place border-line students in the higher level class, to keep them from being trapped in an inappropriate level. I think we should keep the process open and not force students to make placement decisions too early.

S. Girondel: The part Shield has proposed to amend is really the whole point of this bill.

Halperin: I don't like the bill as it stands now. It should be hard to override a teacher's recommendation, but there will be individual cases in which that will be appropriate, and we cannot fairly put an absolute limit on these cases. Ultimately, students should have the choice as to what class they want to take.

Shield: I withdraw my amendment. [The amendment is withdrawn.]

Rodriguez: As this bill reads, a student may change into as many lower classes as they choose. This brings up the point that sometimes it is not clear, between two classes, which is the higher-level class.

David: Amend part B to read "At the start of the next school year, students may get an extra override to move up a level if they have successfully completed a summer class in that topic." [Seconded.] This would eliminate one of the concerns over the "special case" of a student who has covered material in summer school not being able to take advantage of that fact.

Conklin: I'm against this proposal. The business of taking extra courses during the summer to move up into higher levels of classes in which very similar material will be covered is not something that I think we should encourage.

Kieft: This amendment is alright. My feeling is that there will always be exceptions to the policy, and accommodations will be made in those cases, whether we make provisions for them or not.

Burson: I also don't want students working all year long to force their ways into higher classes. Also, when a student switches levels, summer work requirements often change. By putting off the student's override to the end of the summer, I think we put him or her at a disadvantage compared with those who know where they are going to be and will have completed the summer work.

Saldana: I propose a friendly amendment: After "may," insert the words, "at the discretion of the department heads." [Accepted.]

Halperin: I agree that all efforts should be made to let students know what their next year's classes will be, before they leave for the summer. Likely the Guidance department will have discretion over exceptional cases.

Fried: I have mixed feelings about this bill. We talked before about the pressure that parents put on their kids. This could create a situation of even more pressure, as now parents will be putting their kids in school over the summer to get them into the higher classes. I agree with Senator Burson's concern.

Inouye: The point of this amendment seems to be to allow for exceptions. Is there still room for exceptions without the amendment?

Kieft: There is nothing specifically written in the bill to allow for exceptions, but it is inevitable that the Guidance department will accommodate exceptional cases.

Saldana: The case of summer school is a particular exception. I switched from languages, from French to Spanish, and spent a good part of a summer at a language school in Mexico which was extremely helpful. It would be very disappointing to not have had this experience taken into account and to have had to start again at the lowest level Spanish course.

Burson: To be blunt, I think Senator Saldana's amendment makes this bill even worse. Without pre-approving certain classes for override consideration, giving "discretion" to the department heads might create a situation where a student says he has been studying Spanish, and the department head thinks he was just traveling.

Kafrissen: Move to change "get...extra" to "obtain an additional." [Accepted as a friendly amendment,]

Shield: I believe as of now this bill is already unnecessary and restrictive and although this amendment still leaves it unnecessary and restrictive, it makes it ever so slightly less so, and is therefore the lesser of two evils. I am therefore for this amendment, but against the entirety of the bill.

[Amendment is called to question] [Amendment fails, 13:18].

Lessin: I'd like to know, is there any evidence of a student who overrode into a class when they shouldn't have?

Conklin: Regarding the concern brought up last week about Guidance having to oversee the implementation of this bill: We get sheets in homeroom that show all the courses that we have selected for the following year. Wouldn't this be an easy place to ask for the one and only one override?

Collins: Move to limit discussion until 8:29AM. [Seconded.] We are starting to repeat ourselves and should move on to other things. [Motion fails, 15:16].

S. Enders: The more I think about it the more I am against it. I dislike limiting the flexibility of the process, and I think the solution proposed here is much worse than the way in which overrides are currently handled. The bill allows students one "free override" where they may move into a class with no questions asked. Teachers should ask questions of the students if they don't' think the student is making a smart choice - I don't approve of eliminating this dialogue just to make the process simpler.

Shield: Call to question on the bill. [Motion fails, 16:15].

Kafrissen: First of all, there is always the possibility that when a student starts class in the fall they can be recommended to move in one direction or another. This is a very serious and profound bill. We are sitting here with the assumption that someone will oversee it. We need to talk to Mr. Quist of Guidance. Otherwise, we run the risk that it could pass without anyone taking notice of it.

Inouye: How is the "moving up a level" of the bill different from an override?

Kieft: The difference is that current override processes vary from department to department, but they are ultimately decided on by the department head. The difference is that in this bill, a student may request on course change that cannot be blocked. This gives students more freedom.

Halperin: I strongly agree with Senator Enders -- Questions should be asked. Also, this would seem to create the scenario of many more students being recommended for higher classes because it is difficult to move up. This would not avoid the paper shuffling, it would only put it off, and would cause more problems in the fall and in the actual classes.

David: Move to table discussion pending a conversation with Robert Quist. [Seconded]. Also, I encourage Senator Kieft, or whomever speaks with him to invite him to come talk to Senate about this bill. [Motion passes.]

List of Senators Absent from the February 7, 2002 Meeting

K. Ly (excused), R. Strizhak, D. Walsh, A. Stratman, M. Finnegan, C. Hemond, D. Nagiel, J. Ludwig (excused)