Senate of the Whole vs. Representative Senate

Senate of the Whole vs. Representative Senate

SMCCCD District Academic Senate

Revised Fall

2016

Definitions

Senate of the Whole

Representative Senate

Who is a Senator?

Every faculty member

Representatives of areas described in bylaws

How are senators chosen?

When hired, every faculty member becomes a senator

Representatives

are elected or chosen by their areas

Who

votes?

Every faculty member

Officers

and r

epresentatives, according to their voting status

Requirements of Academic Senates

All Academic Senates are subject to

California’s Open Meetings Laws

(Bagley-Keene Act of 1967 specifies rules for governing bodies; Brown Act of 1953 specifies rights of citizens to attend open meetings).

Rules of Open Meetings Laws

S

ome

key rules

are

:

A meeting is said to have occurred at

any time a quorum

of the senate is achieved (quorum defined in bylaws)

Exceptions

: forums or meetings not conducted by Senate, social or public gatherings

, or other gatherings

provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction

of the senate

(Bagley-Keene 2004, §11122.5

. Meeting defined; exceptions)

Agendas of all

meetings must be posted

72 hours in advance

All

votes must be recorded and published

according to who voted (names) and how

Minutes of each meeting

must be taken, approved, and adopted by the body

Why This Matters to SMCCCD

All three college senates, and the district senate, were formed as Senates of the Whole, which means the Open Meetings Acts can be unintentionally violated in the following situations:

Elections of officers by electronic ballot or elections of representatives by divisions

Violation: All votes must be recorded and published according to who voted and how

Any time

a significant number of senators (all faculty)

convene in advance of a Senate meeting after the agenda has been posted where discussion on Senate business or purview ensues (campus forums or meetings on a current topic in Senate purview)

Violation:

Agenda to be published 72 hours in advance

Violation:

Minutes

must be taken, approved, and adopted by the body

Additional challenges with Senate of the Whole

A senate may wish to make changes to by-laws to reflect changes in committees, new position appointments, and other responses to the continually evolving landscape of California Community Colleges

Examples:

the creation of the new liaison positions for CTE, Basic Skills, and Legislative information

Combining/redefining committee names and charges that may be spelled out in by-laws

Challenge: All changes to by-laws must be voted on by the entire senate body, requiring an all-campus informational campaign and vote each time a change is made

What Needs to Happen

Whereas, A Senate of the Whole structure can cause challenges in avoiding violation of Open

Meetings

laws, and

Whereas, the process of updating by-laws to reflect changes to the senate can be made more efficient and effective by a local council elected to conduct such business,

the DAS recommends that the senates of all three colleges, and of the district, convert from Senates of the Whole to Representative Senates

This requires a vote by

EACH OF THE THREE COLLEGES OF THE SAN MATEO COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

What Will Change in becoming Representative Senates?

Elections

Senate officers will still be elected from the entire faculty, and by the entire faculty, but without violating Open Meetings Act rules

Senate representatives will still be elected/appointed/chosen, but without violating Open Meetings Act rules

Names of voters in elections, and how they voted, will not require

publication

Meetings

Senate meetings will still be posted 72 hours in advance

All minutes will still be taken and approved, but by the elected body

Only elected members with voting status will vote at senate meetings

All votes in meetings will continue to be recorded and published according to who voted and how

Please Vote! Participatory Governance Depends on it!

Contact your local senate members if you have any questions or concerns about this very important vote.

The vote will

take

place in Fall 2016. All faculty

will be notified

of the vote with the DAS president’s letter prior to Opening

Day.

Bylaws will be revised and presented as part of the ballot.

THANK YOU FOR ACTING IN ORDER TO BETTER FACILITATE FACULTY PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE!