1. Vision: To empower district classified staff through active participation in the initiation, development, and evaluation of district policies and initiatives that support educational programs, professional growth, and services for classified staff across the district.
2. Mission: The District Classified Senate advocates for the valuable contributions of district classified professionals in fostering an environment that promotes professional growth and leads to the highest levels of student and staff success. The Senate facilitates the exchange of ideas and promotes understanding and cooperation among classified staff, faculty, administrators, and students to enrich the educational environment.

1. Participate in the governance structure of the district;
2. Provide a body representing the concerns and viewpoints of the district classified staff;
3. Recruit, from its constituency, representatives to serve on governance committees;
4. Provide a unified means of communication between district classified staff and the rest of the district community;
5. Provide an opportunity to develop individual leadership and professional standards among the district classified staff;
6. Promote the interest of the district classified staff in the development and formulation of policy and practice related but not limited to the following:
   1. In-service education
   2. Facilities and services
   3. Finance and budget
   4. Classified Professional staff needs
7. Formulate and promote cooperative communication with other college and district organizations such as:
   1. Classified bargaining units
   2. College Classified Senates
   3. Academic Senates
   4. Associated Student Organization (ASO)
   5. All participatory governance groups
8. Participate in the selection and evaluation of supervisory and administrative Classified Professionals

1. It shall be the responsibilities of the District Classified Senate Officers and Senators to:
   1. Make recommendations and take action on behalf of the District Classified Professional members with respect to any and all issues regarding district governance;
   2. Request, obtain and convey to the District Classified Professional members in a timely manner, information and/or recommendations on policies and procedures made by the district administration and/or participatory governance system so as to allow effective consideration of these issues;
   3. Consider and take official positions on policy and budget recommendations, excluding matters pertaining to collective bargaining;
   4. Refer all queries, requests, and/or concerns covered by collective bargaining to the Bargaining Units, with strict adherence to the details and dictates of the Bargaining Units' Contracts.

The Senate shall be comprised of Governing Board-approved district classified employees including positions that have been designated confidential by collective bargaining with the exception of management.

The Executive Board is comprised of the following elected officers; President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Senators.

1. The Classified Senate shall be composed of at-large Classified senators elected from the general membership. They shall have full voting rights on the Senate. These senators shall be responsible for communicating with designated constituent areas, as outlined in the Classified Senate bylaws.
2. Upon establishment of the Senate roster, each senator will be assigned an area for the purpose of communication with constituents. Geographical proximity to the Senator’s work location will be taken into consideration whenever possible.
3. At-large senators shall serve for one year, beginning January 1 of each Academic year.
4. The office of a Senator shall be declared vacant for any Senator who either resigns from the Senate or is removed from office, or leaves district employment. A leave of absence may be granted due to extenuating circumstances. The tenure of any Senator who shall be absent from three regular meetings of the Classified Senate shall be subject to review by the majority of the Classified Senate.
5. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the Classified Senate President with confirmation by the Classified Senate.

1. The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall have one vote each.
2. All Senators shall have one vote each.

1. Senators shall attend and participate in all meetings and be voting members at all District Classified Senate meetings.
2. Senators shall recruit representatives from their fellow Senators and/or the general membership to serve on district participatory governance and screening committees for new, regular employees.
3. Senators shall ratify all appointments made by the President of the Classified Senate.
4. Senators shall hold information meetings for their constituencies as needed. Prior to each District Classified Senate meeting, Senators shall provide an opportunity for constituents to express concerns, needs, questions, and viewpoints.
5. Senators shall be responsible for polling their constituencies in a regular and timely manner on items designated by the District Classified Senate.
6. Senators shall report to the District Classified Senate issues from their area, which concern the general membership.
7. Senators shall post minutes from District Classified Senate meetings in a place easily accessible to all area members.
8. Senators, during their term of office, shall not serve as elected representatives to any other district group that represent the Classified Professional members, with the exception of serving as union stewards. Classified Senate officers may not serve in any capacity.

1. Nominees for all offices and the positions of Senator shall be notified and given an opportunity to accept or decline the nomination prior to elections. Elections are to be held in December of each election year and terms begin January 1st of each academic year.
2. President: The President shall be elected for a two-year term.
3. Vice President: The Vice President shall be elected for a two-year term.
4. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be elected for a two-year term.
5. Secretary: The Secretary shall be elected for a two-year term.
6. Election of Senators at-large: All elections of Senators at-large are to be held in December. Senators at large shall be elected for a one-year term.
7. Elections
   1. All elections are to be announced district-wide, and results will be tabulated based on a simple majority of those District Classified Professional members who vote in any given election.
   2. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be responsible for coordinating elections. An election committee, co-chaired by the Secretary and Treasurer, may be formed to include Senators and Classified Professional Members.
   3. Whenever there is a tie vote, a runoff election shall be held between the tied candidates.
8. Special Elections: A special election shall be called in the event of resignation or termination of any officer. Such election shall take place no later than one month after resignation or termination occurs.

1. President
   1. The President of the District Classified Senate shall be elected from among those regular, salaried District Classified Professional members who are willing to serve in this capacity, by vote of a simple majority of all regular, salaried District Classified Professional members who vote.
2. Vice President
   1. The Vice President of the District Classified Senate shall be elected from those regular, salaried permanent District Classified Professional members who are willing to serve in this capacity, by vote of a simple majority of all regular, salaried permanent District Classified Professional members who vote.
3. Treasurer
   1. The Treasurer of the District Classified Senate shall be elected from those regular, salaried permanent District Classified Professional members who are willing to serve in this capacity, by vote of a simple majority of all regular, salaried permanent District Classified Professional members who vote.
   2. The Treasurer, in collaboration with the Secretary, shall be responsible for facilitating elections.
4. Secretary
   1. The Secretary of the District Classified Senate shall be elected from those regular, salaried permanent District Classified Professional members who are willing to serve in this capacity, by vote of a simple majority of all regular, salaried permanent District Classified Professional members who vote.
   2. The secretary, in collaboration with the Treasurer, shall be responsible for facilitating elections.
   3. Vacancy: If any officer of the District Classified Senate shall be unable to complete their term of office, the vacancy shall be filled immediately by majority vote of the general membership. A leave of absence may be granted due to extenuating circumstances.

1. Duties and Responsibilities of President
   1. The President shall preside over all District Classified Senate meetings.
   2. The President or designee shall attend and represent the District Classified Senate at the District Board of Trustees' and District Council meetings.
   3. The President shall work with the Secretary to facilitate the scheduling and organization of the District Classified Senate meetings. The President shall set the agenda and forward it to the Secretary for distribution prior to each meeting.
   4. The President shall administer the budget for the District Classified Senate with the advice of the Senate, and with the assistance of the Treasurer.
   5. The President shall perform other duties as may be required of the office.
   6. The President shall serve as spokesperson for the District Classified Senate.
2. Duties and Responsibilities of the Vice President
   1. The Vice President shall substitute for the President during an absence, and assist in the duties and responsibilities of the President.
   2. If the President of the District Classified Senate is unable to complete their term of office, the Vice President shall assume the responsibilities of the President until another election by the General Membership can be held.
   3. The Vice President shall perform other duties as may be required of the office.
   4. The Vice President shall act as the District Classified Senate Professional Development subcommittee chair and shall work in cooperation with other District Professional Development personnel.
3. Duties and Responsibilities of the Treasurer
   1. The Treasurer, in collaboration with the Secretary, shall be responsible for facilitating elections. An election committee, co-chaired by the Treasurer and Secretary, may be formed to include Senators and District Classified Professional Members.
   2. The Treasurer shall, under the direction of the President, set up and maintain the budget for the District Classified Senate.
   3. If the Vice President is unable to fulfill the duties of the President, then the Treasurer shall be the temporary President until another general election can be held.
   4. The Treasurer shall perform other duties as may be required by the office.
4. Duties and Responsibilities of the Secretary
   1. The Secretary shall be responsible for the taking of meeting summaries, their publication, and distribution.
   2. The Secretary will maintain the archives of the District Classified Senate.
   3. The Secretary shall distribute the agenda for each meeting prior to the meeting.
   4. The Secretary, in collaboration with the Treasurer, shall be responsible for facilitating elections. An election committee, co-chaired by the Treasurer and Secretary, may be formed to include Senators and District Classified Professional Members.
   5. The Secretary shall act as the temporary President in the event that the President, Vice President and Treasurer are unable to conduct a meeting.
   6. If the Vice President or the Treasurer is unable to fulfill the duties of the President, then the Secretary shall be the temporary President until another general election can be held.
   7. The Secretary shall perform other duties as may be required by the office.

1. The District Classified Senate shall hold regular meetings not less than once a month, on a fixed day and time, from the beginning of the academic year until the end of the academic year.
2. The President may also call for meetings as necessary during the period between the end of the Spring Semester and the beginning of the Fall semester.
3. Special meetings may be called by the President or upon the written request of two Senators.
4. Approved meeting summaries shall be posted to the website within 15 days and shall be distributed to Senators to post in their areas.
5. The District Classified Senate is hereby empowered to make rules governing its own internal organization and procedures, subject to the following:
   1. That there shall be a quorum consisting of a simple majority of voting membership of the District Classified Senate.
   2. That all actions or recommendations shall be made by a majority vote of the quorum.
   3. That in the case of an unresolved tie vote, the issue shall be submitted to the representative groups for review and advice.
   4. That matters for the agendas shall be submitted to the President, or to whichever officer the President designates.
   5. That District Classified Senate meetings shall be open to the public. Faculty, Classified Professional members, students, and administrators shall speak on matters under consideration, upon approval of the President.
6. Senators shall meet during normal work hours whenever possible and shall be excused from their duties to attend meetings.

1. Meetings of the general membership shall be held during normal work hours; District Classified Professional members shall be excused from their duties to attend meetings. Meetings of the general membership shall be called at the discretion of the District Classified Senate no less than once each semester, at a time determined by the District Classified Senate in coordination with District administration. (Reference Board Policy 3.2.

1. The District Classified Senate shall act as the coordinating body for the formation of goals and tasks for all District Classified Senate subcommittees. The Senators shall establish and appoint members to all such committees.
2. The District Classified Senate shall establish such standing, special, or ad-hoc committees deemed necessary for adequate participation in the formation of district policies and district governance, as well as policies created to address the needs, concerns, and viewpoints of the classified membership.
3. Under the provisions of participatory governance, the District Classified Senate shall appoint and/or approve representatives to serve on all task force work-groups, in which classified participation from the General Membership is appropriate. Representatives shall submit a brief written or verbal report on a regular basis during the academic semester.
4. Whenever possible, District Classified Senate members shall not serve as the District Classified Senate representative to any participatory governance or other District committee(s) to which they have been assigned in another capacity. (i.e. taking minutes, representing other groups.)
5. Any member of the District Classified Senate (as described in Article III, Section 1, Membership) may be appointed to a committee subject to approval by area and by the Senators. In the event that committee appointments are deemed inappropriate by a certain constituency, that constituency may appeal the appointment before the District Classified Senate. At that time the District Classified Senate may reconsider the appointment.
6. Each committee may prepare a written summary report of committee activities if required by the Senate.

1. All standing and special committees established by the President and Officers of the District Classified Senate are responsible to the District Classified Senate. Minutes of all committee meetings shall be filed with the Senate's Secretary.
2. The term of office for committee members is for one year, subject to review by the District Classified Senate. A longer term of office may be decided upon by the District Classified Senate.
3. The District Classified Senate has the ultimate responsibility of assigning work to the committees. The channel of communication for all actions of the committees shall be through the District Classified Senate to the Chancellor or to the Board of Trustees, or both.

1. This constitution and bylaws shall become effective following adoption by a simple majority vote of the General Membership.

1. The constitution may be amended at any time by an affirmative simple majority vote of the general membership, provided that written notice of the proposed amendment be distributed to the General Membership at least two weeks prior to taking a vote.

1. The District Classified Senate shall have the power to formulate Bylaws by a simple majority vote of the Senators and Officers.
2. These Bylaws shall pertain to but not be limited to:
   1. Procedures and guidelines of elections
   2. Duties and responsibilities of Senators/Officers
   3. Procedures and timelines of meetings
   4. Dissemination of information
   5. Designations of committees
3. As collective bargaining affects changes to this document, such changes shall be incorporated herein by amendment.