CONSTITUTION OF THE BETH AVODAH YOUTH GROUP LEAGUE CREATED APRIL 2004 REVISED 2010, 2017

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1 CONSTITUTION OF THE BETH AVODAH YOUTH GROUP LEAGUE CREATED APRIL 2004 REVISED 2010, 2017 PREAMBLE We, the representatives of the young people of the Reform Jewish congregation Temple Beth Avodah, of Newton, Massachusetts, recognizing that Judaism is an ever-evolving body of inspirational, ethical, and prophetic teachings which are the core of our Jewish heritage; conscious of our needs as Jewish youth for social awareness, and intellectual and spiritual stimulus; affirming our beliefs that the synagogue provides a common ground for satisfying such needs; proclaiming that youth has a responsibility to preserve the synagogue and must actively share in upholding it so that it can better serve us, our families, and humankind; do hereby join ourselves in a local youth group in order that we may actively engage in the furtherance of these ideals. NAME AND AFFILIATION ARTICLE I 1. The name of the Youth Group is BAYGL (Beth Avodah Youth Group League). 2. The youth group is affiliated with NFTY-NE (North American Federation of Temple Youth Northeast Region) and with NFTY (North American Federation Youth), and thereby with the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism). SPONSORSHIP The Youth Group is sponsored by Temple Beth Avodah, which will provide support as necessary. PURPOSE ARTICLE II 1. To provide the Temple youth with a sharing of the ideals and goals of Judaism, constantly emphasizing above all else the Jewish heritage, through social, social justice, spiritual and educational activities. 2. To prepare the youth of our congregation for responsible Jewish adulthood and for intelligent shouldering of responsibilities as mature members of their congregations and communities. MEMBERSHIP ARTICLE III

2 1. Membership in BAYGL shall be open to any Jewish youth in high school grades Members must be in good standing with BAYGL and Temple Beth Avodah, of Newton, Massachusetts. 2. At the beginning of each calendar year, BAYGL shall be open to any Jewish youth in grade 8. VIOLATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP 1. BAYGL Members who are found to be in violation of BAYGL, NFTY-NE or Temple Beth Avodah rules (these include local, state, and federal laws), may not be allowed to remain as a member of BAYGL and will lose all privileges related to BAYGL membership. 2. The Youth Educator in consultation with the Youth Commissioner and Rabbi will determine the severity of punishment if a member is found to break the aforementioned rules. The details of this process shall be kept confidential. MEMBERSHIP DUES 1. Annual BAYGL dues shall be determined by the Youth Educator, Youth Commissioner & BAYGL President. 2. BAYGL dues will include NFTY-Northeast dues in addition to a $1.00 per member contribution to the NFTY-NE Scholarship fund. 3. Members of BAYGL will automatically become members of NFTY-NE, when their membership dues are paid in full. 4. In order for an individual to have a vote in the BAYGL Board election dues must be paid to BAYGL before January 1 st. MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES BAYGL offers a variety of ways for our members to be involved. We have a slated youth group board that meets at least once a month in which they plan and implement local events, facilitate membership recruitment, and increase spirituality. In addition to our youth group board, BAYGL may have multiple teams that meet at least once every six weeks in which non board members can create programs, lead events and contribute to making BAYGL a thriving youth group. ARTICLE IV BAYGL BOARD OFFICERS 1. In order to apply for a position on the BAYGL Board, a candidate must: Have been a member of Jr. or Sr. BAYGL the previous year Have been to at least 1 Sr. or Jr. BAYGL event in the previous year These restrictions need not apply to incoming 8 th or 9 th graders

3 2. At the end of the school year, as decided by the Youth Educator, incoming 9 th -12 th graders may apply for Board positions. At the beginning of the calendar year, 8 th graders may apply for the position of 8 th Grade Representative. Whether the position is filled each year is up to the discretion of the Youth Educator and the BAYGL Board. 3. Candidates for President on the BAYGL board must be in grades 11 or Candidates for NFTY-NE Representative must have attended at least one NFTY-NE Regional Event. NOMINATING COMMITTEE ARTICLE V 1. The nominating committee should consist of up to 9 people; up to 5 adults and up to 4 BAYGL Members. 2. The adults on the nominating committee will consist of the following people: The Youth Educator The Youth Committee Chair(s) The Rabbi The Education Director 3. The youth on the nominating committee will consist of any of the following BAYGL members: Outgoing BAYGL Board President(s) Qualified Outgoing BAYGL Board Members 4. Definition: An outgoing BAYGL board member could be either not interested in reapplying for the BAYGL board or have been nominated for a position on the NFTY-NE Regional Board for the coming year. 5. The Youth Educator will determine which outgoing BAYGL board members are qualified to serve on the Nominating Committee. 6. If a qualified quorum of 2-3 outgoing BAYGL Board members cannot be assembled by the adult members of the Nominating Committee those adult members can choose additional BAYGL Members to serve on the Nominating committee. NOMINATION PROCEDURE ARTICLE VI 1. Candidates for the BAYGL Board must fill out and send in an application. 2. The nominating committee will meet as many times as necessary to assemble, in their opinion, the best BAYGL Board possible.

4 3. After the nominations have been set by the nominating committee, the current BAYGL President and Youth Educator will notify those nominated for positions before the nominated board is made public. 4. The President and Youth Educator will review with the nominated candidate the responsibilities of the position in which they were nominated. The candidate will then have one day to accept or decline the nomination. 5. Once a candidate informs the President of whether they accept or decline the BAYGL Board nomination in which they were offered, their decision will remain final. 6. The candidates will be asked to refrain from disclosing this information until the all nominations are made public. 7. If a candidate violates the nominating procedure by disclosing that they were nominated for a position on the BAYGL Board. The nominating committee has the right to re-nominate that candidate s position. 8. The President and Youth Educator will notify individuals who have applied for a position on the BAYGL Board, and are not nominated for a position, once every BAYGL Board position has been filled. ELECTION GUIDELINES ARTICLE VII 1. The nominations will be made public by letter, which will be mailed or ed to the general BAYGL membership. This letter shall also include information about self-nominations and elections. 2. Applicants that have applied for an equal or higher BAYGL Board position and were not nominated by the committee for the position they desired on the BAYGL Board may run for election on the BAYGL Board. 3. Non-nominated candidates who wish to self nominate for a position must submit a letter of intent to the Youth Educator within 48 hours of when the nominees have been made public. The letter may not be written or substantially edited by anyone but the candidate who signs his/her name to it. Letters of intent received after the deadline will not be accepted. 4. All letters of intent will be mailed or ed to the BAYGL membership along with information regarding the elections. 5. Campaigning of any type is strictly prohibited. If a candidate is found campaigning, the Youth Educator may terminate his/her candidacy upon review. Campaigning may include but not be limited to: Rallying support from friends or classmates. Mud slinging in regard to other candidates abilities. i.e. Making disparaging remarks Lashon Hara about another candidate. Campaigning via social media in general or directly to BAYGL members regarding the election.

5 SPEECHES 1. During the election, all candidates running a position may make speeches no longer than three minutes in length. These speeches must only include positive information about their own candidacy and they may not refer to other candidates. 2. The speech may not be written or substantially edited by anyone but the candidate who signs his/her name to it. 3. Speeches will be done in alphabetical order by last name. 4. While a candidate is delivering his/her speech, all other candidates shall be out of the room so they cannot hear the speaker. 5. In addition to a speech each candidate will answer questions of clarification. 6. Candidates will remain in separate rooms until the vote is tallied so that they may first be told of the results privately. 7. The current outgoing BAYGL President will monitor the election process. If none exists, the Youth Educator should fulfill the same task. VOTING 1. A quorum of at least fifty (50) percent of the BAYGL membership must vote in elections. 2. If all positions only have one candidate running, there will be no election and the candidate shall be accepted to the position if deemed fit by the Nominating Committee. 3. All BAYGL members will receive one vote each that will be done privately on paper. If a BAYGL member is unable to attend elections, they may vote via and their ballots to the Youth Educator prior to elections. 4. The outgoing BAYGL President may not vote unless there is a tie, in which case the President will cast the deciding vote. Only the outgoing President, Youth Commissioner and Youth Educator will know when this happens. If none exists, the Youth Educator shall cast the deciding vote. 5. Elections shall be by closed ballot, and shall be supervised and counted by the outgoing President, the Youth Commissioner and the Youth Educator. The ballot numbers shall not be made public. 6. If the outgoing President is ineligible to count the ballots, the Youth Educator will be responsible for counting those specific ballots.

6 ARTICLE VIII YOUTH EDUCATOR The Youth Educator will provide guidance to the Youth Group and its leaders. In addition, the Advisor will attend all meetings and functions of the Youth Group, act as a chaperone or designate chaperones to the Youth Group, and NFTY events, and maintain contact with the NFTY-NE Director. The Youth Educator will monitor all Youth Group financial matters. The Youth Educator will communicate regularly with the senior Rabbi of the congregation, and will attend Youth Commission meetings. ARTICLE IX GUIDELINES TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION 1. Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws shall be presented in writing and shall be proposed by a BAYGL Member and by at least ten members of this group, and shall be filed with the President and Youth Educator. 2. Amendments to this Constitution must by passed by one meeting of the BAYGL Membership 3. An Affirmative two-thirds majority vote by one meeting temporarily enacts an amendments. Such amendments must be evaluated and permanently enacted. 4. All amendments to this Constitution or By-Laws must be given to the Youth Educator three weeks prior to the BAYGL Year End Ratification Meeting unless special circumstances permit otherwise. The amendments to this Constitution or By-Laws will then be mailed to the BAYGL Membership who shall discuss and evaluate them prior to the BAYGL year end ratification meeting. POLICIES ARTICLE X The following policies have been designed by the Temple Beth Avodah Youth Committee to promote the health and safety of our youth. Policies will be reviewed and updated by the Temple Beth Avodah Youth Committee MEMBERSHIP / GUEST POLICY 1. All BAYGL members must be Jewish. 2. Guests are invited to attend one Senior BAYGL events per year, and need not be Jewish. 3. Non-Temple Beth Avodah members may join Senior BAYGL for an additional $36.00 fee. 4. Guests who attend BAYGL events must complete forms that include an application, health form, and Brit Kehillah, code of conduct signed by both the participant and his/her parent or

7 guardian. SCHOLARSHIP POLICY 1. Need based scholarship will always be funded. 2. For EBW, NFTY Institutes and other similar programs we will contribute 50% up to $200 of Scholarship funding. 3. The above decision was made with the understanding that if the financial burden to the program was becoming to great, the policy could be changed. However, we are encouraged by the fact that NFTY-NE has a quota policy that only allows a few BAYGL members to go to any scholarship eligible event. 4. The Goal of these scholarships is to encourage participation. In recent years, we have had very few participants. PICTURES/ POLICY 1. It was decided that in order to have a child s picture on the BAYGL website or in any BAYGL publication, parents must sign off on it. A photo release is included with the BAYGL membership form. 2. No Pictures will have individuals names listed under them. 3. addresses of the BAYGL Board will not be on the website. CHAPERONE POLICY 1. Senior BAYGL must have 1 Adult for every 12 kids attending an event DRIVING POLICY 1. Participants may drive themselves, to a BAYGL event. If given signed parental permission and permission by the Youth Educator, participants may drive other participants to and from events. A signed parental permission is valid for the duration of the school year. Driver must be legally able to drive others per Massachusetts state law. If driving to and from other youth group or regional events, the rules of that group stand. Participants may not drive to, during, or from Regional NFTY-NE events, unless advance permission for a special situation is requested in writing by his/her parent/guardian and granted in writing by the Regional Youth Director.