Honor Society Formal Complaint Procedures

Instructions

As the end of the 2023-2024 academic year approaches, complaints filed after April 15 may not be resolved until next academic year. Please be sure to bring all concerns to the principal's and superintendent's attention before submitting a complaint to prevent delays.

The national office of NHS, NJHS and NEHS has established the following procedures for submitting complaints regarding the policies and procedures of schools that currently hold active charters of NHS, NJHS and NEHS. The complaint process seeks to ensure that all chapters are operating in compliance with established Honor Society policies identified in the NHS, NJHS and NEHS Constitutions and Handbooks.

This complaint form is not to be used to appeal the membership decisions of local chapters. Please contact your school district's central office or school hierarchy if you wish to elevate your appeal beyond the school principal. Review and follow these instructions to submit a formal complaint:

1. Review the NHS Constitution, NJHS Constitution or NEHS Constitution and list of policy violations below to identify any possible violations of Honor Society policy. The national office cannot hear appeals or render decisions for selection or dismissal. Complaints must identify at least one violation of Honor Society policy as the basis of the complaint, and include evidence of the violation(s) in the space(s) provided.

2. Address all alleged policy violations with the chapter adviser, school principal and school district superintendent (or princpal's superior in a private school) in writing. Confirm below that these individuals have been given an opportunity to respond to these concerns and to correct any possible violations of Honor Society policy prior to filing the complaint.

3. If available, include copies of chapter bylaws, dismissal procedures, selection procedures or other policy documents provided by the school. Bylaws are often provided to Honor Society members by the chapter adviser or school principal. The school is not required to provide bylaws to nonmembers, but the adviser and/or principal should verify the existence of bylaws.

* Chapters are required to publish a description of their selection procedures in a school publication and provide a written description of their dismissal procedures upon request. If these documents do not exist or the chapter is unwilling or unable to provide them, please note that in your timeline below along with the date of request.

4. Only include information that is specifically relevant to the issue(s) identified in the complaint. Do not embellish or otherwise misrepresent actions of the chapter (adviser, faculty council, and/or principal). Avoid including any unfounded allegations or rumors in your correspondence. This includes rumors or hearsay about other students/members and their membership status.

5. Do not include academic records (i.e., report cards or transcripts), medical records, recommendations, legal documents, or other normally privileged information.

6. Enter your name and active email address where required. Anonymous complaints are not reviewed. A copy of the full complaint will be included in our correspondence to the school.

Unless otherwise indicated (i.e. noted above in red), complaints are reviewed within 20 business days of receipt. **This is a review period, not a resolution period.**

Next steps: If violations of Honor Society policy are identified, the school will be contacted following the review, and an outline for corrective action will be provided to the school. The national office will work to bring the chapter into compliance with national policies. For documentation purposes, updates regarding your complaint will be sent via email from policy@nhs.us only, and not by phone.

The national office cannot a change in membership status as the result of the complaint investigation, but we do work to correct all violations and bring chapters into compliance. In some cases, this will result in a favorable change in membership status.

Schools that fail to or refuse to comply with these corrective actions can have their Honor Society charter revoked. Revocation is a last resort. The goal of the complaint process is to bring errant chapters into compliance so that they may continue to recognize students who meet the requirements for membership.

Updates regarding a student's membership status will be provided by the school, not the national office. Following the corrective action required by the national office, the school should provide this information to parents and students.

School Information

*indicates required field

School Name *

School City and State *

Chapter Type *

NHS	NJHS
NEHS

Name of Principal *

Principal's Email Address *

Name of Honor Society Adviser *

Honor Society Adviser's Email Address *

Superintendent's Name (or other administrator above the school principal) *

Superintendent's Email Address (or other administrator above the school principal) *

School Website URL *

Contact Information

Your Name (anonymous complaints are not accepted) *

Email Address *

Student Name (if different from above) and Current Grade Level

Nature of Complaint (only check items relevant to this complaint. Attach verification below.) Important: Do not select violations that are not referenced in the documents or emails that accompany the complaint.

Violations of Selection Policies

General Chapter Management Policy Violations

Chapter charges more than $20 per year in membership dues.

Chapter requires payment of membership dues before induction (before students become members.)

Students and/or non-faculty parents are allowed to serve on the Faculty Council, and/or have a say in the selection decisions of other students. This is a violation of NHS policy, and possibly FERPA.

The school is not affiliated with the national office, but is promoting a chapter and conducting selection/induction activities. (Active chapter status is found on the national websites via the Chapter Finder search tool.)

Chapter has no chapter bylaws. All chapters are required to have bylaws. (Note: Chapters are not required to provide bylaws to nonmembers, but they should be able to verify the existence of this governing document.)

Chapter refuses to accept a qualified transfer member from another chapter.

Chapter does not conduct service projects.

Violations of Discipline and Dismissal Policies

Chapter has placed a member on warning due to an individual course grade rather than the cumulative GPA.

Chapter has dismissed or is considering dismissing a member without prior written warning and period of time for improvement. (Exceptions: No warning is required for violations of school rules or the law.)

Chapter has improperly dismissed a member without affording the member the right to a hearing with the faculty council. The due process hearing is required. (Note: The right to a hearing exists only for members, not candidates. The hearings are not required in cases of nonselection.)

Chapter has denied a dismissed student the right to appeal the decision to the school principal. (Note: The right to appeal exists only for dismissal decisions. Appeals are not a right in cases of nonselection.)

Chapter has not provided a copy of the dismissal procedures when requested.

Supporting Documentation

In the sections below: 1) attach a timeline summarizing efforts to address the policy violation(s) identified above. 2) Include any other relevant materials to assist in the investigation of this complaint, including written correspondence with the adviser, principal and superintendent about the policy violation(s) selected above.

To expedite the complaint review, only include attachments that are relevant to the complaint and only in the designated sections.

Release

If you are submitting this complaint on behalf of a named student, a release is required by the student's parent/legal guardian for complaints regarding a student's nonselection or dismissal from NHS, NJHS or NEHS.

I am the student's legal guardian, and I authorize the school identified in this complaint to discuss my child’s nonselection or dismissal, and other relevant information about my child with NASSP (the national office of NHS, NJHS and NEHS) in an effort to resolve the Honor Society policy violation(s) identified in this complaint. I understand that this may include discussions (written and verbal) about disciplinary records, academic performance, and other normally privileged information. The national office will not request, nor will the school provide, copies of official school transcripts or disciplinary records without additional written consent from the student’s legal custodian.

Confirm by typing your full name in the space provided.

Submission

I have communicated the Honor Society policy violation(s) identified in this complaint in writing to the adviser, school principal, and district superintendent (or other superior in a private school), and these issues remain unresolved.

I have attached the required copies of emails exchanged between myself/my student and the adviser, principal and superintendent showing that each identified issue has been raised with each individual.

I understand that failure to provide all required documentation may delay the review and/or resolution of this complaint.

Confirm by typing your name in the space provided.

*

I understand that the national office does not hear appeals and does not select individual students for membership.

While a reversal or reconsideration of a nonselection or dismissal decision may result after the chapter has corrected the identified policy violations, I understand that the purpose of this complaint is to investigate possible violations of Honor Society policy in an effort to bring the chapter into compliance. This may/may not have an impact on my student's Honor Society membership status.

Type your name in the space provided.

*