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. 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 correct any possible violations of Honor Society policy prior to filing the complaint.
3. 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).
4. If violations of Honor Society policy are substantiated following our review, the national office will outline required corrective actions to the principal and adviser to bring the chapter into compliance.
5. 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 them to nonmembers, but they 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.
6. 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.
7. Do not include academic records (i.e., report cards or transcripts), medical records, recommendations, legal documents, or other privileged information. All complaints and attachments become the property of NASSP (parent organization of NHS, NJHS, and NEHS) and will not be returned.
8. Enter your name, active email address and initials where required. Anonymous complaints are not reviewed. A copy of the full complaint will be included in our correspondence to the school.
9. After submitting your complaint, you will receive a confirmation email. The school principal will automatically receive a copy of the full complaint.
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.