Association des Parents d'Élèves du Kansai
411 Motoshinmeicho Tominokojidôri Gojo agaru Shimogyô-ku
Kyoto 〒600-8065
Téléphone: (81) 75-354-5240 Fax: (81) 75-354-5241
Courriel: apek.president@lfikyoto.org

Association des Parents d’Élèves du Kansaï (APEK)BYLAWS==============================================================

Log of updates to the bylaws:
October 31st 1992: First draft
October 31st 1993: Amendment n˙1March 28th 1994: Amendment n˙2October 22nd 2001: Amendment n˙3October 22nd 2002: Amendment n˙4October 30th 2005: Amendment n˙5February 3rd 2007: Amendment n˙6October 19th 2008: Amendment n˙7
October 20th 2013: Amendment n˙8October 25th 2015: Amendment n˙n˙9November 26th 2017: Amendment n˙10
November 18th 2018: Amendment n˙11
April 14th 2019: Amendment n˙12
November 10th 2019: Amendment n˙ 13 (articles 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 24, 25,26, 27, 28, 29).
November 29th 2020: Amendment n˙ 14 (articles 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 23).
November 13th 2022: Amendment n˙ 15 (addition of article 30).

==============================================================

I. Purpose, description, termArticle 1: The stated purpose of the association des parents d’élèves du Kansaï(APEK) is "the promotion of the French language and education in westernJapan". APEK shall take every possible action to achieve that goal, with a primary
focus on the creation and management of the Lycée français international deKyoto. This may include the creation of other education-oriented structures inthe greater Kansai area as well.
Article 2: The French consulate in Kyoto (8 Izumidono-chô,Yoshida, Sakyô-ku,Kyôto 606-8301, JAPAN)will act as the official head office of the association desparents d’élèves du Kansaï. The association's administrative address will be:
Association des Parents d’Élèves du Kansaï
600-8065 Kyoto-shi,411 Motoshinmeicho Tominokojidôri Gojo agaru Shimogyô-ku (Japan).
The school board may choose to relocate its head office to a location of its
choosing at any time. However this change can only be implemented if ratified bythe general assembly.
Article 3: The association des parents d’élèves du Kansaï is created for an
unlimited duration.

II. Operational framework
Article 4: Association membership is automatically granted to parents or legal
guardians whose children are currently enrolled in the Lycée françaisinternational de Kyoto (LFIK) and conditional upon timely payment of all tuition
and membership fees for the ongoing school year. A member is defined as being
one family as opposed to a single individual (one LFIK family = one APEKmember).
Article 5: APEK also includes beneficent and honorary members. Beneficent
members are individuals who have made a donation to the LFIK. Honorary
members are elected by the general assembly upon nomination by the APEKbureau.
Article 6: Membership is terminated when one of the following conditions is met:

– Resignation.
– Death or legal impediment.
– Exclusion by the school board for serious offences. The board may not exclude
a member without a preliminary hearing. Said member may also appeal theboard's decision in front of the general assembly.
– If tuition and membership fees remain unpaid after two successive written
notices.
– When the family's child or children is, or are, no longer enrolled in the LFIK.
Under no circumstance will the family whose membership has been
terminated be eligible for a refund.
Article 7: The APEK's general assembly occurs once a year. On that day, APEK
members elect 6 to 9 representatives to their board of directors. Once elected,
this board convenes and assigns the following titles and responsibilities:– It elects its bureau: a president, a treasurer and a secretary.
– It creates any other position that may be required for the proper managementof the APEK and the LFIK.
Two members of the same family may not be board members at the sametime. APEK employees and anyone employed, managing or owner of a LFIK
service provider are not eligible either.
Article 8: The bureau is the executive branch of the APEK board of directors. It
monitors and processes every decision taken by the school governing body.
The bureau is required to provide the governing body with detailed reports of its
activity.
Access to contact information of LFIK families is strictly restricted tobureau members. Employees whose function requires so may also access thisinformation.
Article 9: Should the board need to fill a vacant position before the end of its
mandate, it does so by appointing one of the members of the association. Thisreplacement member has to be unanimously approved by the board. The next
general assembly will determine whether this replacement is final or not.
Article 10: Board members are elected for a two-year mandate. They elect theirpresident, treasurer and secretary for a one-year mandate after each annual
general assembly. The status of honorary member is granted for one year andtacitly renewed afterward.
Article 11: Elections are conducted by secret ballot. Each candidacy is individual.
Article 12: The LFIK governing body is entrusted with all decisions pertaining tothe school. Only APEK board members are given voting power. The LFIK
governing body also includes an advisory board composed of:- The French Consul, who is Kyoto-based.
- The embassy cultural advisor, who is Tokyo-based.
- The school principal.
- The head of the school administrative services.
- Any other person whose presence the board deems necessary.
The president issues invitations to the governing body’s meetings. Should hefound himself incapable of doing so, another board member may issue theinvitations on his behalf. Any vote or deliberation requires either the presence orrepresentation of a majority of APEK board members. A board member may
choose to be represented by another board member during a meeting. One board
member can only represent one extra member. The chosen representative canonly vote on behalf the other member if the matter at hand has previously beenpresented, in writing, to all members including the absent party. Whenappropriate, decisions are submitted to a vote and validated by the majority ofthe votes expressed on that day. Should a proposition receive an equal number ofopposing votes, the president's vote will count as two votes. Minutes for eachmeeting are approved by the board at the beginning of the following meeting andsubsequently archived. The APEK board of directors processes the demands of
the APEK and reports to its members on the day of the general assembly. TheAPEK will then vote to approve the board's decisions and budget proposal.
Article 13: The president is required to meet with the LFIK governing body two
to three times each trimester during the school year. If needed, the governing
body may issue a demand for a meeting to the president. This demand has to besigned by a majority of board members. The president is then obligated to accept
this demand. The APEK bureau and board of directors may have private
meetings but they are obligated to invite the other members of the LFIK
governing body if a vote is to take place.

III. General assembly
Article 14:a) APEK members are invited to the annual general assembly that takes place
between October 1st and November 30th each year.
b) Each member may cast his vote on the day of the general assembly. He may
choose to vote:- In person during the general assembly.
- By proxy.
Proxy votes are limited to two a member. Proxy forms must be given to theAPEK bureau before voting begins to be valid.
The general assembly will only take place if at least 40% of active APEKmembers are present either physically or by proxy. Should the quorum not bereached, APEK members will be given a date for a new general assembly within aweek. That second assembly will take place within two weeks of the original
assembly and will not require a minimum attendance.
The general assembly is headed by the president or, in his absence, either oneof the two other bureau members or, as a last resort, an honorary member.
Article 15: The board of representatives creates an order of business for thegeneral assembly, it must include every question that was submitted in writing
by APEK members at least four weeks before the date of the assembly.
On the day of the general assembly, the president gives his annual report andthe treasurer his budget report. The duties of the general assembly are:
- To validate the budget report for the previous school year by vote.
- To validate the new budget for the ongoing school year by vote.
- To sign off on the exiting board.
- To vote on the proposed strategic plan for the ongoing year.
- To debate the various points listed in the order of business.
- To elect its new board members.
Article 16: APEK members are informed of the next general assembly at least one
month in advance through a message that includes:- The date, time and place of the assembly.
- A call to candidates for the election of new APEK board members.

- An invitation to submit questions to be added to the order of business.
Article 17: The replacement of departing board members is done as follows:- All active APEK members may stand as candidates.
- All candidacies must be submitted to the secretary of the board at least threeweeks before the day of the general assembly.
- Two weeks before the general assembly, the secretary of the board releases thelist of candidates to the members of the association. This list details the names,and occupations of all candidates.
- The members of the association are provided with a proxy vote form and thelatest draft of the order of business.
- Members who wish to announce their candidates after the deadline has passed
may still do so by introducing themselves on the day of the general assembly.
- Exiting board members may submit their candidacy as well.
- At the time of the vote, candidates may briefly address the assembly, introduce
themselves and explain the reasons for their candidacy.
- Candidates are elected by a majority vote. Should any of the candidates fail toreach the required number of votes, a second general assembly will be set as
detailed in article 14 b).
Article 18: An extraordinary general assembly may be scheduled by the APEK
board of directors or requested in writing by at least a third of the members ofthe association. Such a request is to be addressed to the president of theassociation. Members must be notified at least two weeks in advance of the dateand order of business of the extraordinary general assembly.

IV. Finances
Article 19: Revenues for the association include:- Tuition fees.
- Subsidies and scholarships from the AEFE.
- Members' fees.
- Donations that the association may or may not accept to receive.
- Fundraising.
All revenues are to be immediately transferred to the association's bankaccount and cannot, under any circumstances, be distributed to any of its

members.
Article 20: The bureau of the association has to implement a set of financial
regulations. The school governing body must validate them by a vote.
Article 21: The president and the treasurer decide on the delegation of signaturefor banking services. This delegation of signature is clearly stated in a written
document.
Article 22: The treasurer compiles the annual budget report on August 31st ofeach year. The governing body approves the budget report before submitting itto the general assembly. The association's books are made available to auditorsand association members.

V. Bylaws and termination of the association
Article 23: Amendments to the bylaws must be put to a vote during the annual oran extraordinary general assembly. Amendments to the bylaws or termination of
the association require a least 40% of APEK members to be present orrepresented (as specified in article 14b). Such motions must be approved by amajority of at least two third of members physically present or represented. In
the event that a two third majority is not reached, a second assembly will bescheduled (as specified in article 17). The motions will then put to a simple
majority vote.
Should the association be unable to function and meet in general assembly fora period of over six consecutive months, the French Consul-General is tonominate three prominent figures among members of the association. The
French Consul-General and these three individuals will rule on the devolution of
the association's assets.

VI. Code of ethics of APEK representatives
Article 24 : All conversations and exchanges are strictly confidential. Any
disclosure or announcement to a given person or set of persons must first beapproved by the board.

Article 25 : Bureau members (President, treasurer, secretary) may under nocircumstances benefit from products or services they offer or provide. This rule
applies regardless of whether they do so as an individual or through an entity
they either manage or may benefit from, financially or otherwise. Furthermore,
the use of APEK- or LFIK-related means of communication is strictly restricted to
APEK and LFIK business. They may not be used to promote personal activities orservices, complimentary or other.
In order to avoid any conflict of interest, these restrictions also apply tonormally permissible communication forum such as posting boards.
Article 26 : Non-bureau board members may only offer a product or a service
within the context of a tender, regardless of whether they do so as an individualor as the representative, manager or employee of a given entity. Board members
are required to disclose all conflicts of interest and relationships they may havewith an entity that provides or offers a services to the LFIK. These disclosures
must be made to the school governing body.
Except within the context of a tender, board members may not in any way
promote their personal interests or their relatives'.
Article 27 : APEK representatives are required to abide by every rule andregulation in effect in the LFIK.
Article 28 : The board may, on occasion, instruct one or many persons to act asan APEK ambassador, representative or spokesperson. These individuals may or
may not be elected APEK members or school employees. The terms of theirassignment must be clearly defined by the governing body of the school. Underno circumstances are those individuals to exceed those terms. They arefurthermore required to disclose any potential conflict of interest before taking
on an assignment.
Article 29 : The board is bound by every document pertaining to the running of
the APEK and LFIK and the present code of ethics in particular.
Should a board member run afoul of a rule or code, the board may impart apenalty upon that person. Depending on the gravity of the offense, theperpetrator may be given a one-time formal warning or be dismissed from theboard with or without notice. Only the bureau or a group comprising at least one
third of all board members may initiate a disciplinary hearing.
Once the perpetrator has argued his case in front of the governing body of theschool, the board votes to implement or not a disciplinary action. Issuance of awarning or dismissal from the board requires a minimum of a two third majority
vote. The perpetrator may not participate in this vote. APEK members are
immediately informed of the dismissal and the reasons for it.

As unlawful behaviors may cause prejudice to the APEK and the LFIK, theyalso constitute a motive for dismissal from the board.
Article 30: In order to fulfill the role for which they have been elected, and inrecognition of the privileged access to certain information granted to them forthis purpose, members of the board are required to actively participate inmeetings and other activities of the board. After two consecutive unexcusedabsences from duly announced meetings, the board is required to have adiscussion on the participation of the individual in question. Sanctions may beimposed, if necessary, in accordance with the procedures established in Article
29.
Approved on November 13th, 2022 during the general assembly.
In Kyoto, Japan.