I hope that leaders will earnestly pray for the prosperity, safety
and happiness of the members who are all so infinitely noble
and praiseworthy. May you also never forget to develop yourselves
and pray to become people who are liked and trusted by
the members, who can work unstintingly for the members’ happiness
and well-being.
—Daisaku Ikeda (For Today & Tomorrow, p. 301)
In October 2003, the SGI-USA Central Executive Committee (CEC) decided that the elementary
school division (ESD) would become a part of the youth division. However, since the ESD has
traditionally been supported by the men’s and women’s divisions and because it is currently not
possible for the youth division to fill needed ESD leadership positions, it was decided to appoint
men’s division and women’s division ESD. We currently have ESD leaders at the region through national
levels.
Each region, zone and territory should determine when appointments for ESD leaders can be made.
Where possible, we would also like to appoint young men’s division and young women’s division
ESD leaders, creating four-divisional ESD teams. By beginning with four-divisional ESD teams, we
can raise many capable ESD youth leaders for the future and gradually advance toward an ESD led
by the youth division.
- The person should have the desire and ability to work well with children.
- At the zone and region levels, the candidate should currently hold a line leadership
position as they will need to be familiar with communication, promotion and working
with and representing multiple levels of the organization.
- Background checks must be performed for all ESD leaders.
ESD leadership appointments should be conducted with the same procedures that apply to all line
leadership appointments as outlined in the SGI-USA Leadership Manual (
see "Procedures for Appointing Leaders"). For example,
an ESD region leader is first recommended by the zone personnel committee and approved
by the territory personnel committee. Both zone and territory leadership appointments are approved
by the SGI-USA Central Personnel Committee (CPC).
In addition to presenting their input at the zone level, ESD zone leaders will be responsible for presenting
the needs of local ESD organizations at the territory level, supporting ongoing efforts to develop
curriculum materials, producing articles for publication and other activities which support the ESD.
Currently, in most locales, ESD activities are organized, planned and conducted at the region or
smaller level. As such, ESD zone leaders may also involve themselves in the hands-on development
and ongoing operation of local ESD organizations. By working together with ESD region leaders,
ESD zone leaders can help create regularly scheduled, faith-based activities for elementary school
age children. In addition, they can work with the four-divisional leaders to encourage the greater involvement
of children and families in four-divisional activities.
ESD region leaders are responsible for developing and promoting ESD activities, and communicating
and working with their ESD zone leader.
For all levels of ESD leadership, communication and cooperation with the four-divisional line
organization is critical.
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Members of the SGI-USA elementary school division (ESD) should be treated with special care in
our organization. All of their activities should be with the explicit knowledge and consent of their
parents or guardians. As minors they are subject to specific laws in their own city and state which
may prohibit certain activities. ESD activities must be supervised by adults. Caution and care are to
be observed in all interactions with minors.
For the safety and protection of minors, a background check will be completed for all individuals
working with ESD members. In addition, the following standards are the minimum requirements
expected of leaders in the SGI-USA who are involved with ESD members:
- Generally, an adult should not be alone with a minor in a closed room, including bathroom;
- In a meeting or guidance session involving a minor, the presence or proximity of another
adult is encouraged; however, in those situations where the presence of another adult is
not practical, an appropriate location should be used and, if there are no windows with easy
viewing from the hallways, the door should be left open;
- If these one-on-one interactions are expected to extend beyond two sessions, evaluation
of the situation should be made together with the parents or guardians;
- An adult should not engage in games or other activities with an individual minor without
parental consent;
- Youth group trips should have a minimum of two adult chaperones; larger groups should
have at least one adult chaperone for every ten minors;
- While on youth trips, the adults should maintain a mature posture and socialize appropriately
with minors;
- One adult, by him- or herself, should never engage in an overnight trip with minors;
- While on youth group trips, an adult should never stay alone overnight in the same room
with a minor or minors, unless a special request to do so has been made by the minor’s
parent or guardian;
- While participating in SGI-USA activities, adults should never engage in a discussion on
sexual topics, and the possession or viewing of sexually explicit materials is prohibited;
- Profanity, vulgar humor and/or sexually-explicit language should not be used in the presence
of minors;
- When an adult recognizes a personal or physical attraction to or from a minor, the adult
should refrain from further engaging with the minor and shall refer the minor immediately
to another ESD leader for encouragement;
- Physical contact, including hugging or other touching, must be restrained at all times in
accordance with customary and reasonable societal standards. Any unwelcome contact
should be avoided entirely.
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The activity focus for campus clubs are to (1) introduce students to Nichiren Buddhism as
practiced by the Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA) and (2) create activities that deepen faith
and can be enjoyed by all members of the youth division, with the full support of the district,
chapter or area in close proximity to the campus.
Because campus clubs are affiliates or “ambassadors” of the SGI-USA, we would like to ask the local
four-divisional line leadership to function as the clubs’ official support organization. Where possible,
an appropriate SGI-USA district, chapter or area in close proximity to each college or university with
a campus club may adopt the club and offer continuous four-divisional support. Local SGI-USA
organizations that wish to adopt a campus club should coordinate with their respective region
leaders. Support can be provided to adopted campus clubs through the following activities:
- Home visiting student division members and sharing information about upcoming district
activities;
- Maintaining Membership Information Cards for all student division members and making
sure each of them belongs to a district. Students attending a school away from home should
be encouraged to transfer their Membership Information Cards from their former home
district to their new district and keep them there until they graduate or transfer to a different
school. This will facilitate better member care for the students in their new place
of residence.
- Supporting campus clubs in their efforts to plan and carry out activities.
All student division members wishing to establish a campus club should visit their school’s
Student Affairs office to learn the requirements for starting and maintaining a club. Campus clubs
must follow university rules and guidelines at all times. Please find included in this Leadership Manual
a sample
SGI-USA Campus Club Constitution. All clubs must adopt this constitution
or adapt their current constitution to meet the standards of the SGI-USA Campus Club Constitution
as closely as possible. Any campus clubs that host Web sites should have them linked to the
official SGI-USA Web site. In addition, club Web sites should feature content that is consistent
with SGI-USA standards.
In order to ensure that campus club activities are conducted in a manner consistent with the
practice of Nichiren Buddhism in the SGI-USA, club presidents should observe the following
leadership guidelines:
- Presidents should be actively practicing in a local district and should have a leadership
position within the line youth organization;
- Presidents should seek out the support/advisory role of the local four-divisional leadership
in planning and carrying out campus club activities.
- Campus club presidents must turn in an SGI-USA Leadership Application from the region
or zone student division leaders for all candidates for club office. All applications must
be reviewed and approved by the SGI-USA region personnel committee before elections
are held.
The purpose of campus club activities is to support the faith of student division members and
share Nichiren Buddhism as practiced within the SGI-USA. Students should feel free to utilize their
creativity as they plan activities that may include introductory meetings, seminars, lectures, etc.
New resources are currently being developed to support campus club activities. In the near
future, please visit the
student division page of the
SGI-USA Web site and look
for the divisional activities link.
As activities are planned and carried out, students should seek out the support of the
four-divisional line organization that has adopted the campus club. As a final step for each activity,
club presidents should communicate a summary of their activity to the region youth leaders and
zone student division leaders.
For more information, contact your local SGI-USA student division leaders.
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*New*
Note: These guidelines apply equally to men and women and no distinction should be made between
young men or young women with children. "Youth division" refers to those members who are junior
high school age through 35 years old. The reference to "parent(s)" refers to the youth with children.
- It is the decision of the parent to either remain in the youth division or graduate to the men's or women's division.
- If either one or both parents are in the youth division, they should be encouraged to discuss
as a family whether to remain in the youth division or graduate to the men’s or women’s
division.
- Parents in the youth division are encouraged to bring children who are not yet in junior
high school to activities specifically geared toward their age groups, such as elementary
school division meetings. Parents may also bring their children to four-divisional activities
such as district meetings, world peace prayer meetings, and so forth.
- Youth division activities are focused on refreshing the faith and encouraging members of the youth division. Therefore, children younger than junior high school age should not attend youth division activities.
- If parent and child are both youth division members, they should not participate in the
same auxiliary group at the same time, as this could alter the peer-to-peer dynamics of the
group. However, parent and child can participate in separate auxiliary groups. For
example, the parent could participate in Soka Group while the child participates in Brass
Band.
*Amended by the Central Executive Committee in January 2009.
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*New*
- continue in their current youth leadership position;
- request to take on a youth leadership position in a smaller organization (for example an area leader could request to take responsibility as a chapter or district leader);
- transition out of their youth leadership responsibility and practice as a general member of the
youth division; or
- graduate into the men’s or women’s division.
- continue in their current youth leadership position;
- request to take on a youth leadership position in a smaller organization (for example an area leader could request to take responsibility as a chapter or district leader);
- transition out of their youth leadership responsibility and practice as a general member of the youth division; or
- graduate into the men’s or women’s division.
*Amended by the Central Executive Committee in January 2009.
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*New*
- Continue membership or leadership in the men’s or women’s division; or
- Choose to return to the youth division (this decision must be made by 12/31/09).*
*For those who currently have leadership positions in the men’s or women’s division, and who choose to
return to the youth division, please notify your line leaders one level above your leadership position.
Please note that whatever leadership position, if any, you will have in the youth division, upon returning,
will be decided by the appropriate line organization. For those without any leadership position who
choose to return to the youth division, please notify your district leaders. From 2010 on, once a youth with
a child graduates they will not have the option to return to the youth division in the future.
*Amended by the Central Executive Committee in January 2009.
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The SGI-USA respects the inherent dignity of each individual and is committed to being open to
all persons who sincerely strive to correctly practice Nichiren Buddhism. Our motivation in publishing
this section is based on the determination to create a safe environment for all SGI-USA members.
A special situation occurs when a registered sex offender joins the SGI or their presence within the
organization is discovered. In these cases, procedures must be followed to maintain a safe environment
for all, as well as to reassure members and parents that the SGI-USA views their and their
children’s safety and well-being as a top priority.
Crimes of this nature vary greatly, and care must be taken to investigate the actual offense that
was committed. Being registered as a sex offender often requires lifetime registry and there are cases
when a person has committed a minor offense, such as urinating in public, but is still required to be
registered. At the same time, some of the offenses are very severe, and crimes of a sexual nature
have the highest rate of repeat offense. It is important to take great care when investigating these
offenses—investigation must be thorough but we must also use strict confidentiality in order to protect
both the members of the SGI-USA and the member being investigated.
- Once an organizational unit has been informed that a member within their unit may be a
registered sex offender, they should immediately notify their area leaders.
- Area leaders, in discussion with region through territory leaders, should verify the validity
of this information. Information on registered sex offenders is public and can be obtained
by visiting www.nsopr.gov
- Follow “Course of Action for Investigating Allegations of Misconduct.”
- Once an organizational unit has been informed that a member within their unit may be a
registered sex offender, they should immediately notify their area leaders.
- Area leaders, in discussion with region through territory leaders, should verify the validity
of this information. Information on registered sex offenders is public and can be obtained
by visiting www.nsopr.gov
- Follow “Course of Action for Investigating Allegations of Misconduct.”
- Follow “Course of Action for Investigating Allegations of Misconduct”
to discuss the limitations of the member’s participation in SGI-USA activities.
- All district, chapter, area and region leaders within the member’s organization shall be
informed of the person’s status as a registered sex offender and the limitation of their
activities, so the leaders can protect the members of the organization and support the member.
The region through territory leaders should determine which members, if any, need to
be informed.
- May not attend activities at any SGI-USA facility;
- Shall be a member of a district only for the purpose of receiving publications and assigning
leaders to assist their practice;*
- Shall not hold any leadership position in the organization;
- Shall not be allowed to participate in activities for youth, including volunteering,
telephoning, e-mailing, chaperoning, driving or otherwise transporting youth;
- Shall politely and immediately excuse him/herself from any situation if a minor approaches
him/her.
*If appropriate, a chapter or area leader may be assigned to support the member on a strictly
voluntary basis only. This assignment must be approved by the region through territory leaders.
Please Note: Any youth division member who is a registered sex offender and poses a safety risk to
members must immediately graduate to the men’s or women’s division.
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