Policies & Procedures

The mid-year meeting date and location will be decided upon by the Steering Committee.

The following dinner attendees will be recognized at the caucus dinner:

• Individually by name:

  • NEA Officers;

  • NEA Executive Director;

  • NEA Executive Committee; and

  • Caucus Steering Committee.

• The following attendees will be recognized as groups:

  • State affiliate officers;

  • Local officers; and

  • SOGI committee members.

Recommendations for NEA offices shall be conducted as follows:

• The purpose of the Caucus recommendation process is to procure candidates and elect to NEA office persons who are interested in the development of a better educational system which includes knowledge of and sensitivity to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues.

• Only candidates who are interviewed by the Candidate Recommendation Committee shall be considered for recommendation.

• The committee chair(s) shall schedule all interviews to be conducted during the NEA-RA pre-conference.

• Each candidate will be sent a set of questions, developed by the committee, to be answered and returned to the chair of the Candidate Recommendation Committee prior to the Representative Assembly.

• After completion of all scheduled interviews, the committee shall vote to recommend candidates for NEA office. It shall be the policy of the committee to recommend only one candidate per opening. The committee may make no recommendation for an office if no suitable candidate is found.

• The recommendations of the committee shall be presented to the Caucus no later than the third business meeting of the NEA-RA.

• Endorsements shall be determined by a simple majority of active members voting at the meeting.

• Endorsements shall be announced to members and candidates immediately following the meeting in which the vote took place.

• All candidates for NEA office shall be invited to speak to the Caucus during scheduled Caucus meetings of the Representative Assembly.

• The Elections Chair may bring forward endorsements of previously endorsed incumbent candidates.

• The Candidate Recommendation Committee may propose early endorsement of incumbent candidates to the Steering Committee under these circumstances:

  • 1. The candidate has been previously endorsed by the Caucus.

  • 2. The candidate demonstrated support and advocacy for the Caucus and its activities.

  • 3. Such endorsement is approved by a super majority vote of the Steering Committee.

Guy DeRosa Book Fund Policies

1. A. The purpose of the Guy DeRosa Book Fund is to assist LGBTQ+ youth in the host RA city.

2. B. The chairperson of the Guy DeRosa Book Fund committee will create a list of groups who work with gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual youth in the area of the upcoming NEA-RA. Caucus members in that area may be able to assist in locating groups who are in need of contributions.

3. C. The chairperson of the Guy DeRosa Book Fund committee will create list of potential recipients with background information (e.g. purpose of the group, activities of the group, number of youth served) for each group and share it at the mid-year meeting and make a recommendation to the Steering Committee. 

4. D. The Steering Committee will determine the recipient of the Guy DeRosa Book Fund.

5. E. The chairperson of the Guy DeRosa Book Fund committee will schedule a RA date and time to award the donation.

6. F. The Guy DeRosa Book Fund is a restricted donation.  Recipients will purchase LGBTQ+ inclusive materials.  The Caucus may request a summary of the recipient’s implementation of the funds.

Declared National and Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures

• 1. The safety and health of our members is the highest priority. The Caucus should approach governing during a declared national or natural disaster by following all government health directives and advisories, even if this causes disruption to how we would ordinarily govern ourselves.

• 2. In accordance with NEA, if an affiliate is operating under a government directive or advisory that limits the gathering of people to 10 or less, then it is strongly suggested that meeting agendas are reduced to items of urgency and importance, and all other items are set aside until a regular in- person meeting can be held.

• 3. The Caucus Steering Committee may change the standing rules governing meetings to allow for more flexibility during national and natural disasters.

• 4. As a result of the current crisis, the Caucus Steering Committee has authorized the following changes, modifications, and recommendations to bylaws, election procedures, and standing rules until the conclusion of the crisis. Upon conclusion of the crisis, the Caucus Steering Committee will make recommendations to the membership regarding permanent changes to bylaws and election procedures in the case of a declared national or natural disaster. Any permanent changes to the bylaws shall be approved through the bylaw amendment process currently in Caucus Bylaws. The below changes are only authorized as temporary during the crisis:

  • A. Steering Committee :

    • 1. Virtual (remote) meetings for the Steering Committee that are connected electronically may be held if Steering Members have the opportunity to interact in the meeting. Steering Members shall be able to be seen and heard by the entire Steering Committee, allowing complete participation. A roll call attendance and subsequent votes shall be conducted by the Secretary.

    • 2. Procedurally, the following rules should be adhered to:

      • a. All votes are roll call votes (each person’s vote is individually recorded).

      • b. The secretary will take notes of the entire meeting.

      • c. When a participant casts a vote, all other participants must be able to see the person voting on the screen as the vote is being cast.

  • B. Internal Caucus Elections/Ratifications/Candidate Recommendations where the entire Caucus membership votes:

    • 1. Procedurally, the following rules should be adhered to:

      • a. All procedures must be in alignment with the relevant rules in the most current governing documents.

      • b. Electronic voting and vote by mail can still be done.

      • c. In the event the Caucus is unable to utilize either electronic voting or vote by mail due to financial or technological constraints, and the election has not been started, the election will automatically be put on hold until the disaster has concluded and the Caucus operations have resumed.

      • d. In the event the Caucus has started an election prior to the disaster being declared, and the Caucus does not utilize electronic voting or vote by mail, the election timeline shall be suspended for the duration of the national or natural disaster. The timeline will resume where the timeline was suspended upon the Caucus operations resuming.

    • 2. If nominations have been closed for any office that is up for election and the positions are uncontested, prior to the cancellation of the RA, those positions shall be declared elected due to be unopposed

  • C. Extension of Terms of Office

    • 1. During a disaster, the Caucus will allow the Caucus Steering Committee to adopt emergency procedures to allow for the extension of terms of office. These procedures should only be used if the regular term of office is going to expire soon. The extension of the term should be reasonable and no longer than required to get back to normal Caucus operations. Once the declaration of the national or natural disaster has been lifted, an election for new terms should be conducted at the next in-person NEA Representative Assembly. If no action is taken by the Steering Committee and no election is held during the crisis, the extension of terms shall be automatic.

    • 2. If there is a resignation of a Caucus Steering Committee member during the extension time period, the Co-Chairs will follow the vacancy language in the Caucus bylaws.