The name of this organization shall be The Secondary Schools Department of the National Catholic Educational Association, hereinafter referred to as the Department.

The objectives of the Department shall be to foster the aims of the National Catholic Educational Association, as expressed in its Constitution; to stimulate interest in Catholic Secondary Education; to institute and to further, from a Catholic point of view, the study of issues in education on the secondary school level; to provide an open forum for the discussion of challenges in education that are of general and timely interest to administrators and teachers in Catholic secondary schools and by these means to be mutually helpful.

(1) Membership in the Department shall include eligible institutions on the secondary education level and individuals engaged in or interested in secondary education.

(2) Membership and dues for the Department shall be in accordance with the Constitution and policy of the Association.

(3) Honorary life membership in the Department with full voting privileges at open meetings of the Department, may be bestowed on individuals who have made a significant contribution to Catholic Secondary Education. This designation shall be made by the Executive Committee.

(4) The Department shall have its annual business meeting at the time and place selected for the annual convention of the Association.

(5) The President of the Department shall conduct the meetings thereof in accordance with the usual Rule of Parliamentary Procedure.

(6) The membership of the Department is divided into regions according to the Episcopal regional designations and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

(1) The officers of the Department shall be a President, a Vice President and a Secretary.

(a) In those years when the officers of the Department are to be elected, the Executive Committee shall be responsible for submitting the name of one eligible candidate for each of the three offices. Eligible candidates are those who are representatives of the regions serving on the Executive Committee.

(b) All officers shall be elected at the annual business meeting of the Department.

(c) A majority vote of eligible members of the Department present and voting shall be necessary for election.

(d) All officers shall hold office and retain membership on the Executive Committee until the end of the annual business meeting wherein their successors shall have been elected.

(2) The President shall hold office for three years, and may not be immediately re-elected to succeed him/herself. He/She shall be responsible for all activities of the Department and shall preside at all meetings of the Department and its Executive Committee. He/She is an ex officio member of any standing committee within the Department. He/She shall represent the Department on the Board of Directors of the Association.

(3) The immediate past president shall retain Membership on the Executive Committee for three years.

(4) The Vice President shall hold office for three years and may not be immediately re-elected to succeed him/herself. He/She shall act as assistant to the President; in the latter's absence, he/she shall preside at all meetings, and, in the event of a vacancy in the President's office, he/she shall assume the duties of that office until a President is elected at the end of the unexpired term. He/She shall be eligible for a full term as President. The Vice President shall remain as Regional Representative. In the event the Vice President moves to another region, he/she continues to serve in the office as an at-large member until the end of the term.

(5) The Secretary shall hold office for three years and may not be immediately re-elected to succeed him/herself. He/She shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Department and of the Executive Committee. He/She shall conduct all necessary correspondence and serve as assistant to the President The Secretary shall remain as Regional Representative. In the event the Secretary moves to another region, he/she continues to serve in the office until the end of the term as an at-large member.

(6) In the event that the Vice President or Secretary cannot complete his/her term, the President will appoint a member of the executive committee to serve in the office of vice president or secretary until the next open business meeting when the executive committee will present a nomination for approval. The length of term for the person elected will be for the duration of the term of the officer who left office.

(7) If a Member is elected to serve as an officer during his/her first term on the Executive Committee, he/she forfeits the balance of that term, but is eligible to be re-elected for a second term as an Executive Committee member.

(8) If a Member is elected to serve as an officer during his/her second term, he/she forfeits the balance of that term.

(1) There shall be an Executive Committee of the Secondary School Department composed of members as follows:

(a) The President of NCEA, ex officio.

(b) The Officers of the Department.

(c) An Executive Director with an office in the national headquarters who shall be mutually acceptable to the Department and the President of the Association and whose contract will be determined by the President of the Association and the Person fulfilling the office of Executive Director. He/She shall be a member ex officio of all standing subcommittees.

(d) The Executive Committee shall be composed of at least 14 but no more than 20 Members, excluding officers and ex officio Members.

(e) Regional Members shall be elected for terms of three years in the following manner: One Member from each of the Regions shall be elected from eligible Executive Committee Members and Regional Associates of that Region by vote of all members, individual and institutional, within that Region. The Governance Subcommittee of the Executive Committee shall be responsible for preparing a slate of candidates for each Region and shall conduct the election. Insofar as is possible, this slate of candidates shall be representative of the variety of roles, vocations, and programs in member schools. Voting shall be by mail ballot. A Regional Member may be re-elected to succeed him/herself once. After a second term, a Member cannot be renominated for a period of one year. To be eligible for Secondary Department Executive Committee Membership, one must be a member of NCEA.

i. Election of a Regional Member to the Executive Committee shall be by a plurality of the votes cast in the Region.

ii. In the event of a tie vote in the election of a Regional Member, the seat on the Executive Committee shall go to the incumbent candidate, or, should there be no incumbent, the election shall be determined by a vote of the three Officers of the Committee.

iii. In the event that there are not at least two candidates within a Region from among present eligible Executive Committee Members and the Regional Associates pool, the President of the Department shall be empowered to appoint an Executive Committee Representative for that Region for an interim term of one year. A full election for a complete three-year term shall be held the following year.

(f) There may be up to a total of 5 At-Large Members of the Executive Committee. This category is restricted to individuals who have made significant contributions to Catholic Secondary Education and who possess a broad and/or national perspective. Names shall be proposed from time to time by the Executive Committee to be affirmed at the annual business meeting. The term of an At-Large Member shall be determined by the Executive Committee. At no time may the total membership of the Executive Committee exceed the limits as stated in section (1) paragraph (d) above.

(g) Should a Member miss two consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee without a previous explanation made to the President and acceptable to the Executive Committee, the President will notify that Member that his/her name has been dropped from the list of elected members.

(h) When a vacancy occurs on the Committee, the Governance Subcommittee shall propose the name of one or more candidates to the Officers for appointment to complete the remaining time of the unexpired term.

(2) The Members of the Executive Committee shall assist the President and Executive Director in planning and conducting the activities of the Department. For these purposes there shall be two meetings of the Executive Committee in addition to the business meeting at the annual convention. In addition there shall be at least one meeting each year in each of the Regions.

(3) The Executive Committee, as the policy-making body of the Department, articulates its concerns and voices its opinions about positions the Department should take.

(4) There shall be a Governance Subcommittee and the Officers shall establish other standing Subcommittees and Task Forces deemed necessary to foster the work of the Executive Committee.

(5a) The Executive Director shall be authorized to manage the special funds of the Department. He/She shall present requests to the Executive Committee for the release of such funds for specific projects. The authorization for use of these funds shall be by a majority vote of those present and voting at a regular meeting of the Executive Committee. In extraordinary circumstances this authorization may be approved by the officers and reported to the Executive Committee.

(5) Concerning change in employment or regions:

(a) If an Executive Committee Member changes employment so that he/she is no longer associated directly with Catholic Secondary Education, he/she automatically forfeits the position on the Executive Committee and is to submit a written resignation to the President of the Department.

(b) If a Regional Member of the Executive Committee moves from the region he/she was elected to represent, the President of the Department will appoint a replacement from the Region to fill the term. In addition, the original Member may be invited by the Officers to fill out the remainder of his/her term as an at-large member.

(6) Officers and Executive Committee Members of the Department shall not be identified with any other Department of the Association to the extent of accepting any office in any other Department.

(7) When the Executive Director is beginning the last year of his/her term, the executive committee, after a formal evaluation, shall determine by majority of those present and voting whether or not he/she will be recommended to the NCEA President to serve another term.

(a) If the Executive Director announces his/her unwillingness to accept another term, or if he/she does not receive a majority vote of the Committee, the President will appoint an ad hoc Search Committee.

(b) This committee will consist of a Chairperson and six members, one of whom is to be the President, ex officio.

(c) The Chairperson of the Search Committee will initiate a Search for possible nominees immediately after the first meeting of the Executive Committee.

(d) At the winter meeting of the Executive Committee, the Search Committee will recommend the nominees whom they consider to be the strongest candidates. The Executive Committee will recommend to the President of the Association for the position of Executive Director the nominee who received the majority vote of the members present and voting. In the event that a majority is not received by any nominee on the first ballot, the candidate receiving the fewest number of votes will be eliminated from the ballot. A second vote will be held following the above procedure. This process will continue until a nominee is elected.

(1) The number of Regional Associates for each Region will be apportioned by the Executive Committee according to Catholic high school density and distribution in that Region. There shall be, however, a minimum of four (4) Regional Associates from each Region. The optimum number shall be at least one (1) Regional Associate for each ten (10) member schools. If possible, all states in a region should be represented.

(2) Regional Associates will serve as consulting advisors to the Executive Director and Executive Committee and as communication links from sections of regions. They will assist the Executive Committee in preparing and conducting Regional Meetings.

(3) A prospective Regional Associate will submit a self-nomination form to the Executive Director up to one month prior to the winter meeting of the Executive Committee.

(a) At the winter meeting, the Governance Subcommittee shall prepare a list of nominees eligible for appointment as Regional Associates.

(b) Those eligible for such nomination include those Regional Associates and Executive Committee Members whose terms are expiring and those prospective candidates who have submitted a self-nomination form. Self-nomination forms need be submitted only once. They may be updated from time to time as necessary.

(c) The slate of nominees will be approved all or in part by a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee members present at the winter meeting.

(d) Regional Associates shall be appointed for a term of three years by the President of the department during the month following the winter meeting.

An active member of the Secondary Department of NCEA, listed on the rolls at the time of the annual convention, is eligible to vote on all issues open to the Department. An institutional or individual membership has only one vote. The institutional vote is to be cast by the head of the institution or by his/her designee.

Proposed amendments to these Bylaws which are not inconsistent with the Constitution of the Association must be presented to the membership. At the business meeting the proposed amendments will then be read by the assembly and, after discussion, brought to a vote. A majority vote of the eligible members present and voting shall be necessary for passage of the proposed amendments. The proposed amendments then will be submitted to the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Educational Association for approval.