Congressional Debate: Write and Debate Your Own Legislation

Congressional Debate is a type of formal debate where debaters engage in a mock legislative assembly to draft bills (proposed laws) and resolutions (position statements), which they and their peers later debate and vote to pass into law and then take action on by voting for or against the legislation.  One of the fantastic aspects of this style of debate (which is taught in high school where students can compete in interscholastic competition style formats) is that it provides more autonomy than many debate formats.  Debaters create their own legislation, allowing them to research and prepare to debate on issues that they care about.  As well, debaters are not assigned which position they must take on any issue, allowing them a greater autonomy to debate passionately for their position.  

In this course, learners will spend the first week being introduced to the style of debate.  The class will focus on the tools needed to research and write debatable legislation.  The second class will be focused on writing and refining that legislation.  Everyone should have at least one piece of legislation to present to the congress by the end of week 2. During the following 4 weeks the debaters will debate each piece of legislation according to the formal style of debate known as Congressional debate which mirrors the rules and procedures laid out in a Congressional session.  

By the end of the course, learners will have a better understanding of the legislative process, a deeper ability to analyze important and relevant issues in our world today and will have gained the clinical skills necessary to debate in civil society.