Current Debate Topics

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE

Eastern Missouri schools adopt a single packet of legislation each semester.  Legislation is solicited from schools every September and December.  Please see the Congress page for more details.

POLICY DEBATE

Topics change once per year and are released by the NFHS each April.  The 2019-2020 Policy Debate Topic is:
Resolved:​  The United States federal government should substantially reduce Direct Commercial Sales and/or Foreign Military Sales of arms from the United States.
IMPORTANT NOTE:  Some tournaments will enforce "Case Level Restrictions" for Novice Policy Debate, especially during the Fall Semester.  Read the tournament invitations carefully!  Novice Case Areas are established by the NFHS and can be found HERE.

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE

Topics change every two months. Resolutions are released by the NSDA 30 days prior to the start of the new resolution.  
Please note that while NSDA has a "Novice Topic" for LD, MSHSAA does not allow it to be used in Missouri.
September/October 2019
Resolved:  In the United States, colleges and universities ought not consider standardized tests in undergraduate admissions decisions.

November/December 2019
Resolved:  The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.

January/February 2020
Resolved:  States ought to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

March/April 2020   [MSHSAA/NSDA DISTRICTS & MSHSAA STATE]
Resolved:  Predictive policing is unjust.

June 2020  [NSDA NATIONALS]
​Resolved:  Released May 1!

PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE

Topics change every two months in the Fall semester and every one month in the Spring semester.  Resolutions are released by the NSDA 30 days prior to the start of the new resolution.
September/October 2019
Resolved:  The European Union should join the Belt and Road Initiative.

November/December 2019
Resolved:  The benefits of the United States federal government's use of offensive cyber operations outweigh the harms.

January 2020
Resolved:  The United States should end its economic sanctions against Venezuela.

February 2020
Resolved:  The United States should replace means-tested welfare programs with a universal basic income.

March 2020  [MSHSAA/NSDA DISTRICTS]
Resolved:  The United States should increase its use of nuclear energy for commercial energy production.

April 2020     [MSHSAA STATE]
Resolved:  Released March 1!

June 2020     [NSDA NATIONALS]
​Resolved:  Released May 1!
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Created in 2019, this website is a collaborative, community-based project.  Creation, maintenance, and updates are handled by a small group of volunteers from the EastMO NSDA District Committee, the GSL Board of Directors, and the MSHSAA District #4 Committee.  Parts of the website are going to be more developed than others.  We welcome your feedback about broken links, improper formatting, or missing information!  Use the "About this website" link to learn more and how you can help us make this a better resource for coaches, teachers, students, and judges!