David Matley

David Matley

Congress Committee - Chair

Sharon James

Sharon James

Congress Committee - Member

Bob Stockton

Bob Stockton

Congress Committee - Member

Congress Update 2018

Student Congress serves a unique role in forensics competition as it brings together the skills of both speech and debate in a real world setting.  In today’s political climate the ability to listen, interpret and respond to each other through civil discourse is paramount.  As we move forward, the CHSSA Congress Committee will continue to seek ways to improve the quality of discussion and debate in Congress.

Our three main priorities for improving discourse in Congress at the State Tournament involve accountability and integrity in use of evidence, greater use of communication technology and the streamlining of rules and procedures to be consistent with local, state and national tournaments.

Honesty and integrity are of utmost importance in legislative debate.  Clear guidelines regarding use and citation of evidence are key to upholding these values.  We recently established Article XIII, Section 17 in the CHSSA By-Laws to lay the foundation for use and misuse of evidence in Congress.  These principles will be further clarified in our Congress Manual distributed to all state qualifiers.

Modernization of Congress through greater use of technology keeps Congress relevant to today’s generation and provides a greater opportunity for students to participate, listen and respond.

Our recent by-law revision regarding the use of computers in congress allows Congress competitors to better organize and access evidence during the round.  We will also continue to incorporate technology so that students have a greater voice in the determination of timely legislation that reflects issues important to them and society.

Consistency of rules and procedures across local, state and national organizations provides greater ability for new students to access the activity in a meaningful way.   The recent addition of precedence and recency in determining speech priority is consistent with speech priority used at many invitationals and national championship tournaments.  We will continue to work to streamline Congress procedures to align CHSSA with leagues and national organizations.

As we continually strive to ensure that Congress provides students with an engaging, relevant and purposeful legislative forum, we are dedicated to make this event one where they can achieve their highest potential as speakers and leaders in a democratic society.