Student Congress

Student Cheat Sheet

Motions:

Motion Meaning Requires a Second

Necessary Vote to Pass

Main Motion This opens the session for debate

Yes Majority

To Call the Previous Question

This ends debate on a bill and calls for a vote

Yes Majority

For Personal Privilege

To exit the room or interrupt debate for personal reasons, such as to use the restroom

No No vote necessary. It requires the permission of the Presiding Officer

To recess This takes time out from the proceeding. This will end debate for the class period in cases where debate is expected to continue into the next day.

Yes Majority

To amend This modifies a bill Yes One-third approvalTo adjourn This ends the

debate session. It will take place at the end of the week when all speakers have presented and debate has concluded on all bills.

Yes Majority

Students will make motions using the following phrase: “I motion to [insert name of motion]”

If another student agrees that the motion should be considered, they will act as a second for the motion by saying, “Second.”

Once the motion has received a second, the chamber will vote on it. The Presiding Officer will manage the voting process. If the motion receives the necessary number of votes, it will be carried out.

Format of a Bill (above) Example of a Bill (below)

Title of the Bill Usually a bill is introduced by a formal statement that states that it has been debated in Student Congress.

Article I State the new policy to be adopted in a sentence.

Article II Define any terms or phrases that are key to the bill.

Article III Tell the date on which the new law would go into effect.

Article IV Name the government agency which will be responsible for putting the new law into effect.

Article V Include any punishment for breaking this law.

Article VI Explain how funding will be provided to put the new bill into effect.

Article VII State that all other laws that are presently in effect that are in conflict with this new law would then be null and void, that is, no longer in effect.

Respectfully Submitted by

Senator or Representative [Your Last Name]

A Bill to Decrease Drug Use Be it enacted by the Student Congress here assembled that:

Article I Any person receiving a driver’s license or having a license renewed shall be subject to a mandatory drug test at the renewal site.

Article II A drug test will be defined as a urine, blood, and/or hair sample that a person will be expected to give.

Article III This bill shall take effect immediately upon passage. Persons found to have a positive result for illegal drugs will not be found to have a positive result for illegal drugs will not be allowed to receive or renew a license to drive.

Article IV This legislation shall have the full force of state and federal law, and shall be enforced by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Article V Anyone found to have illegal drugs in their system will have the opportunity to test a second time for illegal drugs.

Article VI A $10.00 fee will be added to each application for a license or renewal to offset the cost of the program. Additional funding will be allocated through each state’s normal budgetary process.

Article VII All laws in conflict with this bill will henceforth be declared null and void.

Respectfully Submitted by

Senator Blanco

Speech Format:

First 1-2 minutes will be spent reading the bill exactly as written Second 2 minutes will be spent explaining the bill through the authorship speech format.

There will be a 30 second grace period (students may be over or under by 30 seconds without incurring a penalty):

o Introduction: Use the introduction to grab the attention of the audience. Begin with an anecdote, fact, or statistic that you recall from your research. End your introduction by stating whether you think the chamber should vote for or against the legislation before it.

o Contentions: These are specific arguments for or against the bill ore resolution. Again, use your research to support your contentions. These are separated into CLAIMS and REASONS. CLAIMS are your own opinions (i.e., for the example above: “Requiring a drug test will result in fewer unsafe drivers on the road.”) REASONS are facts that back up these claims (i.e., “This is true because 20% of all traffic accidents occur as a result of drivers using drugs before operating a motor vehicle. If we can stop these drivers from renewing their licenses, we can remove these dangers from the roads.”)

o Conclusion: Restate your contentions and, if possible, return to the fact or anecdote that you began with. At the end of your conclusion, open the floor for cross-examination. Think “babies and Benjamins”—why should your audience care, and how much will it cost?

Example Speech:

[Introduction] Ms. Blanco is an 8th grade teacher in at Franklin Academy, Cooper City. Oneday, as she was driving to work, she was struck by another vehicle on the road. Although Ms. Blanco was unhurt, her vehicle suffered considerable damage. After a police investigation, it was found that the driver of the other vehicle was under the influence of drugs. By passing this legislation today, we can help ensure that roads are safer, since the people who endanger the lives of others by driving under the influences of drugs will be unable to renew their licenses. In order to make our roads safer, I urge everyone to vote in favor of passing this legislation.

[Contentions]: Requiring a drug test will result in fewer unsafe drivers on the road (CLAIM). This is true because 20% of all traffic accidents occur as a result of drivers using

drugs before operating a motor vehicle. If we can stop these drivers from renewing their licenses, we can remove these dangers from the roads (REASON).

You would continue your contentions paragraph in this way to address all the major points of your bill. There should be 3-6 major contentions.

[Conclusion]: By passing this legislation, we can help ensure that drivers like Ms. Blanco will feel safe on the roads again. This legislation will be passed at a minimal cost to citizens, since

the cost of including the drug tests will be including in the fees already paid to renew licenses. It will help create a safer environment for drivers everywhere.

** Your introductions and conclusions should be better planned and include more fleshed out examples. This is intended as a brief model for you to use as you write your own speeches.

Assignment Requirements

BILLS:

Each student is responsible for turning in a bill. All bills are due Monday, 11/28. Bills will be 1-2 pages in length. All bills MUST follow the format given above. Bills that do not follow this format or that do not address all questions asked in the articles will not receive full credit.

Bills should be typed in the same format as the example bill above.

DEBATES:

Group 1 will be debating on the week of 11/28-12/2

Group 2 will be debating on the week of 12/5-12/10

o All members of Group 1 should be ready to debate on 11/28. All members of group 2 should be ready to debate on 12/5. Presentation days will be assigned by the students themselves when they vote to set the docket during the round. Presentations will follow the order that students vote on. Dockets will be set on the first day of debate.

o Debate each day will open with a main motion. Students will elect a Presiding Officer for the day. Students who are presenting on that day may not serve as the Presiding Officer. Students may serve as Presiding Officer more than one if they are voted in by their classmates. Presiding Officers ensure that motions are being properly observed. They also decide who will speak next in the round based on precedence. Lastly, Presiding Officers are responsible for tallying the results of voting procedure.

o Two students will present each day. Both students will present on the same topic: one will present the affirmative bill, and one will present the negative bill. Speeches will be 3-4 minutes in length and will consist of the delegate reading and explaining their bill [see the format for the speech above]. After each speaker presents, he or she will undergo a 3 minute cross-examination round where any delegate in the chamber may ask questions about the bills. Students have the option to motion to amend the bill if they so choose. Students will be given 10 minutes to complete the amendment process and 2 minutes to present the proposed amendment to the chamber if they so choose. Otherwise, once the cross-examination has concluded, students will motion to call the previous question and vote to either pass or fail the bill. Please remember that the results of the vote do not influence your grade. You will only be graded on your performance during your speech and the cross-examination rounds. It does not matter if your bill passes or fails.

o Each day’s round will end with a motion to recess until the next class period. During the last day of debates, students will motion to adjourn to end the debate session.

o ***Students are welcome to print this cheat sheet for use during Student Congress debate sessions***

JUDGE’S BALLOTS:

Each student must turn in a judge’s ballot. This ballot should be typed. Students are encouraged to use the ballots completed as classwork to create the final ballot.

During the debate sessions, the group who is not debating will be acting as judges. Each student in the judge’s group will fill out two ballots each day: one for the affirmative speaker and one for the negative speaker. These will be filled in using the original ballot as a ‘key.’ Students will rank performance on a scale of 1-6, 1 being the worst and 6 being the best.

A student’s assessment of a delegate’s speech will NOT impact the grade of the speaker, so students should be as honest and accurate as possible in their assessments in order to receive full credit.

At the end of the debating week, each member of the judge’s group should turn in a packet that includes their typed ballot that served as a ‘key’ and completed judge’s ballots for each speaker in the debating group.