The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has announced the selection of “Intellectual Property Rights” as the National High School Policy Debate Topic for the 2024-25 academic year.

Intellectual Property Rights was chosen over “Nuclear Weapons Reduction” by a 25-17 vote in the final balloting process, which saw participation from 38 state associations, the National Speech and Debate Association, the National Catholic Forensic League, the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues and the Nation Debate Coaches Association.

“We are glad we had 42 states and national organizations take part in this important process to select the national topic,” said Dr. James Weaver, NFHS director of performing arts and sports. “It is important for our membership to have their voices heard. Intellectual Property Rights and Nuclear Weapons Reduction are both excellent topics that deserve to be debated by some of the brightest youth in our country.”

Focused on the area of intellectual property rights in the United States, the debate resolution will be as follows: “The United States federal government should significantly strengthen its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and/or trademarks.”

“Intellectual Property Rights is a relevant and fascinating topic for our students to debate,” Weaver said. “The 2024-25 resolution focuses on navigating a topic and resource that is just now becoming more obvious to the public.”

Three stages of voting were used to determine the winning topic. The first was held during the NFHS Policy Debate Topic Selection Meeting August 4-6, where 61 attending delegates from 21 states and multiple national organizations compiled five potential choices. In addition to Intellectual Property Rights and Nuclear Weapons Reduction, that list included “Agricultural Subsidies,” “American Arctic Policy” and “Critical Infrastructure.”

Over the next two months, 41 organizations ranked the five options in order of their preference, with the two lowest aggregate totals then advancing to the final vote. Use of the second ballot assures a majority of coaches across the nation favor the chosen topic area and resolution.

For more information on the 2024-25 national high school policy debate topic, including a visual breakdown of how each organization voted on the final ballot, please visit: https://www.nfhs.org/articles/intellectual-property-rights-selected-as-2024-2025-national-policy-debate-topic/