The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has announced that “Emerging Technologies” will be the 2022-23 National High School Policy Debate Topic.

Emerging Technologies was the favorite in the final balloting process, receiving 30 of a possible 43 votes over “Global Climate Change,” the other topic finalist. In addition to the 39 state associations that took part in the vote, representatives from the National Speech and Debate Association, the National Catholic Forensic League, the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues and the Nation Debate Coaches Association also cast ballots.

“We are glad we had 43 states and national organizations take part in this important process for the second year in a row,” said Dr. James Weaver, NFHS director of performing arts and sports. “It is important for our membership to have their voices heard. Emerging Technologies and Global Climate Change are both excellent topics that deserve to be debated by some of the brightest youth in our country.”

The debate resolution is centered on both the emerging technologies around the world, as well as the growing global geo-political crisis surrounding it. The official resolution reads as follows: “The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.”

“Emerging Technologies is a very relevant and fascinating topic for students to debate,” Weaver said. “The 2022-23 resolution focuses on navigating a topic and resource that are just now becoming more obvious to the public.”

The final topic was decided using a three-phase voting process that began at the NFHS Policy Debate Topic Selection Meeting August 6-8. Forty-seven attending delegates from 19 states and multiple national organizations compiled five potential choices, which included “Global Health Security,” “Russia” and “Treaties” alongside the two finalists.

Those five options were then ranked in order of preference by the 43 organizations mentioned above, with the two lowest aggregate totals then advancing to the final vote. Using an additional stage of voting assures a majority of coaches across the nation favor the chosen topic area and resolution.

For more information on the 2022-23 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/emerging-technologies-selected-as-2022-2023-national-policy-debate-topic/.