With more than 30 years of experience in debate, we’ve taken the time to compile what we think are some of the best debate topics for K-12 students.
We’ve made efforts to break these down by grade level. though teachers should feel free to adjust the grade level expectations based on their own experiences with their students.
Elementary
Cats are better pets than dogs
Elementary students should be able to bring phones to school
Students should be allowed to take field trips
Junk food should be banned in school
Pet should be allowed in school
Videos games are bad for kids
Kids should be allowed to listen to any music
All kids should play sports
Children should receive an allowance
Space aliens exist
Elementary/Middle
Students should be required to wear school uniforms
Introduction to the School Uniforms Debate
Slide Show/Power Point
Evidence File
ProCon Evidence Links
JV Public Forum Debate Debate
Homework should be banned
School should start later
Cell phones should be allowed in the classroom
Bottled water should be banned
Plastic bags should be banned
The internet should be free
Taxes on junk food should be increased
School should last all year
Middle School/High School
More accessible
The metaverse is on-balance desirable
Bibliography
Social media is on-balance desirable
Standardized testing should be abolished
Animal testing should be banned
People should be vegetarians
Football should be banned
Voting should be mandatory
Driverless cars are safe
Harder
The police should have to wear body cameras
Politicians should be allowed to ban books in public schools
People should have the right to own guns.
Private ownership of handguns should be abolished
The United States should renew the federal Assault Weapons Ban
Should should have single gender classrooms
School Resource Officers should be eliminated
The death penalty should be abolished
Nuclear power should be expanded
Human cloning should be legalized
Juveniles should be tried and treated as adults
Mars should be colonized
The US should return to the moon
Charter schools should be abolished
Government should provide financial support for school choice
The SAT should no longer be used as a criteria for college admissions
Violent video games should be banned
The US should implement mandatory national service
The government should promote renewable energy sources
Fracking should be banned in the United States
Private prisons should be abolished
Genetically modified foods should be abolished
College athletes should be paid
Teachers should be eligible for merit pay
Animal organ transplants should be allowed
Bibliography
Hardest
The Cuba embargo should be ended
The US should increase its refugee cap
On balance, immigration is good for the economy
The US should increase the number of H1-Bs
International borders should be abolished
The US should implement a universal basic income
The US should guarantee universal child care
Workers should have a right to strike
Employee labor unions are on-balance desirable
Employers should have to pay a living wage
The US should implement universal background checks for gun purchases
Drug testing for student athletes should be abolished
Community college should be freed
Student loan debt should be eliminated
Private schools should be abolished
On-balance, artificial intelligence is beneficial to humanity
The electoral college should be replaced by a National Popular Vote
Gerrmyandering should be banned
Felons should be allowed to vote
The United States should implement Medicare for All
The national debt is a threat to the economy
Globalization reduces poverty
The government should forgive all student loans
Adolescents should be allowed to make their own autonomous medical choices
The National Security Agency should end surveillance of US citizens without a warrant
Subsidies for public stadiums should be eliminated
High School
All drugs should be legalized
Marijuana should be legalized
Cities should provide free needles to drug addicts
Net neutrality should be restored
Workers should be allowed to sttrike
Japan should develop nuclear weapons
The US should withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
China is a threat to Taiwan
The US should treat Taiwan as an independent country
A China/Russia alliance is a threat to the US
The US should undermine China’s Belt and Road Initiative
The US should impose sanctions on countries that violate human rights
Sanction on Venezuela should be lifted
Private appropriation of space resources is unjust
The capital gains tax preference should be abolished
A carbon tax should be implemented
Fossil fuel subsidies should be eliminated
Developed countries have a moral obligation to reduce climate change
The US should permit offshore oil drilling
Autonomous weapons should be banned
The US nuclear arsenal should be modernized
Battlefield nuclear weapons should be removed from Europe
The US military should eliminate its use of armed drones
Countries should eliminate nuclear weapons
The US should adopt a policy of nuclear No First Use
The US should eliminate its use of Offensive Cyber Operations
The US should increase its military assets in space
Sex work should be legal
Abortion should be banned
Euthanasia should be banned
The sale of human organs should be legalized
A just society ought to presume consent for organ donation
Hate speech should be banned
Public colleges and universities should not restrict protected speech
Affirmative action in college admissions should be abolished
Affirmative action in employment should be abolished
Turkey should stay in NATO
The fillibuster should be abolished
More justices should be added to the Supreme Court
Big Tech should be broken up
The benefits of the Internet of Things outweigh the harms
Plea bargaining should be abolished
Jury nullification should be used to correct injustice
Reparations for slavery should be provided
Puerto Rico should become a state
Washington, DC should become a state
The United States should implement pharmaceutical price controls
Cryptocurrency is on-balance desirable
Socialism is better than capitalism
“Dreamers” should be granted citizenship
Intellectual property rights should be abolished
The US should stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia
The US should stop stop the US of sanctions as a tool of foreign policy
Reporters should be allowed to protect the rights of confidential sources
People should have the Right to Be Forgotten
On balance, US foreign policy is a threat to world peace
The US should end its promotion of democracy
On balance, the rise of China is good for the world
The United States should ratify the Law of the Sea treaty.
The metaverse is bad for humanity