September/OctoberSociety and Culture
NSDA by season
Lincoln-Douglas
One-on-one debate built around values: each side defends a value and a criterion for weighing it. The resolution changes every two months. How Lincoln-Douglas works
November/DecemberInternational Relations
Resolved: the use of economic sanctions to achieve U.S. foreign policy goals is moral.
January/FebruaryCrime and Justice
Resolved: violent juvenile offenders ought to be treated as adults in the criminal justice system.
March/AprilEthics and Philosophy
Resolved: the intervention of one nation in the domestic affairs of another nation is morally justified.
NCFL NationalsCrime and Justice
Resolved: discriminations made by society on the basis of chronological age alone are justified.
NationalsEthics and Philosophy
Resolved: inaction in the face of injustice makes an individual morally culpable.
Policy
Two-on-two debate on one resolution for the whole season. The affirmative proposes a plan and both sides use a lot of evidence. How Policy works
Whole seasonEducation
That the federal government should establish an education policy to significantly increase academic achievement in...
Shortened here. The full wording is on NSDA's topic page.
About NSDA topics
The National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) is the largest high school speech and debate organization in the United States. It publishes the resolutions that US tournaments use each season: a new Public Forum topic every month or two, a Lincoln-Douglas topic every two months, and one Policy topic for the whole year. Its National Tournament in June has its own topics.
Resolutions from NSDA's topic page, credited to the National Speech & Debate Association. NCFL Nationals topics are from the National Catholic Forensic League tournament, as listed by NSDA.