Debatable Topics for High School

Press Next question for a high school debate motion with an opening line for each side.

Debatable Topics for High School

Should phones be allowed on school trips?

Read it out, then tap a side once for every raised hand.

1 of 135

Next step Talk it over without a vote

How it works

These debatable topics for high school are 135 motions for grades 9 to 12: a first job, a driving age, grades that count. They work as debate topics for high school students in class and after it.

Read the full guide

Vote, speak, vote again

Press Next question and read the card out. Tap a side for every raised hand and note the count. For a rebuttal, give each speaker three sentence starters: I see why you say that, but. The evidence I would want is. Even if that is true. Then vote again and see who moved.

Debatable topics for teens outside a classroom

A youth club or a family table can use the same cards. The six themes run from School rules and grading to Fairness and big questions, and the Easy cards need no preparation.

  • Flip a coin for sides after the first vote, so nobody defends only what they already think.
  • The two lines on each card are arguments to start from, not findings.

Questions and answers

What are easy teen debatable topics?

Pick Easy: Should phones be allowed at lunch? Should cheerleading count as a sport? Is losing a better teacher than winning? Each can be argued from a student's own week.

Which motions need evidence?

The Hard ones: Should test scores be optional on college applications? Should the speed limit near every school be 20 all day? Give teams a lesson to read before they speak.

How is this different from the debate questions for kids?

That deck stops at grade 8. This one starts where it ends, with what a sixteen-year-old argues about, and no motion appears in both. The debate questions for kids have the elementary and middle school bands.

Which topics are left out?

Party politics, religion, dating, bodies, alcohol and drugs, named people and any question about a group of people. Neither opening line on a card puts anyone down.

More tools

Browse Question Games

All 135 topics

School rules and grading 23

  • Should a student be able to test out of a class they already know? A) Yes. Sitting through what you know is a year lost. B) No. A class is more than its final test.
  • Should a student with top grades be excused from the final exam? A) Yes. They have already shown that they know it. B) No. Everyone should finish the same course the same way.
  • Should cheating on one test mean failing the whole course? A) Yes. A light penalty makes the risk worth taking. B) No. One bad choice should not cost a year's work.
  • Should class rank be abolished? A) Yes. It turns classmates into rivals over a hundredth of a point. B) No. It tells colleges what a grade means at this school.
  • Should detention be replaced with putting right what went wrong? A) Yes. Fixing it teaches more than sitting still. B) No. Some rules need a consequence that everyone can see coming.
  • Should every student take four years of math? A) Yes. Dropping math early closes doors you cannot see yet. B) No. A fourth year is better spent on what a student will use.
  • Should extra credit exist? A) Yes. It rewards students who go further. B) No. A grade should show the subject, not the bonus tasks.
  • Should graduating require passing a civics test? A) Yes. A graduate should know how the country is run. B) No. One more test teaches memorizing, not taking part.
  • Should hats and hoods be allowed in class? A) Yes. What is on your head does not change what goes into it. B) No. A teacher should be able to see every face.
  • Should high schools have a dress code at all? A) Yes. School is practice for places that have one. B) No. Teenagers can dress themselves.
  • Should honors classes get extra weight in the GPA? A) Yes. A harder class should count for more. B) No. It punishes anyone whose schedule had no room for one.
  • Should juniors and seniors need a hall pass? A) Yes. One rule for every grade is simple and fair. B) No. Someone old enough to drive can walk down a hallway.
  • Should juniors and seniors swap high school classes for college ones? A) Yes. Ready students should not have to wait. B) No. It thins out the classes everyone else is left in.
  • Should late work lose points? A) Yes. A deadline is part of the assignment. B) No. A grade should measure the work, not the calendar.
  • Should nightly assignments be left out of the report card grade? A) Yes. Practice should not be scored. B) No. Steady effort should be rewarded.
  • Should parents see every grade online as soon as it is entered? A) Yes. Surprises on a report card help nobody. B) No. A student should get the chance to tell them first.
  • Should seniors be allowed to leave campus for lunch? A) Yes. Four years of following the rules should earn some trust. B) No. The school answers for every student until the last bell.
  • Should students be allowed to eat in class? A) Yes. Nobody learns on an empty stomach. B) No. Crumbs and wrappers are somebody else's cleanup.
  • Should students sit on the committee that hires teachers? A) Yes. Students know in ten minutes who can teach. B) No. Hiring is a job for people trained to do it.
  • Should teachers post every assignment a week ahead? A) Yes. Students with jobs and practices could plan. B) No. Good teaching changes with how Tuesday's lesson went.
  • Should test scores be optional on college applications? A) Yes. Four years of grades say more than one Saturday morning. B) No. A shared test is the one measure that is the same everywhere.
  • Should the final exam count for less than half of the grade? A) Yes. One bad morning should not undo a semester. B) No. The final shows what stayed in your head.
  • Should the honor roll be posted in public? A) Yes. Hard work deserves to be seen. B) No. A list of names also shows who is missing from it.

Jobs, driving and money of your own 22

  • Is a part-time job during the school year a good idea? A) Yes. A job teaches what no class does. B) No. School is already a full-time job.
  • Is it smarter to bike than to drive to school when both take the same time? A) Yes. It is free and you arrive awake. B) No. A car keeps you dry and carries your gear.
  • Is looking after kids a better first job than working in a store? A) Yes. You set your own hours and you are trusted from the start. B) No. A store teaches you to work with a boss and a team.
  • Should 16-year-olds be able to open a bank account without a parent? A) Yes. Whoever earns the money should control it. B) No. A parent on the account is a safety net for a first mistake.
  • Should 17-year-olds be able to sign a contract such as a phone plan alone? A) Yes. They will be signing leases within the year. B) No. A two-year contract is a big promise for someone still in school.
  • Should a car be earned and never given? A) Yes. People take care of what they paid for. B) No. A gift that gets a teen to work and school is a sensible one.
  • Should a first car be an old one? A) Yes. Its first dent should not be an expensive one. B) No. An old car that breaks down strands a beginner.
  • Should a first paycheck be spent on something fun? A) Yes. You earned it, so enjoy it once. B) No. The habit you start with is the habit you keep.
  • Should a teen with a license have to drive younger siblings around? A) Yes. The family car comes with family duties. B) No. A license is not a taxi permit.
  • Should an allowance stop when a teen gets a job? A) Yes. An allowance is for people without a paycheck. B) No. Earning should not be punished.
  • Should driver's education be a required class? A) Yes. Almost everyone will drive, so everyone should be taught. B) No. Families who want it can arrange it.
  • Should employers be allowed to ask a teen for their grades? A) Yes. Grades show who will turn up and try. B) No. A report card has nothing to do with stocking shelves.
  • Should new drivers be barred from carrying friends for the first year? A) Yes. A full car is a distraction for a beginner. B) No. Sharing rides is half the point of a license.
  • Should parents charge rent to a teen with a full-time summer job? A) Yes. A small rent is practice for a real one. B) No. Summer pay should go toward what comes after graduation.
  • Should schools give credit for holding a job? A) Yes. Showing up on time for a boss is learning. B) No. Credit is for what the school teaches and can check.
  • Should teens get a debit card at 13? A) Yes. Money you can track teaches more than cash in a jar. B) No. A card makes spending feel like nothing.
  • Should teens pay for their own phone plan? A) Yes. Paying a bill teaches what a bill is. B) No. Parents want the phone answered, so parents can pay.
  • Should the driving age be raised to 18? A) Yes. Two more years of judgment matter behind the wheel. B) No. Teens in places without buses need to get to work and school.
  • Should the driving test include driving at night? A) Yes. Every driver ends up on the road after dark sooner or later. B) No. A test cannot cover every condition.
  • Should tips be shared equally by everyone on a shift? A) Yes. The kitchen worked for that tip too. B) No. Whoever served the table earned it.
  • Should volunteering count for more than a paid job on an application? A) Yes. Giving time shows character. B) No. Not everyone can afford to work for nothing.
  • Should work hours for under-18s be capped on school nights? A) Yes. School comes first, and a cap keeps it first. B) No. Some teens need the hours, and the choice is theirs.

Phones, screens and AI 21

  • Is a smartwatch in class the same as a phone? A) Yes. It shows the same messages on a smaller screen. B) No. Nobody scrolls a watch for an hour.
  • Should a class group chat include the teacher? A) Yes. Questions get answered once, for everyone. B) No. Students need one place to talk freely.
  • Should a learning app be allowed to show ads? A) Yes. Ads are what keep the app free. B) No. A student doing homework is not an audience to sell to.
  • Should a student accused of using AI get to redo the work in class? A) Yes. Writing it again in view proves it either way. B) No. It gives a second chance to someone who broke the rule.
  • Should AI-written text be kept out of the school newspaper? A) Yes. A byline means a person stands behind the words. B) No. Tools have always helped writers.
  • Should an AI tutor take over after-hours homework help from teachers? A) Yes. It is awake at midnight, and a teacher should not have to be. B) No. A tutor that never tires also never notices you are stuck.
  • Should art class teach how to spot an AI-made picture? A) Yes. Knowing how images are made is part of art now. B) No. The tells change every year, and class time is short.
  • Should classrooms have cameras? A) Yes. A recording settles what was said and done. B) No. Nobody teaches or learns well on camera.
  • Should exams be taken on computers? A) Yes. Typed answers are read fairly, whatever the handwriting. B) No. A crash in the middle of an exam is not fair either.
  • Should parents set a time when screens leave a teen's bedroom? A) Yes. A house rule ends the nightly argument. B) No. A teenager has to learn to stop on their own.
  • Should parents track a teenager's location by phone? A) Yes. Knowing where you are is not the same as following you. B) No. Trust that is checked every hour is not trust.
  • Should phones be allowed at lunch? A) Yes. Lunch is free time. B) No. It is the one hour for talking face to face.
  • Should phones be allowed on school trips? A) Yes. Photos and maps are part of a trip. B) No. You cannot look at a place and a screen at once.
  • Should schools be able to read what students type on school laptops? A) Yes. The laptop and the network belong to the school. B) No. Being watched changes what you dare to write.
  • Should schools teach how recommendation feeds choose what you see? A) Yes. You should understand what is steering you. B) No. The details change faster than a course can be written.
  • Should students be able to opt out of any school app that collects their data? A) Yes. Consent that cannot be refused is not consent. B) No. A class cannot run on thirty different systems.
  • Should students be allowed to draft an essay with AI if they revise it themselves? A) Yes. Editing is real work and a real skill. B) No. The thinking happens in the first draft.
  • Should students be allowed to wear earbuds in the hallway? A) Yes. The hallway is a break between classes. B) No. Staff need students to hear them.
  • Should students bring their own laptop instead of using the school's? A) Yes. People work best on a machine they know. B) No. Not every family can buy one.
  • Should teachers be allowed to grade essays with AI? A) Yes. Feedback could come back the next day. B) No. A student wrote it for a person to read.
  • Should the yearbook be digital only? A) Yes. It costs less and can hold video. B) No. A book on a shelf still opens in thirty years.

Sports and clubs 24

  • Should a school fund its clubs as generously as its teams? A) Yes. A club can matter to a student as much as a team does. B) No. Teams bring in crowds and ticket money.
  • Should a school publish what it spends on each team? A) Yes. Families should see where the money goes. B) No. A list of numbers with no context starts fights.
  • Should a student be allowed to play for a club team and a school team in one season? A) Yes. More games make a better player. B) No. Two coaches and two schedules leave no time for school.
  • Should a student lose their place on a team for missing practice to work a shift? A) Yes. A team depends on everyone being there. B) No. A paycheck is not a choice for every family.
  • Should athletes need a minimum grade to play? A) Yes. School comes before the season. B) No. For some students the team is the reason they come to school.
  • Should cheerleading count as a sport? A) Yes. It takes training, strength and teamwork. B) No. A sport needs a score kept against an opponent.
  • Should club presidents be elected every semester? A) Yes. More members get a turn at leading. B) No. A semester is too short to finish anything.
  • Should coaches be full-time teachers at the school? A) Yes. A coach who sees players in class knows them. B) No. The best coach for the job may work somewhere else.
  • Should debate, robotics and band earn a varsity letter? A) Yes. They compete and represent the school. B) No. The letter is a sports tradition, and other groups have their own awards.
  • Should every club run one event a year for the whole school? A) Yes. A club should give something back for its room and budget. B) No. A small club has all it can do to keep meeting.
  • Should every sport get equal time in the gym and on the field? A) Yes. Every team pays the same fees and wears the same colors. B) No. Bigger teams need more room.
  • Should fans be banned from heckling the other team? A) Yes. Cheer for your own side. B) No. A loud crowd is home advantage.
  • Should high school athletes be allowed to earn sponsorship money? A) Yes. Their name and effort are their own. B) No. Money changes a team game.
  • Should high school games be broadcast with advertising? A) Yes. The money buys uniforms and buses. B) No. Teenagers should not be a product to sell.
  • Should homecoming royalty be replaced with awards for service? A) Yes. It would honor what people did, not who is well known. B) No. It is a harmless tradition that people look forward to.
  • Should pep rallies be optional? A) Yes. School spirit that is ordered is not spirit. B) No. It is one hour when the whole school is in one room.
  • Should players, not the coach, choose the team captain? A) Yes. A captain leads the players, so the players should pick. B) No. The vote goes to the most popular, not the best leader.
  • Should playing a school sport excuse a student from PE? A) Yes. They already train every afternoon. B) No. PE teaches activities a single sport never covers.
  • Should practice be canceled the night before a big test? A) Yes. Students come first in student athlete. B) No. Planning around practice is the athlete's job.
  • Should seniors always start ahead of talented freshmen? A) Yes. Seniors have put in the years. B) No. The best player plays.
  • Should students vote on the school mascot? A) Yes. They are the ones who wear it. B) No. Graduates of fifty years wore the old one.
  • Should the band travel to every away game? A) Yes. The team hears the difference. B) No. Late bus rides cost the band its weeknights.
  • Should the school play hold tryouts? A) Yes. An audience deserves the best cast. B) No. A school play is for everyone who wants a part.
  • Should yearbook and newspaper be classes instead of clubs? A) Yes. Real deadlines deserve real credit. B) No. A grade would turn a passion into homework.

Community and the planet 22

  • Should a student sit on the school board with a real vote? A) Yes. The board decides about students, so one should be in the room. B) No. The board answers to voters, and a student was not elected by them.
  • Should a teen council advise the mayor? A) Yes. Teens use the buses, parks and libraries every day. B) No. Advice with no vote is a photo opportunity.
  • Should a town build a skate park before a new parking lot? A) Yes. Teens need somewhere that is theirs. B) No. Parking serves every age and every shop.
  • Should a town set a curfew for under-18s? A) Yes. It gives parents and teens one clear rule. B) No. It treats every teenager as trouble.
  • Should every school have a bike repair station? A) Yes. A flat tire should not mean a missed day. B) No. The money would help more riders as bike racks.
  • Should graduation gowns be rented, not bought? A) Yes. A gown worn for two hours should be worn again next year. B) No. Some families want to keep it.
  • Should homes be built on unused school land? A) Yes. Empty land near a school is where families want to live. B) No. A growing school will need that land back.
  • Should neighbors be able to stop a new apartment block? A) Yes. They live with the traffic and the shadow. B) No. The people who need those homes do not get a say.
  • Should public parks have free Wi-Fi? A) Yes. Homework needs a connection, and not every home has one. B) No. A park is the one place to be offline.
  • Should school buses go electric even if some routes are cut to pay for it? A) Yes. A quiet, clean bus is worth a longer walk to the stop. B) No. A bus that does not come helps nobody.
  • Should school grounds be open to the public after hours? A) Yes. A field that is locked is wasted. B) No. The school pays for whatever gets broken.
  • Should schools buy food from nearby farms even when it costs more? A) Yes. The money stays in the community. B) No. The lunch budget should buy the most food it can.
  • Should schools compost lunch waste? A) Yes. Scraps become soil for the school grounds. B) No. Sorting slows the line and somebody has to manage the pile.
  • Should schools hold a yearly repair day for clothes and electronics? A) Yes. Fixing is a skill, and it is free. B) No. One day a year changes no habits.
  • Should student drivers have to carpool to get a parking pass? A) Yes. One car for four people frees up three spaces. B) No. Jobs and practices end at different times.
  • Should student parking spaces be removed to make room for trees? A) Yes. Shade and green space serve the whole school. B) No. Students with jobs after school need to park.
  • Should teens be allowed to referee youth league games? A) Yes. They know the game and need the experience. B) No. Adults on the sideline are hard on a teenage referee.
  • Should the cafeteria drop plastic cutlery even if the line gets slower? A) Yes. A fork used for ten minutes should not go straight in the trash. B) No. A short lunch period cannot spare the time.
  • Should the library open on Sundays instead of weekday mornings? A) Yes. Students and workers are free on Sundays. B) No. Weekday mornings serve small children and retirees.
  • Should the speed limit near every school be 20 all day? A) Yes. Students come and go at all hours. B) No. A limit drivers find pointless is a limit they ignore.
  • Should unclaimed lost-and-found items go to a thrift shop? A) Yes. A coat should be worn by someone. B) No. Owners deserve longer to look.
  • Should youth sports fields get lights for night games over the neighbors' objections? A) Yes. More teams could play. B) No. The neighbors live there every night.

Fairness and big questions 23

  • Do teenagers have a right to privacy at home? A) Yes. A closed door is part of growing up. B) No. Parents are responsible for what they cannot see.
  • Is being respected worth more than being popular? A) Yes. Respect lasts after the crowd moves on. B) No. Being liked opens doors that respect alone does not.
  • Is copying a friend's homework as bad as copying on a test? A) Yes. Either way, the work is not yours. B) No. Homework is practice, and a test is the measure.
  • Is curiosity more valuable than discipline? A) Yes. Curiosity gives you a reason to start. B) No. Discipline is what gets you to the end.
  • Is it better to break a bad rule openly than to follow it? A) Yes. Open refusal is how bad rules get changed. B) No. If everyone picked their rules, there would be none.
  • Is it better to lead than to be a trusted second-in-command? A) Yes. The leader sets the direction. B) No. The second makes things work and gets to sleep at night.
  • Is it better to star on a weak team than to sit on the bench of a strong one? A) Yes. You improve by playing. B) No. You improve by training beside better players.
  • Is it fair for some students to get paid tutoring that others cannot afford? A) Yes. Families are free to spend on learning. B) No. A grade should not be for sale.
  • Is it fair to grade on a curve? A) Yes. It corrects for a test that was too hard. B) No. Your grade should not depend on who else is in the room.
  • Is it fair to split a group prize equally when one person did most of the work? A) Yes. The team entered together. B) No. Reward should follow effort.
  • Is it possible to be fair to everyone at once? A) Yes. Fair means the same rules, and those can be shared. B) No. What is fair to one person costs another.
  • Is losing a better teacher than winning? A) Yes. A loss makes you look at what went wrong. B) No. Winning shows you what works.
  • Is talent more important than hard work? A) Yes. Some people start far ahead. B) No. Talent that does not practice gets passed.
  • Should a first offense always be met with forgiveness? A) Yes. People are more than their worst day. B) No. Some trust, once broken, has to be earned back first.
  • Should a rule that almost nobody follows still be enforced? A) Yes. A rule is a rule until it is changed. B) No. Enforcing it only catches the unlucky.
  • Should an apology be required even when it is not sincere? A) Yes. Saying the words is a start. B) No. An apology that is forced means nothing.
  • Should effort be praised more than results? A) Yes. Effort is the part you control. B) No. In the end, the result is what others rely on.
  • Should friends always take your side? A) Yes. That is what a friend is for. B) No. A real friend tells you when you are wrong.
  • Should older students get first pick of classes? A) Yes. They have the least time left to fit a class in. B) No. A good class should not depend on your birthday.
  • Should people be judged by what they meant, not by what happened? A) Yes. Intent is the part a person chose. B) No. The harm is real whatever was meant.
  • Should school entry go by readiness instead of by birthday? A) Yes. A summer birthday should not decide twelve years. B) No. Somebody would have to judge readiness, and they would get it wrong.
  • Should there be one age at which a person becomes an adult for everything? A) Yes. A patchwork of ages makes no sense. B) No. Different responsibilities take different amounts of growing up.
  • Should you report a friend who cheated on a test? A) Yes. Cheating takes from everyone who studied. B) No. Talk to your friend before you talk to the teacher.