The following is a suggested way of writing legislation. THIS IS NOT A REQUIRED WAY! For those of you who are searching for possible strategies, this is for you.

Simple Resolutions:

In short, this his a belief statement. You provide reasons for why you believe what you believe as a piece of legislation.

How to write a Simple Resolution-

A. All lines must be numbered.

B. Font should be no bigger than 12pt Ariel or Times New Roman.

C. Each "reason" for what you believe comes in the form of a "Whereas" clause, and after each clause, you put a comma and the word "and". Say you are writing a resolution for all schools to require debate as a graduation course. You would write one of your reasons like: Whereas, debate teaches students how to think logically and argue professionally, and

D. It is a good idea to have at least 5 "Whereas" reason clauses before stating your belief statement.

E. In your "Whereas" clauses, you can put a little bit of facts and statistics to provide some depth to your legislation. Most clauses, though, tend to be logical reasoning.

F. Once you are done with your reasons, the next line should begin "Therefore, be it resolved by the (State/Federal) Student Congress here assembled that:"....You must choose whether this is a State or Federal resolution because certain rules can only be applied state by state, like in Nebraska our 'Age of Consent' is 17. Other states have the choice to have a different age. Federal rules are ones that apply to the whole country. You need to know which issues are State ones and which are Federal ones.

H. The last thing you do is state your belief. REMEMBER THAT IT IS A BELIEF, NOT A LAW. This means you think something "should" or "ought" to be a certain way. For example: Be it resolved by the State Student Congress here assembled that: All Nebraska public schools should require Debate as a graduation course.

NFL Template for Resolution Writing:

A Resolution to [Action Word] [article] [Object] to
[Summarize the Solution Specifically]
 

1.  WHEREAS,    State the current problem (this needs to be accomplished

2.  in one brief sentence); and

3. WHEREAS,    Describe the scope of the problem cited in the first whereas

4. clause (this clause needs to flow logically from the first) and the inherent

5. need for a solution; and

6. WHEREAS,    Explain the impact and harms perpetuated by the current

7. problem (once again, the clause needs to flow in a logical sequence); and

8. WHEREAS,    Use additional “whereas” clauses to elaborate rationale for

9. the problem that needs to be solved; now, therefore, be it

10. RESOLVED,    That the Student Congress here assembled make the following

11. recommendation for solution (a call for action); and, be it

12. FURTHER RESOLVED, That (this is an optional additional recommendation;

13. if not used, end the previous “resolved” clause with a period).

Example Simple Resolution...

A Resolution Concerning Debate as a Graduation Course

1. Whereas, many students are leaving high school without the necessary

2. skills in researching, writing speeches/essays, organizing thoughts

3. and/or organizing information, public speaking skills, and appropriate

4.  and professional methods of argumentation, and

5.  Whereas, students also leave school with a lack of knowledge about

6. the political and social issues they will be voters on, and many

7. do not have an established routine and discipline of keeping up

8. with the news and current issues, and

9. Whereas, Debate teaches students these skills, and

10. Whereas, this is an interactive way of getting kids involved initially

11. caring about the nation, and

12. Whereas, this is a way of informing students appropriately and realistically

13. of what is going on in the nation compared to social studies classes, and

14. Whereas, requiring this class could potentially eliminate the need for taking

15. a "Speech Course" in college, thus reducing college costs.

16. Therefore, be it resolved by the State Student Congress here assembled that:

17. All Nebraska public school districts should require Debate as a graduation course.

18.  Be it further resolved that:

19.  If a student continues on in competitive debate and takes Advanced Debate

20. courses, this should count as credit for a college entry-level speech course

21. requirement.

Concurrent Resolutions:

The difference between a resolution and a concurrent resolution is that concurrents are enactable. You are telling the reasons and current problems as well as the benefits of the solution just like you would in a simple resolution, but now you are adding at the end, the law that should be in place as a result. You are giving an indepth action that should happen, and how it should happen.

How to write a Concurrent Resolution-

A. All lines must be numbered.

B. Font should be no bigger than 12pt Ariel or Times New Roman.

C. Each "reason" for what you believe comes in the form of a "Whereas" clause, and after each clause, you put a comma and the word "and". Say you are writing a resolution for all schools to require debate as a graduation course. You would write one of your reasons like: Whereas, debate teaches students how to think logically and argue professionally, and

D. It is a good idea to have at least 5 "Whereas" reason clauses before stating your belief statement.

E. In your "Whereas" clauses, you can put a little bit of facts and statistics to provide some depth to your legislation. Most clauses, though, tend to be logical reasoning.

F. Once you are done with your reasons, the next line should begin "Therefore, be it resolved by the (State/Federal) Student Congress here assembled that:"....You must choose whether this is a State or Federal resolution because certain rules can only be applied state by state, like in Nebraska our 'Age of Consent' is 17. Other states have the choice to have a different age. Federal rules are ones that apply to the whole country. You need to know which issues are State ones and which are Federal ones.

H. Unlike a resolution, what you put after the "be it resolved" portion is now a set of "Sections" outlining what you want to see happen. Basically there are four sections.

Section 1: (The actual law you want to put in place)

Section 2: (Who is going to enforce it, or how it is going to be enforced...the process if you will)

Section 3: (Consequences for those who break the law and/or rewards for those who follow it)

Section 4: (Enaction Date...please keep in mind how long it will take states to comply. You should give people enough time to prepare for the change coming up. You can't, in some cases, enact something immediately because there's not enough time to make the necessary changes. To suddenly require a debate course THE NEXT DAY after the bill is passed, is stupid when you are in the middle of a school year)

Example Concurrent Resolution...

A Concurrent Resolution Concerning Debate as a Graduation Course

1. Whereas, Debate teaches students to think logically and argue professionally, and

2. Whereas, research skills, writing skills, organization skills, and public speaking skills are necessities

3. in the working world that Debate provides, and

4. Whereas, this is an interactive way of getting kids involved initially caring about the nation, and

5. Whereas, this is a way of informing students appropriately and realistically of what is going on in

6. the nation, and

7. Whereas, requiring this class could potentially eliminate the need for taking a "Speech Course" in

8. college, thus reducing college costs.

9. Therefore, be it resolved by the State Student Congress here assembled that:

10. Section 1: All Nebraska public school districts will require Debate as a graduation course.

11. Section 2a: The Nebraska Education Department will develop a basic curriculum for each district

12. to follow in order to assure the legitimacy of this course.

13. Section 2b: Each school will be responsible for assigning or hiring the necessary staff to teach this

14. course, and funds will come through an increase in property taxes for that district.

15. Section 3a: Any school that does not adhere to said requirements will be given a year to comply,

16. and after which will meet with the Nebraska Education Department to produce a plan of compliance.

17. Section 3b: If a school still does not/refuses to comply, then a reduction in state funding will be cut

18. $1000 every year after until compliance is achieved.

19. Section 4: This will go into effect by the next budget school year August, 2007.

Bills:

Bills are laws that produce action, and consequence. It is a binding contract that citizens must follow. Once enacted, they become law, which is not the case of a resolution.

How to write a Bill-

A. All lines must be numbered.

B. Font should be no bigger than 12pt Ariel or Times New Roman.

C. The legislation begins with the phrase "Be it enacted by the (State/Federal) Student Congess here assembled that:"....You must choose whether this is a State or Federal bill because certain laws can only be applied state by state, like in Nebraska our 'Age of Consent' is 17. Other states have the choice to have a different age. Federal laws are ones that apply to the whole country. You need to know which issues are State ones and which are Federal ones.

D. There are basically 4 Sections to a law, similar to the second part of a concurrent resolution, but it can be more complex.

Section 1a: (The actual law stated)

Section 1b: (If you need to define terms as they relate to the topic, you would add a subsection)

Section 1c: (Any sub laws that come in conjunction with this law. Say for example you are requiring that debate course, and you want to specifically say what will be taught as part of the curriculum, you would put that kind of detail in a subjection)

Section 2a: (Who will enforce the law and how.... you are placing responsibility here so you know who to charge if someone makes a mistake)

Section 2b: (If there are multiple steps to the process, it is good to subsection it out for organization sake)

Section 3c: (How this will be funded is important if there is a need for funding. You must explain how the money will be gotten and how it will be spent in this subsection.)

Section 3a: (Basic consequence if the law is broken, and/or basic reward).

Section 3b: (Add more subsections if there are levels or degrees of consequence. For example, if you break the law once, you get a warning, if you break it twice you get a fine, if you break it a third time, you go to jail...whatever)

Section 4: (Enaction Date...please keep in mind how long it will take states to comply. You should give people enough time to prepare for the change coming up. You can't, in some cases, enact something immediately because there's not enough time to make the necessary changes. To suddenly require a debate course THE NEXT DAY after the bill is passed, is stupid when you are in the middle of a school year)

Section 1: (The actual law you want to put in place)

Section 2: (Who is going to enforce it, or how it is going to be enforced...the process if you will)

Section 3: (Consequences for those who break the law and/or rewards for those who follow it)

Section 4: (Enaction date)

Example Bill...

A Bill Concerning Debate as a Graduation Course

1. Be it enacted by the State Student Congress here assembled that:

2. Section 1: All Nebraska public school districts will require Debate as a graduation course.

3. Section 2a: Public schools will be defined as those schools that receive state funding and offers

4. free education to those attending.

5. Section 2b: The Nebraska Education Department will develop a basic curriculum for each district

6. to follow in order to assure the legitimacy of this course.

7. Section 2b: Each school will be responsible for assigning or hiring the necessary staff to teach this

8. course, and funds will come through an increase in property taxes for that district.

9. Section 3a: Any school that does not adhere to said requirements will be given a year to comply,

10. and after which will meet with the Nebraska Education Department to produce a plan of compliance.

11. Section 3b: If a school still does not/refuses to comply, then a reduction in state funding will be cut

13. $1000 every year after until compliance is achieved.

13. Section 4: This will go into effect by the next budget school year August, 2007.