Congressional Debate

Guide to Being A Parliamentarian

Produced by Jason Zheng

Author of Congressional Debate: Fundamentals for Beginners and Advanced Orators
2020-2022 Captain of the First Colonial High School Debate Team
2022 Virginia High School League Region 5 Outstanding Senator
2022 Virginia High School League Region 5 State Champion

*Developed on November 16, 2023

Table of Content

(Pg. 02) Introduction

(Pg. 03) Common Duties

(Pg. 04) Chamber Seating Assignments

(Pg. 05) Oath of Office

(Pg. 06) Student Congress Format

(Pg. 11) “Outstanding” Election

(Pg. 12) Overruling Decisions

(Pg. 13) Timekeeping Methods

Reflection Method
Gavel Method

(Pg. 14) Amendments

(Pg. 15) Scoring

Questions and Answers

Courtesy
Participation
Procedure
Impression

(Pg. 17) Engaging with Judges

(Pg. 18) Common Motions

(Pg. 21) Author’s Note

== Page 1 ==
Introduction

Congressional debate is different from Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum, and

Policy. If you are serving as a parliamentarian, it is helpful to keep that,
especially if you are new to this category. Often regarded as a wanna-be
form of debate, Student Congress involves a mix of forensics and debate
with a strong reputation as an interscholastic form of high school debate in
the United States.

Congressional debate is a mock legislative assembly competition where

students draft bills (proposed laws) and resolutions (position statements),
which they and their peers later debate and vote to pass into law and then
take action on by voting for or against the legislation.

While coaches aren’t always required to submit legislation to tournaments, it

gives their students the right to an authorship speech, introducing the bill or
resolution to the chamber. For the Virginia High School League, all
competitors must submit a bill to compete.

In advance of the tournament, a docket of submitted titles or full legislative

text is distributed to participating schools, so students may research and
prepare themselves for the debate. Many tournaments allow students to
caucus in committee(s) to determine the agenda, wherein they strive to
select topics that will yield an even and engaging debate, as well as
balancing authorship privileges among the schools participating in the
chamber.

Do keep in mind that everything written will directly consider the formality
present in the Virginia High School League. The National Speech and Debate
Association, Tournament of Champions, and other competitions may do
things differently; however, these are the procedures that are readily
available for those serving as parliamentarians in Virginia. These rules
commonly apply to the Virginia High School League, Tidewater Debate
League, and Peninsula Debate League.

If you are returning to Student Congress, then welcome back, I hope you
enjoy witnessing the behind-the-scenes experience that only the
parliamentarian gets to experience.

== Page 2 ==
Common Duties

A parliamentarian’s main duty is to answer questions of parliamentary

procedure based on Robert’s Rules of Order.

The second duty of a parliamentarian is to score all members of the chamber

using the Parliamentarian’s Ballot, as well as to keep precedence and
recency charts in order to help the judges in the room score the presiding
officers using the presiding officer’s ballot.

The parliamentarian is also the overall timekeeper of the session. It is the

parliamentarian’s responsibility to ensure that the sessions start and end on
time provided by the tournament director.

== Page 3 ==
Chamber Seating Assignment

Prior to competitions, the Clerk (at the state championship) or tournament

director should conduct a random draw to determine the chamber or seating
(depending on the number of competitors) assignment of each competitor.
The random draw will occur taking into account the number of competitors
from a single school, with a name corresponding to each random entry.

The Clerk and/or tournament director will remain blind to the names of each
competitor, but not to the name of the school represented by the random
entry. As a result, the Clerk or tournament director can assign an “entry” to
a particular chamber without having knowledge of the particular student
represented by the entry. All efforts will be made by the Clerk or tournament
director to balance the number of students from each school across multiple
chambers.

== Page 4 ==
Oath of Office

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and
that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am
about to enter.

== Page 5 ==
Student Congress Format

At local, regional, and super-regional tournaments, before the first session

begins, the parliamentarian will swear in the members of the chamber as
Representatives or Senators through the Oath of Office. Optionally but
commonly, the parliamentarian will then lead the chamber in the Pledge of
Allegiance. Parliamentarians should ask the tournament director for a United
States flag if there is not one available to pledge to.

At the state tournament, the Clerk of Congress will swear in the

competitors during the competitors’ meeting. The parliamentarian will
still lead the competitors in the Pledge of Allegiance before the first
session and at the beginning of the second day of the tournament.

Prior to the beginning of the first session (usually labeled as committee

time), the parliamentarian will call the chamber to order and identify
committee chairs.

These committees are determined by the topic of the legislation that

the competitor wrote or is claiming authorship of. There are four
committees dictated by the Virginia High School League: Domestic,
International, Economic, and Virginia.

Usual practice is to allow the competitors to select their own

committee chairs because it allows them to politic before the sessions.
These committee chairs will determine the docket by selecting one bill
or resolution from each committee and proceeding until all bills or
resolutions have been assigned.

The legislation must follow in the order of Domestic, International,

Economic, and Virginia (also known as DIEV).

== Page 6 ==
Afterward, the parliamentarian should introduce themselves and who they
are, providing a bit of background information. It is useful to provide
competitors with your experience level as a parliamentarian, judging
philosophy, and other information deemed pertinent in order for the day(s)
to run smoothly.

Make sure to establish the numbers for a majority, one-third,

two-third, and three-fourths. This is needed to determine what is
needed for motions that are made.

Then the parliamentarian will ask if there are any motions at this time. The
motion should be to open the floor for presiding officer nominations. There
will be a second and usually a unanimous vote after the second.

The competitor who made the motion will then have the first nomination.
Then there will be further nominations made by the chamber. After each
nomination, the parliamentarian should ask the competitor nominated if they
would like to accept the nomination. If the competitor accepts, their name
goes on the list; should they decline, the name is left off of the list.

After all nominations are made, there will be a motion to close the floor for
presiding officer nominations. There will be a second and usually a
unanimous vote of yes to close the floor.

Each person nominated may give a one-minute speech (not scored) to the
chamber explaining their qualifications and reasons for being presiding
officer. The order of speeches of the nominees should start with the last
person nominated.

== Page 7 ==
The chamber will then vote by secret ballot to select the first presiding
officer. The nominees will leave the room, and the balloting will be done by
paper. The winner must have a majority to serve as Presiding Officer.

If there is no majority on the first balloting, take the top two

candidates (three if there is a tie for second) and re-ballot with just
those nominees.

Students not elected may run again at the start of subsequent

sessions.

A student may not serve as a presiding officer more than twice during
a Regional or Super-Regional tournament, and once during the state
final preliminary session.
The judges in the session will evaluate the presiding officer.

After an election or if there is an uncontested presiding officer nomination

that was accepted, the presiding officer will make a brief opening speech in
which they set their expectations. This will be the first speech of the session
for precedence and recency purposes. The judges will take note of this
speech and use it accordingly in their judging.

The presiding officer will take control of the session at this point. The
parliamentarian’s job is to answer questions of parliamentary procedure,
take notes regarding the participants of the chamber to fill out the
parliamentarian’s ballot and keep time of the session as a whole (not
individual speakers, that is the presiding officer’s duty).

This speech will be followed by a call for a main motion by the presiding
officer, then a three-minute authorship speech followed by a mandatory two
minutes of questioning for the first piece of legislation on the docket.

== Page 8 ==
The presiding officer will then call for a three-minute negation speech for the
first piece of legislation on the docket; time not used by the speaker may be
used for questioning. Often after the first negation speech, there will be a
motion for a suspension of the rules to add two-minutes of questioning. The
speaker technically has the right to refuse to answer questions.

There must also be a negation speech after the authorship, the

chamber cannot proceed if there isn’t.

The process will repeat until there is a motion made to end debate on that
particular piece of legislation, such as a motion to table (put on the docket
and return to debate again or vote at a later time) or motion to previous
question (moves to an immediate vote of the bill).

When the allotted time for the session is nearing an end (usually about 5 or
6 minutes before the ending time), the parliamentarian should end the
session. Do NOT interrupt a speaker to do so. If there is still a piece of
legislation being debated, suggest that it be tabled and it be resumed at the
beginning of the next session.

Use your judgment on session time and number of speakers. If you

think there is not enough time for speakers based on what needs to be
done at the end of the session, end the session. Do NOT go over the
allotted ending time for the session unless the tournament director or
Clerk of Congress gives permission to do so to wrap up.

After the parliamentarian declares the end of the session, thank the
presiding officer for that session and give them a round of applause. Then
ask them to take their seat and ask if there are any motions. A competitor
should make the motion to open the floor for presiding officer nominations
for the next session; follow the same nomination and voting procedure as
before.

== Page 9 ==
If it is the final session, instead of presiding officer nominations, Outstanding
Representative or Senator nominations will be held.

If this is a Regional or Super-Regional Tournament, the tournament

director will decide whether or not an Outstanding Representative
award will be awarded; these awards are reportedly rarely done in
some regions.

== Page 10 ==
“Outstanding” Election

At the end of the chamber business, but before adjournment in the last
session, an election will take place in each chamber to select the
Outstanding Representative or Senator from among all members in the
chamber. This is included in the Orders Of The Day.

The parliamentarian in each chamber will conduct the election.

Representatives or Senators may verbally nominate any other
Representative or Senator, but not themselves.

The vote will be a secret ballot with each senator or representative voting for
one nominee. The parliamentarian will count the ballots to be witnessed by
the judges of that session.

After each ballot, unless one candidate has received a majority of the votes
cast, the person receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped. If the
combined votes of the two lowest candidates do not equal the votes of the
next lowest candidate, both shall be eliminated. If there is a tie for the
lowest two or three candidates, it is recommended that a vote be taken on
the tied candidates and eliminate only one candidate at a time. When one
candidate receives the majority vote of the chamber, the election is finished.

The winner will not be announced in the chamber. The parliamentarian from
each chamber will communicate the name of the winner to the Clerk of
Congress only (at the state level) or the tournament director and these
winners will be announced during the awards ceremony.

== Page 11 ==
Overruling Decisions

A parliamentarian has the power to overrule a presiding officer’s decision to

hear a motion if they believe the following:

I. It will not further debate;

II. The presiding officer’s decision is incorrect, or;
III. The motion will take up too much time and the amount of time left in
the session or the tournament is minimal and that time would be best
spent for actual debate/speeches to have everybody achieve the
maximum possible score.

Additionally, in the event of a discrepancy between the parliamentarian and

the presiding officer, the parliamentarian’s tally will be controlled.

== Page 12 ==
Timekeeping Methods

Reflection Method

Two fingers are held when there are two minutes remaining. One finger
when one minute is raining. Uppercase ‘C’ handshape when there are thirty
seconds remaining, and a lowercase ‘c’ shape when there are fifteen seconds
remaining.

There will then be a hand signal to reflect the seconds remaining: five, four,
three, two, one. Typically presiding officers will utilize this method alongside
a five second grace-period before the presiding officer gavels to inaudibility.

Gavel Method

The National Speech and Debate Association dictates the following for the
gavel method:

- One tap when the speaker reaches two minutes

- Two taps at two minutes and thirty seconds
- Three taps at two minutes and fifty-five seconds

There is a typical grace period of ten seconds.

== Page 13 ==
Amendments

Amendments must be in writing using the VHSL Amendment Form and state
exactly the words to be added or stricken and may be considered only upon
a second (by show of hands) of ⅓ of the members present. Negative ⅓
seconds are never to be taken. This means that there should never be a call
for those who are against seconding the motion. The procedure is as follows:

The amendment is submitted to the parliamentarian and the parliamentarian

will recommend whether the amendment is “germane” in the sense that it
upholds the original intent of the legislation – otherwise, it is considered
dilatory.

The presiding officer reads the amendment and determines if it is germane.

If the legislation is germane, the parliamentarian will read the amendment
aloud.

The presiding officer will then ask for a ⅓ second of the members present. If
the amendment does not receive the ⅓ second, debate continues with the
next appropriate speech. If the amendment receives the ⅓ second:

I. The presiding officer will ask for an affirmative (sponsorship) speech

on the amendment.
A. Preference for the amendment’s first affirmation shall be based
upon the number of speeches given (regular speaking
precedence).
B. The person who wrote the amendment does not automatically
have the right to provide the first affirmative (sponsorship)
speech; it becomes the property of the chamber.
II. Once the first affirmative (sponsorship) speech is given, no automatic
questioning period follows. A speech in negation of the amendment will
be in order.
III. Debate will then alternate affirmative and negative on the amendment,
just like a piece of legislation, until the amendment is disposed of in
the proper manner.

Any speech on the main motion is out of order if it does not pertain to the
amendment while the amendment is on the floor.

== Page 14 ==
Scoring

The following information will help guide how you score on each section of
the parliamentarian’s ballot:

Questions and Answers

You should keep track of the number of questions a competitor asks and
note if there are any questions or answers that the competitor gave that
sparks further debate or seems to be positive in any way.

On the other hand, if there is a competitor who is asking questions for the
sake of asking questions and hindering debate, use your judgment and feel
free to deduct from the score.

Courtesy

Is the competitor sleeping? Attentive? Making gestures? Whispering? Passing

notes? Being disruptive? These are all reasons to deduct from this category.
This category is usually scored in the high range unless there is an egregious
violation.

Participation

Scoring for this category includes making motions that further the chamber’s
business as well as the competitor’s interests. Is the competitor active and
attentive in the session?

Furthermore, a speaker may ask for the reflection method of timekeeping,

which requires participation from the chamber. If a competitor sees the time
signal from the presiding officer and fails to reflect it to the speaker,
participation points should be deducted. However, if a competitor does not
see the signal and fails to reflect it, no points should be deducted.

== Page 15 ==
Procedure

Scoring for this category again involves making good motions and the
competitor’s knowledge of parliamentary procedure as a whole.

Impression

This is the category where you get to judge a little subjectively. How does
the competitor strike you?

== Page 16 ==
Engaging with Judges

It is recommended to give time for the judges to introduce themselves to

the chamber, asking who they are, what they are looking for, and maybe a
fun fact about themselves (if appropriate).

In regards to the judge’s presiding officer score on parliamentary procedure:

Parliamentarians should make sure that the presiding officer is

adhering to Robert’s Rules of Order and following parliamentary
procedure. The judges will be consulting with the parliamentarian at
the end of each session to determine how many mistakes, if any, a
presiding officer made in regards to parliamentary procedure.

On this note, parliamentarians should only inform the judges of the

number of mistakes and type of mistakes (e.g., not referring to
Robert’s Rules of Order when unsure how to proceed with a motion,
incorrectly proceeding with a motion, etc.)

The parliamentarians are not to influence the score in any way by

commenting on the error(s) or lack thereof.

== Page 17 ==
In regards to the judge’s presiding officer score on precedence:

Parliamentarians should make sure that the presiding officer is

following precedence and recency with both speeches and calling on
competitors for questioning. The judges will be consulting with you at
the end of each session to determine how many mistakes, if any, a
presiding officer made when keeping track of recency.

On this note, parliamentarians should only inform the judges of the

number of mistakes and type of mistakes (e.g., missing a speaker out
of order, calling on someone who has asked four questions over
someone who has asked none, etc.)

The parliamentarians are not to influence the score in any way by

commenting on the error(s) or lack thereof.

Additionally, as per VHSL rules, the parliamentarian may not serve as both
parliamentary and judge of the same chamber. The two or three judges will
evaluate each speaker and the presiding officer using ballots provided.

== Page 18 ==
Common Motions

Call to Previous Question

This is the motion that is made to end debate on the current piece of
legislation or amendment. The motion requires a majority to pass.

If the motion passes then the legislation or amendment is voted on. If the
motion fails, then debate continues.

Tabling

Legislation will and should be tabled if there has not been a full cycle of
debate. The legislation can then be brought back to debate later on. This
motion requires a majority.

A session cannot end with an active piece of legislation being debated; the
legislation must be tabled or be moved to the previous question.

Suspension of the Rules

Usually to do something that is not provided for in the rule book. This
motion must pass by ⅔ of Representatives or Senators in the chamber.

Common Examples Include:

Extending the time period for questions a speaker

If you believe that there is not enough time to have debated

extended and the presiding officer chooses to entertain the
motion, it is within your discretion to rule the motion dilatory.

Open Chamber

Amending the Docket – only after a full DIEV cycle.

== Page 19 ==
Division of the Chamber

Usually called for after a close oral vote where it is unclear which side won.
Participants will stand and be counted in accordance with their vote.

Point of Order

Question about what’s going on in the chamber or to clarify why something

was ruled on the way it was.

Often used to correct a mistake of the presiding officer by a member of the

chamber. The parliamentarian should allow time for this to occur before
correcting the presiding officer’s mistake.

Orders of the Day

Force all tabled legislation to be voted on. The next to last step before
motion is to adjourn.

Point of Personal Privilege

Allows members to briefly address the chamber about an issue, usually

voting on calling the question.

Recess

Allows chamber to take a break; usually called for at the end of every
season except final session.

The motion should be made with an amount of time to recess for. Recess
should not be longer than necessary, usually five minutes for a break is
sufficient.

Adjourn

Last motion of the day.

== Page 20 ==
Author’s Note

On the bus ride home from the 2022 Debate State Championship, my friends
sang me happy birthday. It was already midnight, and we wouldn’t get home
until an hour later. Though we were tired, I was really grateful that I was with
them. It was bittersweet to arrive at the end of my senior year and watch the
pieces of this chapter fall into place. When I look back on those experiences, I
am eternally grateful for the memories I was able to make. I had three
extremely great friends and I want to give them a shout out here.

James Nicholson. Thank you for being the first friend I made in high school, it’s
gone an incredibly long way with your companionship meaning more than you
may ever know. Thank you for teaching me to be comfortable with myself, for
making me laugh, and for letting me listen to your music. Thank you for
existing on the days I felt my lowest and weakest, and for being my friend at
First Colonial when I felt like no one else was at that horrid school.

Vyshnavi Tatta. Thank you for creating what it means to have a safe space for,
to say the least, interesting conversations. Thank you for always talking to me
about the silliest of topics to the most serious of issues, and for challenging me
to think outside of the box. Thank you for your guidance when I was unsure
about how to handle something and your reassurance during the times that I
was incapable of finding the confidence within myself.

Mackenna Wyckoff. Thank you for being my first mentee, and while you won’t
be the last, I’m grateful that you gave me the honor of watching you grow. You
are the reason I realized that I love being a mentor and offering guidance and
support to others. Thank you for also being a friend, for silly conversations, and
for processing bizarre interactions with me. Thank you for all the life you gave
to the final two years of my high school experience.

I always hear people talk about wanting to be a “champion.” But from my

experiences, and a lesson I hope to pass on to others, a trophy does not make a
champion. The people you surround yourself with do, and I owe it to these three
for being a prominent part of the person I am today because I would not be
here if it wasn’t for them. I could not be more grateful for their existence in my
life and for joining me on the adventure of high school debate. Cherish the
moments of light-soaked joy and the people who support you along the way.

— Jason Zheng

== Page 21 ==