A first look at the 2026-2027 Public Forum Potential Topics

As the 2025-2026 season wraps up, the topic slates for next year are already taking shape — and the range of subjects on deck for 2026-2027 is as wide as ever. From data center construction and emissions policy to nuclear deterrence in Northeast Asia, gig worker classification, African trade integration, redistricting reform, and Latin American foreign investment, next season’s Public Forum debaters have a genuinely global, interdisciplinary year ahead of them.

Here is a quick preview of what is on deck.

September/October 2026 — Topics under consideration include a federal moratorium on hyperscale data center construction, and a national emissions trading system. Both place students directly inside the energy and infrastructure debates shaping the AI economy and climate policy simultaneously — a genuinely current pairing of topics.

November/December 2026 — European NATO members ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and South Korea pursuing an independent nuclear deterrent. Two topics on opposite sides of the same coin: nuclear disarmament versus nuclear proliferation, asked from two very different regional perspectives.

January 2027 — Whether the federal government should classify gig workers as employees, and whether the benefits of big box retailers outweigh their harms. Both are squarely domestic economic policy questions with direct relevance to how American workers and communities experience the modern economy.

February 2027 — The African Continental Free Trade Area’s costs and benefits, and whether UN-led peacekeeping is preferable to regional-organization-led peacekeeping in Africa. A month dedicated to African economic integration and security policy — an area of the world that gets relatively little attention in typical high school curricula, making the research itself an education.

March 2027 — Independent redistricting commissions versus legislature-drawn districts, and whether voting should be compulsory in federal elections. Two topics striking directly at the mechanics of American democracy and electoral fairness.

April 2027 — Brazil prioritizing environmental protection over economic development, and whether Latin American countries should prioritize Chinese investment over American investment. A fitting close to the season, asking students to weigh environmental ethics and great power competition in the same region.

As always, exact final topics are confirmed by NSDA vote closer to each cycle, and Honor Academy will publish complete topic breakdowns — the way we did for 2025-2026 — once each resolution is finalized.