State Affairs Forum

State Affairs Forum is designed to broaden participants’ knowledge of pre-selected current events topic areas. State Affairs Forum uses the structure of committee hearings with parliamentary procedure where students propose solutions to important current issues. It encourages debate on these solutions and thereby fosters an in-depth understanding of the topics at hand. Delegates are encouraged to be vocal, listen intently, and participate as much as possible.

Our goal for our State Affairs Forum participants is for them to understand well-formulated solutions (not legislation) for major problems facing Texas and the national/international community, furthering their holistic understanding of news events and empowering them to speak intelligently about feasible ways to address such problems.

State Affairs Forum Resources

25-26 State Affairs Memo and Updates

25-26 Proposal Timeline

25-26 State Affairs Student Manual

One Pager State Affairs Info Sheet

SAF Tips and Tricks: A guide to the podium

Writing your Proposal

Select a topics, proposal that are successful are topics that the author(s) is passionate about. Proposal topics that deal with one specific issue are the best to address and debate. When considering a topics they must cover state issues and not federal issues. Once you select a topic it should be check and approved by a club’s student leaders and the adult advisor. A template for your proposal is available below. This proposal template will already include the parts of the proposal that are required. Remember your proposal should not be longer than one page. A breakdown of what is need in each page is also below.

  1. Education
  2. Gambling/Lottery
  3. Cyber Issues
  4. Public Policy
  5. Civil Liberties
  6. Health
  7. Environment
  8. Economy
  9. Technology
  10. Texas
  11. Child Care
  12. Affordable Housing
  13. Workforce Readiness
  14. Artificial Intelligence (A.I)

Please note this topic list is for the 2025-2026 Program year.

In our efforts to make the program model as closely as possible to the party politics forum, we consider a proposal that were passed in general assembly to have been already in place for the following Youth & Government year.

Banned topics are those topics as it relates to the proposals that were passed at the 2024 State Conference and. Those proposals are now “banned.” The goal is for students to avoid submitting proposal that are similar in topic or just modified in some way, in order to encourage new debate at conference.

The banned topics for High School and Middle School this year include:

  • Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation
  • THC
  • DEI
  • Mandates on Medical Procedures
  • 2nd Amendment Rights
  • School Vouchers
  • Menstrual Products

Middle School has additional “Banned” topics based on passed proposals from 2025 State conference:

  • Sexual Assault
  • Explicit Content/Material

Please DOWNLOAD BANNED TOPIC LIST HERE

Proposal # Proposal Author(s) Club/ District
15 Proposal requiring comprehensive training for foster parents in Texas to 40 by DFPS. John Bishop, Mitch Dauphinais Highland Park High School
26 The removal of minimum sentencing for nonviolent crimes and Texas ‘3 strike Law’. Mandatory community service.  Nandini Potturi Imagine International Academy High School
34 Protecting our inmates locally and keeping our jails safe; Committee review prison regulation & create reintegration programs.   Nathan Grado Uplift Summit High School
35 Addressing Youth Homelessness in Texas; Program HOPE Duante Grogan, Lavinya Roy, Riyan Taylor Woodrow Wilson Early College High School
37 Implementing the Groundwater Management Act in Texas to ensure the long-term availability of vital water supplies against drought Maisha Khan, Anh Tran, Areeba Shaikh Plano YMCA Branch Club
38 Texas Menstrual Aid Program (TMAP); for homeless & low-income individuals Maria Ochoa Bob Hope School
46 Cyber Security – Texas Business incorporation of AI model to protect against virtual attacks Samuel Feldman, Carsten Wu Imagine International Academy High School
55  Homeschooling Benefits and Protections Act; Annual Check-Ins & Restriction for families with social services investigations Kelsey Smith Duncanville High School
64 Regulating businesses attempting to sway political influence; Companies disclosing expenditures, including meeting with political officials. Isa Lininger Uplift Summit High School
78 Enhancing Maternal Education; Statewide accessible education program for expectant mothers.  Audrey Edwards Duncanville High School
79 Prison Reform & Animal shelter partnerships. Prisoner Adoption program.  Ruchi Gali, Shriya Iyengar Imagine International Academy High School
86 A proposal to increase womens inclusion in medical research prior to healthy standards being set. McKalen Beitsch, Natalie Koch Highland Park High School
Proposal # Proposal Author(s) Club/ District
5 Fraudulent Lottery Ticket Sales; AI recognition software/scanners to flaf and suspend fraud sales Samantha Gideon, Sumayya Khan Imagine International Academy Middle School
12 School Safety; Safety drills, safe rooms & Panic Buttons Saanvi Patel, Kyra Alexander Imagine International Academy Middle School
13 Child Abuse education requirements for teacher, doctors and social workers. Taylor Lee, Nyswini Ravi Imagine International Academy Middle School
16 To Strengthen Biometric Data Destruction Regulations and Legal Rights for Privacy and distruction of data at request Anya Nathan Plano YMCA Branch Club
31 Gambling Limits; establishing gambling safety in texas to eliminate illegal gambling rings Sri Valli Seeram Imagine International Academy Middle School
46 Political Literacy in Texas Public Schools; establish a civics curriculum starting in 5th grade  to increase political literacy. Yin Tsz Donna Chen Highland Park Middle School

Proposal Number:
This will be assigned by conference staff.

Author:
Participant Name, School/Delegation Name

Title:
Briefly state the basic action of the proposal.

Major Areas to be Affected:
List the key entities that would be impacted by this proposal.

Justification:
In paragraph form, tell why there is a need for your proposal. Include any supportive information, include statistics, quotes, et., you feel necessary. Don’t include all of your facts.

Proposal for action:
State your proposal. You may use outline form or paragraph form. This is the main part of your proposal and should be substantial enough to explain fully what you intend to do. You are not writing legislation, rather, a broad proposal.

Results to be Expected:
Simply state the result you expect to see after your proposal is put into action.

Open the template below that best works for you.

Proposal Template – Word Document

Proposal Template – Google Doc

Need an example of proposal click here to read the proposal that was awarded Outstanding Proposal at the 2024 YMCA Texas Youth and Government State Conference. Click here for more examples. These proposals that passed in General Assembly at the 2024 YMCA Texas Youth and Government State Conference. When writing your proposal please reminder that your proposal is required to be no longer than a page.

Chairperson and Clerks

Another opportunity for State Affairs Forum leadership is the committee team composed of a Chairperson and Clerk. These teams will be evaluated at the District Conferences. The highest ranked teams will be assigned to serve at the State Conference. Each delegation is require to send 1 chair clerk team for every 15 delegates coming to the state conference. If delegations are smaller than 15, the club are required to provide a chairperson or clerk .

Each member of the Chair/Clerk team must still prepare a proposal to be presented at the District Conference and at State Conference.

State Affairs Forum forms to familiarize yourself with

Committee Forms

Evaluation Forms

Want to see more about the State Affairs Section?