Full Session
The culminating event of the semester is the Full Legislative Session.
The elected leadership is completely in charge of establishing the agenda and running the Full Session from start to finish. The Speaker of the House controls the floor debate with the help of the Majority and Minority Floor Leaders. Bill sponsors give carefully prepared and rehearsed speeches, and there are also opportunities for impassioned appeals, improvised responses, and rebuttals. Students are constrained by the rules of parliamentary procedure and are kept in order by the Speaker at all times. The level of intense focus is palpable as hundreds of students listen with full attention to the arguments and reasoning of their peers, and decide how to vote on bills that describe the way they want to live together.
Schools typically devote two days to the Full Session. This Wisconsin Eye video is a montage of the day from Middleton High School in Wisconsin.
View a full two hour video of an entire day devoted to the Full Session Day here
In this Wisconsin Eye interview two students describe their reasoning and drive to provide floor speeches for HB 35, a bill to Reform Detention Centers. While both students are Democrats, they have different opinions on the issue and eloquently explain their analysis as well as their appreciation for Legislative Semester.