IPLE Mini and Model Congress

Need transportation costs covered for your IPLE Mini and Model Congress trips?  Look no further....The STATE HOUSE EXPRESS, a small grants program may be able to provide $300 grant awards in order to enhance civics education for middle and high school students in New Jersey.  The grants are designed to help pay for bus rental costs to take classes on a field trip to the State House in Trenton. 

Click here for Eligibility and Criteria

The Institute for Political and Legal Education Mini and Model Congress' provide a full   curriculum sequence to actively involve students in practicing Parliamentary procedure and debating strategies, as well as in researching and writing their own bills.   

IPLE MINI MODEL CONGRESS - A program for students in grades 6-8

IPLE MODEL CONGRESS - A two day, overnight program for students in grades 9-12

Goals For Students

Understand the process of forming and passing laws

• Learn the role of representatives in Congress
• Learn the use of parliamentary procedure and nurture debating ability
• Learn research skills and the process of examining more than one point of view
• Understand their role as a citizen in a representative government
• Develop the skills of communication by speaking and writing
• Develop self-confidence, self-awareness, and leadership skills
• Learn non-violent ways of resolving conflicting views

Party day

Each party's political platform is designed to appeal to the broadest possible population.  While the party has a particular point of view, its survival depends upon attaining massive social support; therefore, the platforms tend to be fairly stable from year to year.  However, over time, society changes and if the party is to survive, its platform must reflect these changes. A major examination of the party platform takes place at party conventions. Party Day simulates the party convention.  Select delegates from each school represent the party positions of their classmates in rewriting their party's platform and selecting party leaders. 

Each school may send a maximum of twenty students to Party Day.

OBJECTIVES

• To develop a Party Platform
• To select Party Leaders and Whips

PRIOR TO PARTY DAY

• Select the delegates who will be attending Party Day
• Choose a chairperson for each party who will chair the school's delegation meetings and cast the delegation vote
• Review the party platform in this year's manual and develop proposed changes for the delegates to introduce
• Consider goals each delegation wants to accomplish and how negotiations might be made to accomplish these goals.

Leadership Day

Leadership Day is the first day of a two-day process used to choose leaders for Model Congress.  Students who want to hold leadership positions (Overall Chairs and Committee Chairs) become members of a committee where Leadership Day bills are debated.  A panel of judges evaluate competitors on their debating and chairing skills with emphasis on effective use of parliamentary procedure.  Students who are chosen as leaders on Leadership Day are notified of their success and are asked to attend Caucus Day where final positions are decided.

Caucus Day

Caucus Day begins with a general assembly where the day's agenda is reviewed.  Following this meeting, party committees meet and begin the task of selecting targeted bills.  The remaining students select Overall leaders for Congress.  Candidates who are competing for Overall positions introduce themselves and chair debate on bills previously provided to participants.  When all candidates have had an opportunity to chair, students vote for four candidates.  The four candidates receiving the most votes become Overall Chairs.
Committee Chairs are assigned and given their Model Congress bills.  Chairs meet and determine their agendas.

Since Caucus Day is the one opportunity that all Model Congress leaders have to meet together before Congress, policy planning, agenda setting, and negotiations occur until the final General Assembly concludes for the day.

Objectives

• To have student leaders of Model Congress meet to plan for the Congress
• To have student leaders choose the Model Congress House and Senate Overall Leaders
• To assign (two) Committee Chairs to each Committee and have the Chairs set their agendas for Model Congress
• To give Party Committees an opportunity to select targeted bills
• To discuss overall Model Congress issues with leaders of the Congress