Charlie Kirk trophy and $50K scholarship to go to the winner of Florida’s Speech and Debate Championships
New College debate prize named after Charlie Kirk
On Monday, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis praised the state’s initiative to elevate civics education and announced that the winner of the state’s national speech and debate championship will receive a Charlie Kirk trophy and a $50,000 scholarship. FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports.
SARASOTA, Fla. - On Monday, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis praised the state’s initiative to elevate civics education and announced that the winner of the state’s national speech and debate championship will receive a Charlie Kirk trophy and a $50,000 scholarship.
The backstory:
DeSantis said his administration made a strong effort to reinvigorate civic education in Florida.
He claimed that it became a lost art across the country.
"A lot of times, people are graduating with no sense of what it means to be an American. No foundation about the principles about what makes the country great," DeSantis claimed.
The governor said Florida created a civics seal of excellence program, which is 50 hours of instruction for teachers.
Teachers who complete the course get a $3,000 bonus.
DeSantis said they learn what America’s founding fathers did so they can inspire students.
By the numbers:
He said the biggest thing Florida did, however, was reinvigorated speech and debate. DeSantis claimed that only about 5-10 counties out of 67 had speech and debate programs. Now, all 67 counties have speech and debate programs.
"It’s really become a lost art in many of our K-12 systems across the country," the governor said.
DeSantis said it creates critical thinking because sometimes you may have to defend a position that is different from what you believe.
The governor cautioned against children using AI and touted that Florida doesn’t allow phones in the classroom.
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"We’re doing it right by making people think for themselves," DeSantis shared. "By making them pay attention with technology-free instruction, no distractions."
Since Florida began its civic and debate initiative, DeSantis said there have been more than 330 new speech and debate teams in 67 counties with more than 4,200 student competitors participating.
Charlie Kirk Speech and Debate prize
Dig deeper:
On Monday, DeSantis announced that the prize for winning the Speech and Debate Championship will be named in honor of Charlie Kirk.
The winner will also get a $50,000 scholarship. The runner-up will receive a $25,000 scholarship, the semi-finalist will receive a $15,000 scholarship and the four quarter-finalists will receive a $10,000 scholarship.
READ: Charlie Kirk could be placed on US currency under new House GOP proposal
DeSantis said the winners can use those scholarships at any school in the country. Both the winner and the runner-up will receive invitations to attend the National Ronald Reagan Debate in California.
"Maybe you will get out of your comfort zone and question your own assumptions and maybe see things a little bit differently. There’s a lot of value in critical thinking," said Governor DeSantis.
The governor also announced a partnership with Turning Point to ensure that anybody in high school that wants to start a Club America chapter will be able to do so.
"The moment we turn a blind eye, and we turn objective against each other just because the way of our views, we silence people, and it’s heartbreaking," said William Thompson of North Port High School.
A number of students from Club America chapters sponsored by Turning Point USA were in attendance.
The students said despite political differences and views, like our founding fathers, everyone should have the right to free debate.
"Debate is so important in this country, challenging your beliefs and thinking critically is something so important because without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Our country wouldn’t be this amazing republic, democracy we are today," said Victor Redondo.
How Florida is commemorating America 250
He also highlighted what Florida is doing to commemorate America 250. July 2026 will mark 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed.
DeSantis said a giant George Washington statue now sits in the state Capitol in Tallahassee. He said a Thomas Jefferson statue now sits in Jefferson County and a Ben Franklin statue sits in Franklin County. DeSantis said he is working to get a Hamilton statue for Hamilton County and one for Madison and Monroe Counties.
RELATED: George Washington statue on display in Florida Capitol Building
"These people around the country have revolted, definitely the woke left, revolted against America’s history, so they’ve been taking down statues of the founding fathers. We’re putting them up and we’re proud to do that," DeSantis declared.
The governor also said that several of Florida’s schools, including New College of Florida, Florida State University, Florida International University and the University of West Florida, received grants worth more than $1M from the U.S. Department of Education to commemorate America 250.
Gov. DeSantis at New College of Florida
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis touted the state's civics initiative and announced that the winner of Florida's Speech and Debate Championship will receive a trophy named in honor of Charlie Kirk and a $50,000 scholarship.
What's next:
The 2026 Speech and Debate Championships will be held on April 5 at New College of Florida.
The Source: This article was written based on information presented at Governor Ron DeSantis' press conference at New College of Florida.