DOWNLOADABLE RULES PDF

Rules for the 2026 Regional Texas Citizen Bee Competition

WHAT IS THE TEXAS CITIZEN BEE?

The Texas Citizen Bee is a statewide civic education program and competition. Regional competitions take place in each educational resource center region and winning students advance to the state competition.  The Sumners Foundation and the Law-Related Education Department of the State Bar of Texas sponsor this program.

ELIGIBILITY

All students in grades 9–12 are eligible to participate.  Students must compete in the Regional Contest corresponding to the region where their school is located.

WHAT DOES THE COMPETITION LOOK LIKE?

Students take a 35-question multiple-choice test covering content from the categories below and then answer one question verbally from each of the following categories. 

    ●  The Constitution
    ●  Documents and Supreme Court Cases
    ●  People/Events
    ●  Civic Values and Skills–Only tested in the written portion of the contest
    ●  Current Events–Topics and range of dates are listed below. This will only be tested in the written portion of the contest.

Students prepare for all levels of competition by utilizing The Texas Citizen Bee Competition Guide,  www.citizenbee.org.

CURRENT EVENTS

Citizen Bee questions in the Current Events category will be based on several sources. There are no Competition Guide entries for this category. The time frame for this year’s current events will be September 1, 2025, to January 15th, 2026. 

For the Current Events portion of Citizen Bee, study the following:

  • National news stories 
  • International news stories 
  • Texas news stories
  • Major actions of Congress 
  • Newsworthy stories related to the President of the United States
  • National and Texas elections and politics 
  • Major issues before the Supreme Court in their 2024-25 and 2025-26 terms

Technology requirements to participate:

  • The written test will be conducted using Google Forms. If the written competition is in-person, students will need access to a device (such as a phone, tablet, or laptop) to take the assessment. If the written competition is virtual, students will need a device (a tablet or laptop) that can access Google and Zoom simultaneously.  Phones will not do this.
  • The regional coordinator will determine the type of technology needed for the verbal rounds. 
  • If a contestant has an issue with these requirements, please contact the regional coordinator for assistance.

General Rules:

  1. Each region will determine the competition’s virtual and/or face-to-face components and communicate this to each sponsor and student. * Specific rules will be sent to registered teachers and contestants based on the type of contest the Regional Coordinator is holding.

 

  1. If any part of the competition is virtual, each student will need an independent adult actively monitoring and visible behind them on camera during the competition.  A teacher may serve as a monitor for one or more students, provided they are visible.  The location where the student competes must be secure, such as a school or library, but not a personal home.  Home-schooled students must find a secure location with an independent monitor for all virtual competitions.  
  2. No reference material or electronic retrieval systems may be used during the written and verbal rounds of the competition.
  3. The Written Test includes 35 multiple-choice questions from the competition categories and current events. Students have 20 minutes to complete it. The TEN students scoring the highest on the written test will advance to the verbal rounds.
  4. The Verbal Question Rounds will require each student to answer one question from each of the following categories:
  • People/Events
  • Documents and Court Cases 
  • Constitution 

Students will be able to see the question they are to answer. They have 45 seconds to answer. After 35 seconds, a ten-second warning will be given.  

The judges will rule on the answer and base their ruling on a student’s first response at the end of the time or when a student answers.    The head judge will raise a Correct sign to indicate a correct answer or an Incorrect sign to indicate an incorrect answer. 

If a student responds “I don’t know” but then answers the question,  the “I don’t know,” will be considered the first response and the student’s answer. The student should refrain from narrating before giving their answer. The judges cannot ask students to repeat, clarify, or elaborate on answers. 

If the moderator asks a student to give a person’s name, they must provide the full name as it is listed in the Citizen Bee Study Guide.  Examples from the website include the following:  if the correct answer is “John Quincy Adams,” “Adams” or “John Adams” would both be incorrect; if the answer is “John F. Kennedy,” “JFK” or “Kennedy” would not be correct. Be sure to include any initials listed in the person’s name as shown in the Study Guide. In the verbal round, students will not be asked to name a Supreme Court case, but they may be asked questions about its content.  

  • Appeal Procedure for the Verbal Question Round 

When the judges have rendered their decision, the student is allowed to appeal.  Only a contestant may appeal to an answer he or she has given. Notice of an appeal must be stated immediately after the judges decide on a question and before the next question begins. If a student wishes to appeal, he/she should state the intention and reason for an appeal immediately following the judge’s decision. The judges will then take a brief timeout to discuss the appeal and render the decision, which will be explained to the student, along with the reasoning.   As soon as the appeal is decided, the next question will begin.   

7. Tiebreakers for the Competition— The contest coordinator will use the following procedures in case a tie in either the written or oral competition:

     WRITTEN Test Round

  • Step 1–Review the scores of the Constitution section to see if one student scored higher. If the tie remains, proceed to Step 2.
  • Step 2–Review the scores of the Documents and Supreme Court Case section to see if one student scored higher. If the tie remains, proceed to Step 3.
  • Step 3–Review the scores of the People, Events, Civic Values and Skills section to see if one student scored higher. If the tie remains, proceed to Step 4.
  • Step 4–Review the scores of the Current Events sections to see if one student scored higher. If the tie remains, the students that are tied will advance to the Oral Competition.

     VERBAL Question Round

  • Step 1—Overall Written – The student with the higher score in the overall written component is declared the winner. If the tie remains, proceed to Step 2.
  • Step 2—Constitution Section -The student with the higher score in the Constitution section of the written component is declared the winner. If a tie remains, the judges proceed to Step 3.
  • Step 3—Documents and Supreme Court Cases Section – The student with the higher score in the Documents and Supreme Court cases section of the written component is declared the winner. If a tie remains, the judges proceed to Step 4.
  • Step 4—People/Event Section -The student with the higher score in the People/Event section of the written component is declared the winner.

In case of a tie for 1st through 3rd places after the four steps listed above the students who are tied will be notified to break the tie with a head to head questioning session from the three categories in the verbal  question round.

Disqualification — If, at any point, a student is disruptive, exhibits unsportsmanlike conduct, or is coached in any way the student is immediately disqualified from the competition.

Regional Awards

1st Place–  $250 gift card–Qualifies for the State Citizen Bee Competition

2nd Place– $100 gift card

3rd Place–  $50 gift card