future business educator
Future Business Educator gives competitors the opportunity to explore a career in business education by demonstrating their knowledge, instructional planning, and presentation skills. This event includes a pre-judged asset and a live presentation focused on teaching concepts relevant to the field.
Event Overview
Division: High School
Event Type: Individual
Event Category: Presentation
Event Elements: Pre-judged Lesson Plan and Presentation
Pre-judged Component: Lesson Plan due by date specified in the State Conference registration packet
Presentation Time: 3-minute set-up, 7-minute presentation time, 3-minute question & answer time
Career Cluster Framework Connection: Education
NACE Competency Alignment: Career & Self-Development, Critical Thinking, Communication, Leadership, Professionalism, Technology
Items Provided by Competitors: Technology, presentation items, copy of lesson plan for both the preliminary and final round presentation—if you wish to use them, Photo Identification, Conference-provided nametag, Attire that meets the FBLA Dress Code
Items Provided by FBLA: Table for presentation
District
Check with your District leadership for District-specific competition information.
State
Eligibility
· FBLA membership dues are paid by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on December 1 (or earlier date specified by District Director) of the current program year.
· Members may compete in an event at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) more than once if they have not previously placed in the top ten of that event at the National Leadership Conference (NLC). If a member places in the top ten of an event at NLC, they are no longer eligible to compete in that event.
· Members must be registered for the SLC and pay the state conference registration fee in order to participate in competitive events.
· Members must stay within the official FBLA housing block of the official FBLA hotel in order to compete.
· Each district may be represented by participant(s) based on the Florida FBLA scaled quota system found on the Florida FBLA website.
· Each competitor can only compete in one individual/team event and one chapter event (Community Service Project, Local Chapter Annual Business Report).
· Identification: Competitors must present valid photo identification (physical) that matches the name on their conference name badge. Acceptable forms include a driver’s license, passport, state-issued ID, or school ID.
· Only competitors are allowed to plan, research, prepare their pre-judged component. They must also set up their presentation by themselves.
· Each competitor must compete in all parts of an event for award eligibility.
· If competitors are late for a presentation time, they may be disqualified or placed later in the schedule. The decision is solely up to the judges.
· Participants must adhere to the Florida FBLA dress code established by the Florida Board of Directors or they will not be permitted to participate in the competitive event.
Recognition
· The number of competitors will determine the number of winners. The maximum number of winners for each competitive event is 5.
2025-26 Topic
Teach the Future of Business
Choose a business-related topic related to one of the following Career Cluster Framework areas and develop a creative, engaging lesson plan to teach that topic. Your lesson should demonstrate your knowledge of the subject, your ability to plan instruction, and your passion for educating future business leaders.
· Arts, Entertainment, & Design
· Hospitality, Events, & Tourism
· Financial Services
· Public Service & Safety
· Digital Technology
· Marketing & Sales
· Management & Entrepreneurship
Create a lesson plan to make your chosen topic interesting and meaningful for students in a real classroom setting.
Judges will play the role as middle school or secondary students. Competitors will select one part of their lesson plan to teach to the judges during the presentation. Judge interaction is allowed throughout the lesson plan as directed by the competitor; however, judges will ask questions about the lesson and presentation during the 3-minute question and answer time.
Event Administration
· This event has three phases: pre-judged, preliminary presentation, and final presentation
· Pre-judged Materials – The Lesson Plan
o Submission Deadline: A PDF of the lesson plan must be uploaded in the conference registration system by date specified in the State Conference registration packet.
o The lesson plan should not be more than three pages long and formatted to fit standard 8.5” x 11” paper.
o Competitors must use the provided lesson plan template, found on the last page of these guidelines. While the format may be retyped or adjusted, all original components must be included. The lesson plan should be designed to cover a full class period.
o Restricted Items: Links and QR codes cannot be included in the lesson plan.
o Competitors must prepare lesson plans. Advisers and others are not permitted to assist. All content must be original and created specifically for this competition.
o Assets must be new, original work and may not have been submitted at any previous National Leadership Conference.
o Note: The lesson plan does not need to follow the FBLA Production Test Reference Guide, formerly known as the FBLA Format Guide.
o Assets will be judged prior to the State Leadership Conference (SLC).
o Pre-judged assets will not be returned. All submitted projects become the property of FBLA and may be published or reproduced for promotional purposes.
o Information must be supported by credible, well-documented sources.
o Any use of copyrighted material, images, logos, or trademarks must be properly documented.
· Preliminary Presentation – The Lesson
o Equipment Set-up Time: 3 minutes
o Presentation Time: 7 minutes (one-minute warning)
o Question & Answer Time: 3 minutes
o Important: Time allocations are exclusive. The presentation must begin immediately after the 3-minute set-up time concludes. Time may not be shifted between segments. Competitors will not interact with judges during the set-up period.
o Internet Access: Not provided
o The presentation occur in person at the SLC. Preliminary presentations are not open to conference attendees.
o Competitors are randomly assigned to sections.
o Technology
· Internet Access: Not Provided
· Presentations must be delivered using one or two personal devices (laptop, tablet, mobile phone, interactive whiteboard, or monitor approximately laptop-sized).
· If using two devices, one must face the judges and the other must face the presenters.
· Projectors and projector screens are not permitted, and competitors may not bring their own.
· Wireless slide advancers (e.g., presentation clickers or mice) are allowed.
· External speakers are not allowed; audio must come directly from the presenting device(s).
· Electricity will not be available.
o Pre-judged assets, visual aids, samples, notes, and other physical materials related to the project may be used.
o Items may be placed on the provided table or on the judges table, if space allows.
o No items may be left with the judges following the presentation.
o Restricted Items: Animals (except authorized service animals), Food (for display only; may not be consumed by judges during the presentation), Links and QR codes (for display only; cannot be clicked or scanned by judges before, during, or after the presentation)
o Information must be supported by credible, well-documented sources.
o Any use of copyrighted material, images, logos, or trademarks must be properly documented.
o Event Specific Information: Competitors should incorporate the following aspects in response to the topic
· Judges will play the role as middle school or secondary students. Competitors will select one part of their lesson plan to teach to the judges during the presentation.
· Demonstrate Subject Mastery: Show deep understanding of the business education topic through accurate, thorough content and clear communication.
· Align Materials to Objectives: Ensure all instructional materials support the stated lesson goals and consider diverse learning needs and styles.
· Design Engaging Learning Activities: Incorporate creative, hands-on activities that motivate students and allow them to actively demonstrate their understanding.
· Organize a Professional Lesson Plan: Present a well-structured, creative, and visually polished lesson plan that is both interesting and appropriate for a classroom setting.
· Final Presentation – The Lesson
o Equipment Set-up Time: 3 minutes
o Presentation Time: 7 minutes (one-minute warning)
o Question & Answer Time: 3 minutes
o Note: Each time segment is exclusive. Once the 3-minute set-up period ends, the 7-minute presentation time begins automatically. Competitors may not shift time between segments. Competitors will not interact with judges during the set-up period.
o Internet Access: Not provided
o An equal number of competitors from each section in the preliminary round will advance to the final round. If there are no more than 15 competitors, the final presentation will be eliminated.
o All other guidelines from the preliminary round will apply.
Scoring
· The pre-judged score will be added to the preliminary presentation score to determine the finalists or winners if a final round is not needed.
· The final presentation score determines the top winners.
· The lesson plan score will be used to break a tie.
· All judging decisions are final. Results announced at the State Leadership Conference are considered official and will not be changed after the conclusion of the State Leadership Conference.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
· FBLA complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing reasonable accommodations for competitors. Accommodation requests must be submitted through the conference registration system by the official registration deadline. All requests will be reviewed, and additional documentation may be required to determine eligibility and appropriate support.
Recording of Presentations
· No unauthorized audio or video recording devices will be allowed in any competitive event.
· Competitors in the events should be aware FBLA reserves the right to record any presentation for use in study or training materials.
Penalty Points
· Competitors may be disqualified if they violate the Competitive Event Guidelines or the Honor Code.
National
If you are competing on the National level, be sure to see the National guidelines at https://www.fbla.org/divisions/fbla/fbla-competitive-events/