Congressional App Challenge

Each year, I have the honor of hosting a district-wide Congressional App Challenge (CAC) for middle school and high school students.  This competition encourages participants to learn to code and looks to inspire them to pursue careers in computer science.

Students across TX-24 can create and submit their original apps for a chance to win the Congressional App Challenge (CAC).  Each challenge is district-specific.  I will publicly recognize our winning teams and each winning app will be digitally displayed in the United States Capitol Building for one year.  To find your federal Representative, please click here.

Eligibility and Age Division

  • Participants must be a middle or high school student by the time the competition ends on October 24th, 2024 at 11 AM CT;
  • Students may register as individuals or as teams of up to four. No more than 4 students are allowed to form a team;
  • Students may compete in the district they reside in or the district they attend school in;
  • If competing as a team, at least two of the teammates must be eligible to compete in the district in which they are participating in.

App Parameters

  • Topic: The app can be about any topic.
  • Platform: The app can be on any platform (web app, desktop/PC app, a web browser extension, robot, Ruby on Rails, mobile, etc.)
  • Programming Language: Use any programming language: C/C++, Objective C, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Swift, “block code”, etc.
  • Functionality: The app must have some degree of functionality to be competitive.
  • Content Suitability: The app cannot be indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, demonstrate a lack of respect for public morals or conduct, adversely affect the reputation of Congressional districts, or depict hatred, defame, or threaten a specific community in the society or incite violence. Pornography, obscenity or sexual activity are prohibited. The app must not violate the Intellectual Property, common law or privacy rights of other parties.
  • Originality: The app must be original and solely owned by the Contestant such that no other party has any rights or interest, whether known or unknown.

Note: Students may submit apps they created prior to the Challenge, as long as their apps meet the standards of eligibility, and were created within one year of the previous year's submission deadline (e.g. any time after November 1, 2023).

To register for the 2024 competition, please click here and follow the instructions provided. 

The winning app for this Congressional District is eligible to be displayed in the United States Capitol and featured on the House of Representatives website. Winning students will also be invited to the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception in Washington, D.C.

If you would like more information on the Congressional App Challenge please review the complete rulebook here.

If you have questions regarding the Congressional App Challenge, please contact  Rachel Garcia.