l.d. bell also features a vibrant speech and debate program that was revitalized in 1995. the speech and debate organization at the school had been largely non-competitive since the early 1980s. the team has competed in lincoln-douglas debates and several speech events at competitions run by the texas forensics association, national forensics league, and uil. the mock trial team at l.d. bell advanced to the mock trial state competition in 2013, 2014, and 2015.