WASHINGTON, DC – The Congressional App Challenge is underway for students in middle and high school. U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) invites eligible students in southern and eastern Kentucky to participate in the nationwide coding challenge. The deadline to enter is October 30, 2025. 

A winning mobile application will be chosen from each Congressional District. The winning student team will be invited to Washington, DC for a national reception during the 2026 #Houseofcode. The winning teams display their work in the U.S. Capitol Building, and the apps will be featured on house.gov and the official challenge website.

“Over the last few years, students from our region have developed innovative mobile apps for things like tourism in their hometowns, mental health resources, robotics, and much more. This challenge is an opportunity for our students to show off their coding skills alongside students from other states,” said Congressman Rogers, Dean of the House. “Our students always perform with excellence when given new opportunities like this, and I’m excited to see the mobile apps that they have created this year.” 

Last year, students from Barbourville Independent High School won the challenge for Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, with their tourism app called “Downtown Barbourville.” They had the opportunity to show off their app in the Capitol Visitors Center for Members of Congress and visitors on Capitol Hill to see. 

Students can enter their own individual app creation or enter as a team of up to four students. The app must demonstrate some degree of functionality to be competitive. Students must also submit a short demonstration video to explain the purpose of the app, the tools and coding used to create it, and showcase the functionality. 

The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, encouraging students in middle and high school to learn to code, and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. More than 12,600 students from across the country participated in the challenge last year, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. 

For more information about participating in the competition visit halrogers.house.gov or click here.

Click here to register for the Congressional App Challenge.

Click here to read the rules for the Congressional App Challenge.

Click here to learn to code.