Unit 2

Law vs. Policy Laws are written by legislators Laws prohibit or require specific actions Policies are not created by the legislative branch A policy is an action or approach taken by the executive branch or by other organizations Policies are often written in response to, and as a result of, laws

Problem Tree Graphic organizer used to analyze the causes and effects of a social problem or issue Can help people decide what actions to take in response to a specific problem

Sample Trunk-problem being analyzed Leaves-consequences or effects of the problem Roots-underlying causes of the problem

What actions could be taken in response to the consequences and effects you listed on the tree?

Which of these actions do you think would best address the roots on the problem tree?

Think about it What actions from the list you generated involve the creation of a law or policy? What are some of the advantages of using laws to address a problem? What are some of the disadvantages? Can you think of other ways to respond to these social problems besides writing a law or policy?

GFSA of 1994 Federal education law that incorporates terms from the federal criminal code Stakeholder-an interested party (a person or group who is affected by a decision or action)

Think about it In what ways do you think the GFSA defines and addresses the problem on your problem tree? Does the law define the problem the same way the class defined the problem?

Legal Landscape Represents the different branches and different levels of government that are involved in making, enforcing, and interpreting the laws

Think about it How does the federal level of the legal landscape encourage the state and local levels to follow the GFSA? Federalism-the division of power in a government between a national government and regional governments

Tension between federal government and a state government States may consider that a particular federal law is unconstitutional Federal government is limited in what it can require state governments to do States are not required to follow the GFSA, but lose money if they choose not to follow it.

Discretionary Policies: When school officials or law enforcement officials are allowed to consider circumstances or to make exceptions when deciding how to respond Zero Tolerance: automatic penalties apply without regard to circumstances

Think of a time when you have formed a conclusion based on a few personal experiences….

Anecdotal Evidence-personal experiences Statistical Evidence-data that can be measured and that are used to support a conclusion Numbers may seem more reliable but can be manipulated to support different points of view Data can seem like factual evidence, however you need to know how it was gathered. Bias-presentation or interpretation of an event, fact, or argument from a particular perspective (lacks objectivity)

Ratio: Relationship between two or more variables in terms of their quantity, amount, or size Relative risk ratio: ratio of the likelihood (probability) that something will happen in a particular population to the probability of the same event happening in a different population (control) Corporal Punishment: physical punishment, such as spanking or hitting with a ruler Proportionality: mathematical relationship between quantities which, when divided, produce constant ratios

Handout 20 How is this bar graph structured or organized? What information do you find on the x and y axis? What conclusions might you draw from this graph? What specific evidence leads you to draw these conclusions? What other information might be helpful to know when looking at this graph?

Handout 22: Part 2 Do the quotations support or challenge the data we analyzed? Why? Do the quotations raise questions for you? Why?