Evaluate how government branches make, implement, and interpret policy. Assess local, state, and national policy-making processes and outcomes. **Why This Matters:** Understanding how policy is made helps students see how government decisions affect their lives and how they can influence those decisions. **Examples:** - **Making Policy (Legislative):** Students trace how a bill becomes law, from introduction through committee hearings, floor votes, and executive approval. They study real examples like Pennsylvania's Act 35 (civics assessment requirement) or federal laws like the Affordable Care Act. They analyze how compromise, negotiation, and party politics shape legislation. - **Implementing Policy (Executive):** Students examine how executive agencies create regulations to implement laws. For example, when Congress passes an environmental law, the EPA creates specific regulations. They study how agencies interpret laws and how this interpretation can change with different administrations. - **Interpreting Policy (Judicial):** Students analyze how courts interpret laws and determine their constitutionality. They study how Supreme Court decisions can effectively change policy, like when the Court interprets a law broadly or narrowly, or when it strikes down laws as unconstitutional. **Policy-Making at Different Levels:** - **Local:** School board decisions about curriculum, city council decisions about zoning - **State:** Pennsylvania's education standards, environmental regulations, tax policy - **National:** Federal laws on immigration, healthcare, defense **Real-World Application:** When students encounter a policy issue they care about—whether it's climate change, education, healthcare, or civil rights—they understand how to influence policy at the appropriate level. They know whether to contact their school board, state representative, or member of Congress, and they understand how the policy-making process works at that level.
Structure, organization, and operation of government at all levels. Students analyze structure, organization, and operation of local, state, and national governments; evaluate elements of election process (campaigns, nominations, elections); analyze roles of political parties, interest groups, and mass media; evaluate how government branches make, implement, and interpret policy; assess local, state, and national policy-making. **Examples:** Students examine how a local school board decision differs from a state education policy, which differs from federal education law. They analyze how a bill becomes law at each level, studying real examples like Pennsylvania's Act 35 (civics assessment requirement). They study how political parties organize around platforms, how interest groups lobby for specific policies, and how media coverage influences public opinion and policy outcomes.
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