Bringing a Law to LifeUnit 2

Law vs. PolicyLaws are written by legislatorsLaws prohibit or require specific actionsPolicies are not created by the legislative

branchA policy is an action or approach taken by the

executive branch or by other organizationsPolicies are often written in response to, and

as a result of, laws

Problem TreeGraphic organizer used to analyze the causes

and effects of a social problem or issueCan 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 itWhat 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 1994Federal education law that incorporates

terms from the federal criminal codeStakeholder-an interested party (a person or

group who is affected by a decision or action)

Think about itIn 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 itHow 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 experiencesStatistical 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 20How 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 2Do the quotations support or challenge the

data we analyzed? Why?Do the quotations raise questions for you?

Why?