Government 2306

Introduction

This activity is an opportunity for you to closely examine a contemporary policy issue facing the state of Texas. Over its history, the Texas government has had many conflicts with the national government as part of the dynamics under a federal system of governance. These disputes have heated up in recent years, and include immigration policy, education policy, environmental policy, social welfare policy and many others issues. Select one of personal interest and objectively outline the nature of the dispute. This will allow you to work towards finding a solution. Take into consideration constitutional disputes as well as political, economic and cultural differences. Look at the history underlying the dispute, how it is playing out within the governing institutions, and how you think the issue may be resolved, assuming that is possible. Completing this activity is a mandatory component of this course. It serves as the standard course assessment for all GOVT 2306 students. Failure to submit this project in its entirety will result in a failing grade for the course.

There are three steps to completing this project.

Step 1: Identify the issue and how both the US government and Texas government have been currently addressing it (historical perspective).

Step 2: Gather a minimum of three scholarly research articles and additional news/current events relevant to the topic.

Step 3: Submit a proposal to the Texas Policy Proposal dropbox by the date specified in the course calendar. This is not an outline. Consider it a rough draft of your final project. Identify your topic, discuss briefly the current situation and your proposal for improvement and present a bibliography listing the 3 primary sources. The purpose of the Proposal is to provide enough detail so that I can give you suggestions for your final project. This portion of the assignment is worth 40 points. If it is not submitted, the activity will be considered incomplete.

Step 4: Prepare a formal policy report that is a minimum of 1000 words (excluding cited text), which includes a discussion of the following:  A statement of the current policy  Reasons for initiating changes  Policy options to be considered  Pros and cons of each option  Recommended course of action  Reasoning for selecting that course of action

The grading standards used to assess the quality of your work for this policy paper will be detailed in a grading rubric, which will be provided during the semester. It is strongly suggested that you use the library database at the start of the semester to begin researching a topic. This assignment requires carefully planning throughout the semester. Refer to the course calendar for the specific due date. The final draft is to be submitted via the submission guidelines identified by the instructor.