Engaging State Policy: From the Streets to the Statutes

Shifts in federal priorities have demonstrated how deeply interconnected federal policies are with state, local, nonprofit, and community-level programs and policies. Federal changes to funding restrictions, budget cuts, and grant allocations impact state policy and, in turn, our communities. This course will take us on a journey through the legislative gauntlet and act as a manual for social change at the state level. We will conduct several on site legislative observations with guided field trips to the legislature to watch advocates and lawmakers in action. You’ll learn to decode the policy process and see how even a single voice can tip the scale of a statewide vote. Unlike the general nature of a city council meeting, state committees are highly specialized (Agriculture, Judiciary, Transportation, Education, etc.). Students will have the opportunity to pick a "beat" to follow throughout the term. 

This course will teach tools that will help expand your capacity for socially conscious thought, public debate, policy making, and civic action. We will achieve these goals by observing and researching public decision-making in real time, seminars, lectures, workshops, guest speakers, videos, and podcasts. After this course, students will be better prepared for professional roles in local and state government, policy analysis, and public service leadership. This program centralizes community leadership as the starting point for shaping civil society, building community, and engaging with policy on the state level. Students will build a definition for community leadership that recognizes the close interface between the role of public servants as agents of policy implementation and the role of citizens as active stewards of the public good. 

Note: This course is the second course in a consecutive series after taking “Engaging Local and Community Policy: Street Level Democracy” in Fall 2026. You can still take this course if you did not take the first course, but you should connect with the instructor for a brief conversation before the class begins to ensure you are ready.    

This class meets in person Mondays all term from 5:30-8:20pm. In addition to attending class each week, one hour of learning each week is conducted asynchronously -- i.e., scheduled on your own each week. This asynchronous learning consists of Canvas modules (including recorded lectures, film, individual research, workshops, and discussion board assignments) as well as an independent project that will involve additional field observations in state and local government settings. 

Field trips cannot be scheduled until the session calendar is released, but there will be a few that take place outside of class time in the afternoons. There will be alternatives for students who cannot attend field trips during the day.

 Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

4 - Public Policy