PUBPOL 4960 - State Policy and Advocacy Clinic I

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Enrollment limited to: third-year and fourth-year students. Co-meets with PUBPOL 5960.

A. Dufresne.

We will learn how to design and advocate for specific state-level public policies by practicing these skills before the legislative and administrative branches of the State of New York. In consultation with the professor, student teams will design public policy proposals based on a review of the academic, governmental and think tank literature; conversations with subject matter experts at Cornell and various NGOs; research and analysis of similar proposals in other states and countries; conversations with state and local policymakers; and discussions with community members and organizations, including community partners with lived experience. Although we will engage in policy design and advocacy primarily in New York State, we will also provide research and policy design services to stakeholders in other states, especially when a comparative or multi-state approach offers strategic benefits.

Outcome 1: Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices. Build a theoretical and practical understanding of legislative and administrative process in New York and other states.

Outcome 2: Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices.

Outcome 3: Develop the legal research and reasoning skills needed to engage in comparative state policy analysis; develop a basic understanding of state and federal constitutional constraints on legislative and administrative decision-making.

Outcome 4: Develop the policy research, design and reasoning skills needed to design and evaluate various policy alternatives. Gain an introduction to basic legislative or regulatory drafting skills.

Outcome 5: Design, in teams, a creative, compelling, and politically viable state legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing public policy challenge, based on a review of the academic, government and think tank literature, comparative state and country policy research, discussions with subject matter experts, and conversations with community partners and leaders, including community members with lived experience.