Civic Seal Units · Unit 5
The Legislative Research Project
Civic Knowledge: the research behind a serious bill
Civic Seal Units · Unit 5
The Legislative Research Project
The research behind a serious bill
Grades 10 to 12 · 6 weeks, one 45-minute class or delegation meeting per week plus independent research and writing
Teacher note. Handouts: 1. Research Question Builder; 2. Primary Source Finder for State Law; 3. Comparative Jurisdiction Table; 4. Fiscal Analysis Worksheet; 5. Research Paper Outline and Rubric; plus the Memorandum of Support template from Unit 2. This is individual work: a bill team may share a topic, but each member writes a separate paper on a different research question.
You will be able to
- Turn a policy issue into a research question a paper can answer.
- Find and read primary legal sources: the statute, the bill, the sponsor's memorandum and the votes.
- Compare how at least three other states or jurisdictions handle the same issue.
- Analyze fiscal impact with real budget figures and stated assumptions.
- Write a documented research paper and distill it into a memorandum of support.
About Seal credit
This project may count toward the Seal of Civic Readiness. Your school or district decides.
Get your topic and format approved in Week 1.
Teacher note. New York: it may count toward the Research Project option in the Civic Knowledge column if the School Civic Readiness Committee approves it; confirm the committee's own length and format expectations before Week 1. Connecticut: it can serve as portfolio evidence of civics proficiency; the State Department of Education sets the criteria and districts decide whether to offer the seal. Rhode Island: it can strengthen a civics project it accompanies; the district confirms.
What you will produce
- A research paper of 2,000 to 3,000 words
- At least eight sources, four of them primary or governmental
- A two-page memorandum of support for a bill
Teacher note. Students also doing Unit 1 or Unit 2 use the same issue, so the paper becomes the evidence base for their bill.
Week 1 · 45 min
From Issue to Question
- Why research comes first10 min
- Research Question Builder25 min
- Submit for approval10 min
Why research comes first
Every claim in a sponsor's memorandum is sourced. A bill is only as strong as its memorandum.
Teacher note. Show a real sponsor's memorandum from the state legislature and point to the source behind each claim.
Research Question Builder
From topic to question
Topic: school start times
Issue: state law leaves start times to districts and most start before 8:00
Research question: What have states that set a minimum high school start time seen in attendance and cost, and would a similar law work in our state?
Teacher note. Walk this model before students start their own builder.
Build your question
Move from a topic, to an issue, to a question evidence can answer.
- Topic: one or two words
- Issue: one sentence with a fact in it
- Question: answerable with evidence and points to a policy choice
- What you need to find: the law, history, other states, costs, people affected
Submit for approval
Submit your research question and proposed format to the Seal Committee.
Teacher note. Format includes paper length and citation style. The builder has a line for the committee's approval date and signature.
Week 2 · 45 min
Primary Legal Sources
- Finder walk-through15 min
- Reading the law25 min
- Citation set-up5 min
Finder walk-through
Find the statute, the bill that created or last amended it, the sponsor's memorandum, and the vote.
Teacher note. Model it live on a legislative website using the Primary Source Finder.
Primary Source Finder
- The statute: chapter, article, section and official citation
- The bill that enacted or amended it: search the bill number and year
- The sponsor's memorandum or bill analysis
- The vote: committee and floor votes on the bill page
- The fiscal note
- Court decisions that interpret the section
Teacher note. New York bills carry a sponsor's memo with a fiscal implications statement. Connecticut's Office of Legislative Research produces a bill analysis and the Office of Fiscal Analysis a fiscal note. Rhode Island bills carry an explanation by the Legislative Council, and fiscal notes are provided on request. For court decisions, search the statute citation in a case law database.
Reading the law
Read your section and the sponsor's memorandum. Write a one-page brief.
- What the law requires
- Why the sponsor said it was needed
- What has changed since
- What questions the memorandum did not answer
Citation set-up
Start your bibliography. Primary sources go first.
Teacher note. The citation style is the school's choice.
Week 3 · 45 min
Comparative Research
- Credible sources10 min
- Comparative Jurisdiction Table30 min
- Thesis draft5 min
What counts as a credible source?
Use these
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- State legislative research offices
- State agencies
- University research centers
- Major newspapers
- Peer-reviewed journals
Not a source
- An advocacy group's claim without data
- A social post
- An AI summary
Teacher note. 10 minutes. Ask students why each item on the right fails before you explain.
Comparative Jurisdiction Table
Find at least three other states or jurisdictions that address your issue.
- Law: citation and year
- Key provision
- Reported result, with figures
- Source and a reliability note
Teacher note. Have students note where results conflict. Conflicting results belong in the paper, not in the trash.
Thesis draft
Write one sentence that answers your research question.
Week 4 · 45 min
Fiscal Analysis
- Reading a budget15 min
- Fiscal Analysis Worksheet25 min
- Outline check5 min
Reading a budget
Find the state or local budget line that funds this area now.
Teacher note. Show where a fiscal note on a bill comes from.
Fiscal Analysis Worksheet
- Who pays for this now: budget line, amount, source
- What the proposal would cost or save per year
- The assumptions behind the estimate
- What another jurisdiction's fiscal note said
- Who would bear the cost, and what would change the estimate most
The fiscal rule
Every number gets a source. Every estimate gets its assumptions stated.
Teacher note. Assumptions include unit cost, number of people affected, and phase-in.
Outline check
Map your evidence to the paper outline.
Week 5 · 45 min
Write
- The outline10 min
- Draft35 min
Teacher note. 45 minutes in class plus homework.
Research paper outline
- Introduction and thesis
- The current law and its history
- The problem, with evidence
- What other jurisdictions did and what happened
- Fiscal analysis
- The strongest counterargument and a response
- Conclusion with a specific recommendation
- Bibliography
Teacher note. 10 minutes. The conclusion should name the first step to carry out the recommendation.
Draft
Draft in class. Finish at home.
- 2,000 to 3,000 words
- At least eight sources
- At least four primary or governmental
Week 6 · 45 min
Revise, Distill, Submit
- Peer review20 min
- Distill to the memorandum20 min
- Submit5 min
Peer review
Review a partner's paper with the rubric.
- Every claim sourced
- Counterargument fair
- Recommendation specific
Distill to the memorandum
Turn your paper into a two-page memorandum of support for the bill that would carry out your recommendation.
Teacher note. Use the Memorandum of Support template from Unit 2. This is the document the student brings to committee. Every claim in it should trace back to the paper.
Submit
- Research paper
- Bibliography
- Memorandum of support
- Advisor's rubric
Teacher note. Submit to the Seal Committee. The committee, not the advisor, decides whether the project counts.
Research Paper Rubric (100 points)
- Research question and thesis: 10
- Primary legal sources: 20
- Comparative research: 20
- Fiscal analysis: 15
- Analysis and argument: 20
- Writing and citation: 10
- Memorandum of support: 5
Teacher note. Support: provide the statute and memorandum for a short list of topics, use two jurisdictions, allow 1,500 words. Challenge: require an interview with legislative staff or an agency analyst, a review of court decisions on the statute, or a fiscal model with a sensitivity check.
Bring your memorandum to committee
Next: Unit 6, The Youth and Government Portfolio
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