This document outlines the criteria for determining what constitutes a public policy issue and provides guidance for a group project where students will research and address a local issue. To be a public policy issue, a problem needs to have broad scope, elicit intense concern over an extended duration, and require significant resources to address, while potentially facing opposition from groups that control related policies. For their project, students will form groups, choose an approved local issue to research, develop and implement a plan of action, and present their findings. They will document their work in a journal and essays evaluating their project's effectiveness.