This annotated inquiry leads students through an investigation of a public policy debate by studying the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The compelling question—“Why is the Affordable Care Act so controversial?”—calls out the persistent debate around this legislation and asks students to grapple with the roots of disagreement through the examination of the origins, opportunities, shortcomings, and constitutionality of the ACA. Throughout the inquiry, students are working with a variety of data (e.g., polling numbers, graphical representations, and economic costs) and trying to interpret, create, an