Policy Statements

APS policy statements are crafted through a meticulous review process that ensures APS leaders' and members' voices are heard, and all statements must be approved by the APS Council of Representatives. APS policy statements receive a statement number that reflects the year in which they were first adopted, followed by their numbering in that given year (e.g. the fifth statement adopted in 2018 would be numbered as 2018.5). The review process for any statement may be started at any time if deemed necessary by the Panel on Public Affairs, and at least once every five years.

Archived statements

APS makes recently archived statements available in the interest of transparency. For more information about archived statements, please contact the APS Government Affairs team.

View recently archived statements

Board statements

Unlike APS statements, APS Board statements can be crafted and adopted more quickly. They are a response to current events and remain active for one year. Board statements are generated through a collaborative process involving the APS Board, Council, Panel on Public Affairs, Office of Public Affairs, and Physics Policy Committee. If an APS Board statement addresses an enduring position of the physics community, it may then go through the process of becoming an APS statement.

Based on extensive feedback from our membership, APS Board statements are limited to issues that impact our community in a professional or academic capacity, and to issues where scientific evidence or expertise can inform the public or benefit society. While we seek to assist physicists affected by world events through our various programs, APS will not generally make public statements on these topics.

Review recently archived Board statements