Guidelines for Requests to

Conduct Research

in Tumwater School District

DISCLAIMER: Tumwater School District reserves the right to modify the Research Guidelines as needed.

March 2016

March 2016page 1

Table of Contents

Types of Research Projects and Application Procedures ...... 3

Submission, Review, and Decision...... 4

Policies for Conducting Research in Tumwater School District...... 5

Privacy and Confidentiality of Data...... 6

Reports and Dissemination...... 7

Attachments

Attachment A: Scope of Work ...... 8

Attachment B: Human Subjects Research Application ...... 12

Attachment C: Confidential Data Request Guidance...... 16

Attachment D: Research Project ConfidentialityAgreement ...... 21

Attachment E: Affidavit of Non-Release of Data ...... 26

Attachment F:Certificate of Data Destruction...... 29

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The Tumwater School District may allow qualified individuals and/or organizations to conduct research, surveys, and evaluation projects that are aligned with school division goals and objectives and that have the potential for improving teaching and learning, for providing immediate, practical implications for improving educational outcomes for children, and for improving staff and program effectiveness. This provision applies to researchers who are not employed by Tumwater School Districtand to Tumwater School District employees who are conducting research outside of the scope of their position responsibilities (i.e., as part of the requirements for a course or degree program). Please review the types of research projects and application procedures below to determine what type of application to submit to the Tumwater School District for approval of your research project.[*]

Types of Research Projects and Application Procedures

  • ALL researchers submitting research requests should submit a Scope of Work (Attachment A)and attach a copy of an approval letter or exempt form from the Institutional Review Board of the investigator’s own institution.
  • If your research does not involve human subjects, and instead exclusively relies on the use of non-confidential Tumwater School District datathat is not already publicly available on the Tumwater School District website, you will not need to submit any further documentation besides the Scope of Work. If you are not sure if the data you need is confidential or available on the Tumwater School District website, please contact Tara Richerson (; 360.709.7033).
  • If you are collecting your own data in schools through human subjects research, please submit aHuman Subjects Research Application(Attachment B) in addition to the Scope of Work, and attach copies of all data collection instruments/interview protocols.
  • If your research requires access to or collection of confidential Tumwater School DistrictPersonally Identifiable Information (PII) at the student, teacher, or parent level, please follow the directions in the Confidential Data Request Guidancedocument (Attachment C), in addition to submitting any other required documentation listed above. If your research involves humansubjects AND confidential PII, please complete ALL of the application materials.
  • If you have any questions about the application procedures for your research request, please contact Tumwater School District at 360.709.7033.

Submission, Review, and Decision

Requests to conduct research in the Tumwater School District must be submitted to Tumwater School District via email at . Please contact Tara Richerson with any questions about the application or review process. Requests must be submitted at least six weeks prior to the time the research is expected to begin to allow time for review of the proposal by Tumwater School District staff and other appropriate school system personnel.

The research proposal will be reviewed and evaluated by a research review committee comprised of Tumwater School District staff members and appropriate personnel in the administrative and instructional area(s) to which the research relates. If information beyond that submitted in the application is necessary to the review, an interview with the researcher may be requested. The review committee may suggest revisions to the proposal prior to a final decision on its acceptability. Approval will be granted or denied on the basis of the utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy standards of the American Evaluation Association[1] and the following criteria:

  • Compliance with the guidelines and policies in this document;
  • Alignment with the goals and objectives of the Tumwater School District and relevance to the instructional program of the division;
  • Expected benefits to students, staff, and the division;
  • Quality of the research; and
  • Resources required of staff, students, and the division.

Following a decision on the proposal, the researcher will be notified by letter. If the project is approved, the letter will specify:

  • Procedures to be followed by the researcher to secure permission for actual implementation of the project in specific schools (e.g., school personnel to contact, sources of further assistance, how implementation will be monitored, etc.)
  • Special conditions or constraints, if any, which may apply to the project (e.g., requirements for obtaining parental consent, conditions under which students may be interviewed, etc.)

Principals, as well, will receive notification by memo of proposals that have been approved; however, principals will make the original decision as to whether a project will be implemented in their schools based on the priorities of their schools at the projected time of implementation. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the researcher to contact the principals of the schools in which the study is to be conducted to obtain their approval to implement the project by signing Attachment A. If a principal has made the decision to not have their students participate, there is no appeal.

Approval of data requests is dependent on a number of factors, such as: (1) staff availability to pull the data; (2) if responses to follow-up questions are needed; (3) complexity of the data request; (4) number of agencies that need to be consulted/become involved; and (5) the negotiation of fees associated with the data pull, if applicable. The Tumwater School District will notify the requestor when the data is ready to be delivered. Fina

Policies for Conducting Research in Tumwater School District

  1. All proposals for conducting research projects must be submitted to the Tumwater School District for review.
  1. The proposed research project must be in the best interest of students and the schools. Research studies that have the potential for misinterpretation or misuse of data or studies requiring invasive physical examinations will not be approved. In all cases, intrusion on student and staff time and disruption of normal routines in classrooms and schools must be minimal.
  1. The time of staff and students required by the project must be fully justified by the expected educational benefits to staff and students.
  1. Research projects must not be conducted during local or state testing windows.
  1. In accordance with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations, personally identifiable information (PII)from student, parent, or teacher educational records will not be disclosed without approval of a Confidential Data Request Application.

  1. Surveys of student attitudes must not contain items which ask students to reveal information concerning the following topics, without prior approval from the district:
  1. Political affiliations
  2. Mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the students, their families, their schools, or the school division
  3. Sexual behavior and attitudes
  4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, and demeaning behavior
  5. Critical appraisals of individuals with whom the students have close family relationships
  6. Legally recognized privileged relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers, etc.
  7. Income
  1. Employees of the Tumwater School Districtshould avoid conflicts of interest in their research. For example, administrators should not conduct research on employees whom they supervise.
  2. The research project must be approved by the Institutional Review Board of the investigator’s own institution. A copy of the approval letter or exempt form must be submitted before implementation can begin.
  1. Pseudonyms must be used for the school division, schools, and any individuals participating in the study in all reports, articles, or presentations about the study or its findings.
  1. Results of the research project must be submitted in writing at the conclusion of the project (please see Reports and Dissemination below).
  1. The assessment office of Tumwater School District must be notified prior to the publication of any results of, or data from, the research project.

Privacy and Confidentiality of Data

Applications must meet certain security, data destruction, data dissemination, and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provisions, among others. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Parents and students put their trust in the stewards of education data to ensure students' personal information is properly safeguarded and is used for legitimate purposes and only when absolutely necessary. The assessment officeof Tumwater School Districtdeeply values this trust and strives to ensure it is doing all it can do to protect the privacy of our students as the uses of their data to improve education increase.

Reports and Dissemination

Following the completion of the research project, the Tumwater School District will have an interest in how the findings are shared publicly. The Supervisor of Assessment will request review of the findings prior to dissemination. The Tumwater School District may also request the researcher present preliminary findings to the Director of Research, district administrators, and/or the school committee prior to completion of the final report.

In addition, the Tumwater School District may request the researcher produce and provide a written research brief about the project for circulation within the district and the community. The Tumwater School District may request the researcher present this brief to the Director of Research, district administrators, the school committee, and/or a public meeting of parents and community members.

If the researcher would like to submit the study’s findings to an academic or professional journal for publication, the Supervisor of Assessment may request review of the article prior to submission. If the Supervisor of Assessment was involved with the study, he or she may request co-authorship of the article.

The researcher should submit one copy of the final report for the project to the assessment officeat Tumwater School Districtvia email upon completion of the study. Copies should also be provided to principals of the schools in which the study was implemented. The Tumwater School District must be allowed by the researcher to make non-commercial use of the project results for the benefit of the school division.

The researcher has the responsibility to ensure that any dissemination or publication of the study or its findings does not violate FERPA or the confidentiality of personally identifiable information.

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Attachment A

Scope of Work

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Scope of Work

Directions: Complete and submit with proposal application. (NOTE: If you are completing the application electronically, simply “tab” between fields.)

Date of Request / School Year:
  1. Researcher’s Contact Information

Name(Last, First, MI):
Mailing Address:

No. & StreetCityStateZip

Telephone Numbers: / (Day) / () - Ext. / (Evening) / () -
E-mail Address:
  1. Researcher’s Educational or Business Affiliation

University/College:
Academic Department:
Location (City & State):
Business Organization:
Address (No. & Street):
City, State, Zip:
  1. Researcher’s Position(Check all that apply)

Student / Faculty Member / Other:
Is the Researcher employed by the Tumwater School District? / Yes / No / If YES, in what capacity?
  1. Proposal Information

Study Title:
How will the findings be used and reported?
What is the audience for the findings?
Is the study part of work for a degree? / Yes / No
If yes, type of degree: / Ph.D. / Ed.D. / M.A./M.S. / Other:
Is this study affiliated with an audit or evaluation of a Federal- or State-supported education program? / Yes / No
  1. Statement of the Problem

Type of Study

Quantitative / Qualitative / Mixed-Method / Survey Research
Other (Please explain):

Questions to be Answered/Hypotheses to be Tested/Goals of the Study

Variables(List and define variables)

Background(Summarize relevant theory and relevant research; include references)

Justification for the Study (Explain its importance and describe the intended use of the findings)

  1. Research Method(s)/Design of the Study

Data Collection

Are you requesting data from the district that is not available on the district website? / Yes / No
If YES, do your data needs include confidential personally identifiable information on individual students, parents, teachers, or other school staff? / Yes / No
If you are requesting data from the district, please describe specific data needs, separated by school year and grade level, and justification of how each requested data element is connected to the research objectives. For confidential data requests, please also complete a Confidential Data Request Application.
Are you conducting human subjects research to collect data in schools? / Yes / No
If YES, please complete a Human Subjects Research Application

Data Analysis Plan (Describe the methods to be used in analysis of the data)

Implementation Time Line (Provide a time schedule for implementation of the study, including key research activities and an estimated completion time)

Risks (Describe the study’s risks to study participants)

Benefits (Describe the study’s benefits, including benefits to Tumwater School District)

  1. Resources Required to Implement the Study

Tumwater School District Personnel(Identify the amount of time which may be required of district staff)

Estimate the total number of teacher work-hours:
Estimate the total number of student work-hours:
Estimate the total number of administrator work-hours:

Personnel(List by name and function all personnel who will be implementing the study, e.g., principal investigator, research assistants, etc.)

  1. Reference List
  1. Signature of Building Principal (if study will be completed in a school)

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Attachment B

Human Subjects Research Application

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Human Subjects Research Application

Subject Population & Sampling Design (Describe the subject population; identify and justify the criteria for selection; describe the sample and how it is to be selected)

Recruitment and Consent/Assent Plan (Describe how subjects in the sample will be recruited for participation, including a discussion of procedures for obtaining informed consent and attach a copy of the informed consent document)

Data Collection Plan (Describe the data to be collected for each variable and the procedures, including instruments to be utilized in data collection; supply a copyof each instrument that will be used. For qualitative studies, include copies of interview protocols/observation tools)

Facilities (Describe equipment or space, other than regular classroom space, which may be required for the study, e.g., space for interviews, etc.)

  1. Institutional Review Board/Protection of Human Subjects Committee Decision (NOTE: Approval by the IRB/Protection of Human Subjects Committee of your own institution is REQUIRED. Please submit a copy of the IRB approval letter or exempt form.)

Approved / Pending / Disapproved / Other (Please explain):

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March 2016page 1

External Research Proposal Request Application

Sample Informed Consent Document

Directions: You may modify the form as necessary; submit three (3) copies with proposal application. (NOTE: If you are completing the application electronically, simply “tab” between fields.)

RESEARCH SUBJECT INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORM

STUDY TITLE:

NAME OF RESEARCHER:

STUDY SPONSOR:

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

The purpose of this research study is to

DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AND YOUR/YOUR CHILD’S INVOLVEMENT:

If you decide to be in this research study, you/your child will be asked to

SHARING INFORMATION:

If you agree to participate/allow your child to participate, the researchers will collect the following information about you/your child:

RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS:

BENEFITS TO YOU AND OTHERS:

COSTS:

PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION:

ALTERNATIVES:

CONFIDENTIALITY:

Potentially identifiable information about you/your child will consist of . This information is being collected only for research purposes and will not be shared with anyone except the researchers.

We will not tell anyone the answers you/your child give us; however, information from the study and this signed consent form may be looked at or copied for research or legal purposes. But if you child tells us that someone is hurting her or him, or that she might hurt herself or someone else, the law says that we have to let people in authority know so they can protect your child.

What we find from this study may be presented at meetings or published in papers, but your/your child’s name will not ever be used in these presentations or papers.

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL:

You do not have to participate in this study. If you choose to participate, you may stop at any time without any penalty. You may also choose not to answer particular questions that are asked in the study.

QUESTIONS:

In the future, you may have questions about your/your child’s participation in this study. If you have any questions, complaints, or concerns about the research, you may contact:

CONSENT/PERMISSION:

I have been given the chance to read this consent form. I understand the information about this study. Questions that I wanted to ask about the study have been answered. My signature says that I am willing to participate/for my child to participate in this study. I will receive a copy of the consent form once I have agreed to participate/allow my child to participate.

Name of Child (Printed)

Name of Parent/Legal Guardian (Printed)Parent/Legal Guardian SignatureDate

Name of Adult Participant (Printed)Participant SignatureDate

Name of Person Conducting Informed Consent (Printed)

Signature of Person Conducting Informed ConsentDate

Researcher/Investigator Signature (If different from above)Date

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Attachment C

Confidential Data Request Guidance

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Confidential Data Request Guidance

To submit a confidential data request, please complete the steps below.

Please note, per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), that confidential data requests for personally identifiable information (PII) from education records without parental consent will only be granted to organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of schools, school districts, or postsecondary institutions; or to authorized representatives of government institutions to audit or evaluate a Federal- or State-supported education program; or to enforce or comply with Federal legal requirements, as explained in greater detail in the attachedOverview of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).