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Requests To Conduct Research

General Conditions

Educational research that is deemed beneficial for the district’s students, staff, and/or educational program may be approved to be conducted in Kennewick School District and its schools. While the district may cooperate with researchers whose projects might benefit the district, it is incumbent on the district to ensure that such activities do not interfere with instruction or require excessive pupil or staff time. Under no circumstances will the district allow research to be conducted that is for personal or for-profit use.

Research, defined as a "systematic investigation," is an activity that involves a prospective plan that incorporates data collection, either quantitative or qualitative, and data analysis to answer a question. The Teaching and Learning department, including curriculum and assessment directors and specialists, overseen by the assistant superintendent, screens all requests to conduct research studies in schools that utilized questionnaires, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and/or requests for student data. Ultimate responsibility for authorization rests with the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. The school district will only allow anonymous data collection and review with respect to student information.

Any agency or individual wishing to conduct research studies within the district must adhere to the following general conditions:

  1. The Teaching and Learning department will only approve studies which clearly align with at least one of the strategic goals of the district.
  2. All state and federal laws and district policies and procedures must be observed.
  3. No action may be taken in any school without the approval of the principal.
  4. Explicit parental approval will be required in all studies which require researcher contact with students. This document should include a statement that informs potential participants that their engagement in the study is completely voluntary, and that they may choose to withdraw their participation at any time.
  5. Strict confidentiality must be maintained to protect all participants involved. No identifying characteristics will be provided in any data request, nor can they be included in any report or paper produced as a result of completion of any approved research study.
  6. An electronic copy of all data analyzed and final report must be furnished to the Teaching and Learning department at the conclusion of study.
  7. The principal researcher must notify the district, in writing, about the intent to submit reports or articles for publication or conference presentations. Any reports or articles written based on this research must receive explicit permission to identify Kennewick School District or any of its schools as the subject of research.
  8. One hard copy and one electronic copy of the final report must be furnished for the files of the Teaching and Learning department, to the attention of the current assistant superintendent.
  9. Any person involved in any research project which involves admission to any school, and/or contact with any student, must successfully complete the district’s volunteer screening procedures.

After reviewing the request, the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning or designee will notify the applicant in writing of the department’s decision to approve or reject the proposal. If a project is approved, the applicant will be provided with an approval letter. This approval letter will constitute full authorization for the candidate to conduct the study, but does not obligate a school, division, or office to participate.

Applicants are then required to obtain authorization directly from these entities. No action can be taken in any school without the approval of the principal.

Please be advised that the district reserves the right to rescind approval if it is determined that the research no longer complies with the district's mission. Should this occur, notification will be provided in writing of the decision to rescind approval.

Strict adherence to procedures guaranteeing the confidentially of all subjects participating in any study is required.

 

Application and Approval Process 

The Teaching and Learning department is responsible for the review and approval of all research projects for the Kennewick School District. All individuals, whether an employee of the district, a student, or someone not associated with the district in any way, must complete this process to acquire research approval.

Note: Incomplete applications will NOT be reviewed.

The first step in the review process involves an evaluation of all instrumentation, tests, surveys, etc., being proposed. If any part of the instrumentation is rejected, the entire submission will be rejected automatically. Researchers will be required to revise their instrumentation based on feedback provided, and resubmit their materials.

Once the proposal has been approved, no changes in procedure, scope (e.g., timeframe of study approval, number of schools included, number of participants examined) or instrumentation may be made without authorization. Requests for amendments to an approved proposal must be made directly to the Teaching and Learning department at the end date of the original submission. No requests for amendments will be approved if there are any outstanding documents that have not been submitted when requested.

All research requests must be e-mailed to Alyssa St. Hilaire, alyssa.sthilaire@ksd.org or mailed to:

Kennewick School District
Attn: Teaching and Learning Department
1000 W 4th Ave.
Kennewick, WA 99336

Once the completed application is reviewed, the applicant will receive an approval or denial letter and a folder with the applicant’s name and year for their research request will be developed and be appropriately filed.

 

Policy & Procedure

STUDENTS Policy 3232 Parent and Student Rights in Administration of Surveys Analysis or Evaluation