GUIDELINES FOR REQUESTING APPROVAL TO CONDUCT RESEARCH IN CUSD 300

Community Unit School District 300 recognizes the importance of valid and meaningful research in the field of education. At the same time, the first responsibility of the school system is the instruction and guidance of the children enrolled. Therefore, any research or evaluative endeavors must consider the protection of:

• Students and employees from risk of harm, violation of rights and loss of privacy;
• The educational process from unwarranted distractions and interruptions;
• Public resources including data from misappropriation for private or unjustified use.

CUSD 300 will consider research requests from responsible individuals, representing recognized educational agencies, to conduct studies that meet the following criteria:

1. The proposed study offers promise for improving teaching and learning in the classroom or for otherwise increasing the quality of public education. Priority will be given to projects which improve:

•  Educational outcomes across all or selected subgroups of students;
• Our understanding of children's emotional/social and cognitive development;
• The design and delivery of services that promote learning;
• The management of the school environment; and/or
• Community involvement in education.

• The proposed study does not duplicate studies already undertaken by the Office of Assessment and Accountability or any other district personnel.
• The proposed study does not appear to be offensive to the values and standards of the school community.
• Any questionnaire or survey which would be given to pupils or district employees does not include questions that respondents (or their families) would consider an intrusion into their personal lives.
• Activities related to the study neither poses serious interruption of the regular school program nor makes undue demands on the time of students, teachers, counselors, administrators, clerks, or other district personnel.
• Activities involving schools are planned well in advance to avoid conflicts in scheduling. (For example, requests to gather data in schools after May 1 cannot be approved.)
• The confidentiality of data concerning pupils, employees, and the district are respected. It should not be possible to identify any individual study participant and CUSD300 nor its schools will not be mentioned by name.
• Participation of students and/or employees is voluntary.
• No expense to CUSD300 is involved.
• Activities involving the schools will be conducted under the general supervision of the building principal or other administrator designated by the district.

Obligations of the Researcher

All requests for permission to conduct research or evaluation in the district are to be directed, in writing, to:

Office of Assessment and Accountability
CUSD 300
300 Cleveland Ave.
Carpentersville, IL. 60110

It is the responsibility of the individual requesting this permission to submit two copies of a detailed description of the proposed research study at least 30 working days prior to the proposed beginning date of the research. This description must include the following:

1. Name, background and agency requested by the person who will conduct the research;
2. A complete description of the problem being studied, including hypotheses to be tested, data gathering procedures, and statistical treatment. (For a graduate student, a copy of the thesis proposal or dissertation proposal is sufficient.)
3. An explicit statement as to the number of students involved, the schools in which the study will be conducted, the dates when the study will begin and end, the approximate amount of pupil and personnel time required, and the specific data items needed.
4. A copy of each test, questionnaire, set of interview questions, and parent permission forms. Parent permission forms must be in English and Spanish.
5. Procedures for distributing and returning materials. (These cannot be sent by school mail since regulations restrict this service to official school business only.)
6. A research proposal from a graduate student must also be accompanied by a letter from the graduate adviser indicating (a) that s/he has approved the student's proposed thesis or dissertation study, and (b) that in behalf of the student, s/he requests permission to conduct the study in the district. 
7. An agreement from the researcher that at the conclusion of the study s/he will provide a copy of the study and an abstract of the findings to the Office of Assessment and Accountability and to the principal of each school which was involved in the study.

Administrative Procedures

A district Research Review Committee (RRC) is authorized to act in the screening of requests to conduct research and evaluation. If a proposal cannot be approved as presented, the committee may

1. Suggest certain changes in the design or procedures and ask that the researcher submit a modified proposal;
2. Invite the researcher to meet with the committee to supply further information;
3. Approve the request, subject to certain specified conditions or limitations; or
4. Deny approval on the grounds that, in the judgment of the committee, it would be inappropriate to conduct the proposed research at CUSD300.

Once the study is approved, the researcher and the school personnel who will be affected will be notified. The Office of Assessment and Accountability will assist the researcher in making necessary arrangements for the conduct of the study.

If the approved research study involves any interaction with students, the researcher must be fingerprinted prior to commencing the study. Questions concerning these procedures should be directed to the Office of Assessment and Accountability at (847) 426-1300 ext. 392.

An application to conduct research can be downloaded from this link: Research in D300.