IO-R March 2026.pdf (57 KB)

​Boulder Valley School District​​¶​ ​File:​​IO-R​¶​ ​Adopted:​​October 14, 1976​¶​ ​¶​ ​EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH​¶​ ​¶​ ​All educational research in the Boulder Valley School District is coordinated by the​ ​Director of Evaluation and Guidance. Other District administrators will be asked to​ ​participate in screening or supervising research projects when appropriate.​¶​ ​Projects conducted by a District staff member that involve no cost to the District, are​ l​imited to the staff member's assigned school, and involve only minor changes in the​ ​regular instructional program, require the permission of the building principal, the​ ​appropriate level director, and the Director of Evaluation and Guidance. All other​ ​educational research activities taking place in the Boulder Valley School District must​ ​conform to the procedural guidelines described below.​¶​ ​¶​ ​Request to Do Research​¶​ ​¶​ ​Prospective researchers should obtain copies of the "Guidelines for Proposals to Do​ ​Research in the Boulder Valley School District" and the "Request to Do Educational​ ​Research" form from the office of Evaluation and Guidance. The proposal, the​ ​completed request form, and all materials to be used in the project should be submitted​ ​to the office of Evaluation and Guidance.​¶​ ​¶​ ​Review of Research Proposals​¶​ ​¶​ ​All research proposals will be reviewed by the office of Evaluation and Guidance for​ ​acceptability in the following areas:​¶​ ​1.​ ​Benefits to the District and education in general.​¶​ ​2.​ ​Compatibility with the regular instructional program.​¶​ ​3.​ I​mpact on students, parents, and staff.​¶​ ​4.​ ​Technical adequacy.​¶​ ​Following approval from the Director of Evaluation and Guidance, the appropriate level​ ​director will decide which schools may participate in the study and will contact the​ ​principals of those schools to determine whether they wish to participate. Four weeks​↵​ ​should be allowed for the completion of the review process.​¶​ ​¶​ ​Protection of Student Rights​¶​ ​¶​ ​Student anonymity must be assured in any research project. Results pertaining to​ i​ndividual students may never be publicized, and may only be shared with teachers if​ ​this is approved by the Evaluation and Guidance consultant and is permitted by law.​ ​The researcher(s) will be asked to notify parents by mail if the project involves activities​ ​or testing not commonly included in the regular instructional program. Parents will then​ ​have the option of excluding their child from the research project. If letters of notification​ ​are required, the researcher(s) will be responsible for all mailing costs.​¶​

​¶​ ​Conducting the Research Project​¶​ ​¶​ ​Approved research proposals are regarded as contracts with the School District. Any​ ​deviation from procedures described in the proposal must be approved by the Director​ ​of Evaluation and Guidance or a designee. Unapproved procedural changes will be​↵​ ​considered grounds for project termination. All research activities in the schools must be​ ​completed by April 30.​¶​ ​¶​ ​Required Documentation of Research Projects​¶​ ​¶​ ​Copies of all project reports (dissertation, journal article, etc.), copies of all project data​ ​(tapes, cards, tabulations, etc.) collected within the Boulder Valley School District, and a​ ​one-page summary of results must be submitted to the Director of Evaluation and​ ​Guidance at the conclusion of the research project.​¶​ ​¶​ ​Dissemination Within the District​¶​ ​¶​ ​The Director of Evaluation and Guidance will disseminate a summary of project results​ ​to the Instructional Cabinet. When a project is relevant to a specific program or​ ​curriculum area, the results will be shared with the appropriate leadership personnel.​ ​Each semester, the office of Evaluation and Guidance will submit to the Superintendent​ ​and Assistant Superintendent a summary of all research projects conducted within the​ ​District.​¶​ ​¶​ ​NOTE: The "Request to Do Educational Research" form and the guidelines for​ ​proposals are available from the office of Evaluation and Guidance.​¶​ ​¶​