IO-R April 2026.pdf (59 KB)

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​¶​ ​Boulder Valley School District​​​↵ ​File: IO-R​↵​ ​Adopted: 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​¶​ ​limited 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. Impact on students, parents, and staff.​¶​ ​¶​ ​4. Technical adequacy.​¶​ ​¶​ ​¶​

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​¶​ ​¶​ ​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​¶​ ​individual 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.​¶​ ​¶​

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​End of File: IO-R​

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