Confidentiality will be assured all participants. The Board of Directors will be regularly informed of approved activities and the outcomes of those activities.

ADOPTED: March 7, 1988; Revised November 1993
REVIEWED: November 1, 1993; December 16, 1996; May 7, 2001, October 4, 2010.

CURRICULUM RESEARCH
1. All research requests to use students, student data, faculty or staff of Ames Community Schools are to be in written form and submitted to the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction.
2. Copies of all materials pertinent to the research project are to be delivered to the Ames Community Schools no later than thirty (30) working days before the principal researcher's anticipated first contact with students or teachers. These are to include:

a) a copy of the Human Subjects form from the principal researcher's parent institution.(If the parent institution will not approve the project until after approval by Ames Community Schools, the researcher should note that any approval from the district is strictly contingent upon approval by the Human Subjects Committee of the researcher's parent institution),
b) copies of all measurement instruments including, but not limited to questionnaires, video tape or observational coding schemes, tests and interview schedules,
c) copies of any necessary parent permission forms that will be used in this project, (i.e., any forms needed to obtain permission from parents for their children's participation in
the proposed study and/or for the use of their children's school records),
d) a copy of the proposal for research for the project (this must include an abstract of no morethan two (2) type written pages) and
e) a copy of the proposed timeline of all research efforts.

3. After all research materials have been received, the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction:
a) will review the proposal with the Curriculum and Instruction Team regarding the feasibility of conducting the proposed research in the Ames Community Schools.
b) will contact educators in the district whose responsibilities will be affected by the proposed research regarding the feasibility of conducting the proposed research, and
c) consider three guiding questions in making the decision:

1) how will this research benefit the Ames Community School District,
2) will the achievement of our students improve as a
result of the research/research findings, and
3) will the study be minimally disruptive to the daily education process?

4. The Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction will make the final decision on whether to:

a) request further clarification of research procedures,
b) approve the research as proposed,
c) approve the research contingent on suggested procedural changes or
d) deny approval to conduct the proposed research in the Ames Community Schools.

5. If the research is approved, the principal researcher will communicate with the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction to ensure the contractual aspects of research are met.

6. If the proposed research is approved, before any research efforts commence in the Ames Community Schools, the principal researcher will provide the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction with the following:
a) a written agreement to make any procedural changes on which approval of the research was contingent,
b) a copy of the final approval of the proposed research from the Human Subjects Committeeof the principal researcher's parent institution and
c) a timeline under which the research will be conducted.

7. The Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction will inform the principal researcher in writing of the decision of the Ames Community Schools.

8. Prior to initiation of research, parental notification will occur and permission will be obtained when necessary.

9. In the course of the research effort, if the researcher determines that changes need to be made in the agreed upon procedures, such changes are to be submitted in writing to and must be approved by the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction before such changes are set in place. The Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction will inform the principal researcher in writing regarding the approval or disapproval of the proposed procedural changes.

10. A written summary of the results of the research conducted in the Ames Community Schools is to be delivered to the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction no later than six (6) months after the completion of data collection.

11. The Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction will prepare a report summarizing the research conducted in the Ames Community School District annually. The report will be submitted to the Board of Directors at the conclusion of each school year.