Policy 619-R Educational Surveys and Research: Effective Schools Research Regulations
I. Research Procedures
A. Broad-based Implementation
All research requests must adhere to Board Policy 511 Student Records, which detail rules and regulations regarding the collection and maintenance of school records.
B. Procedures for Requesting Permission to Conduct Research
1. Request - All persons, including Wayzata School District employees as well as personnel from outside the district, who wish to conduct research in Wayzata Public Schools shall submit a written request to the Teaching and Learning Department using the “Research Request Form” available from the Director of Research and Evaluation.
2. The Director of Research and Evaluation and the Executive Director of Teaching Learning will review the requests collaboratively and with other affected personnel (e.g. directors, program supervisors and building principals). The persons making requests and the schools possibly affected will be notified in a timely manner by the Teaching and Learning Office regarding the status of requests.
C. Rules for Conducting Research
1. All persons planning to conduct research in the Wayzata Public Schools shall complete and return the Research Request Form to the Director of Research and Evaluation. District staff members must have approval of the Director of Research and Evaluation; and other affected personnel (e.g. directors, principals or program supervisors) for proposed research requests.
2. All persons conducting research in the Wayzata Public Schools must guarantee anonymity of individual children, schools, and school personnel in reporting the results.
3. Publications resulting from studies in the schools must acknowledge the contribution of the Wayzata Public Schools. The researcher may be asked to submit periodic updates. A copy of the final report or summary is required and should be submitted to the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning.
4. School districts must not impose an academic or other penalty upon a student who opts out of participating in a survey.
D. Notice
1. The school district must give parents and students notice of their rights under this policy at the beginning of each school year and after making substantive changes to this policy.
2. The school district must inform parents at the beginning of the school year if the district or school has identified specific or approximate dates for administering surveys, and give parents reasonable notice of planned surveys scheduled after the start of the school year. The school district must give parents direct, timely notice when their students are scheduled to participate in a student survey by United States mail, e-mail, or another direct form of communication.
3. The school district must give parents the opportunity to review the survey and to opt their students out of participating in the survey.
Adoption and Amendment History
- Adopted: March 10, 2003
- Amended: August 16, 2004
- Amended: March 12, 2007
- Amended: December 9, 2013
- Amended: October 8, 2018
- Last Reviewed: October 8, 2018