Apply to Conduct Research

What is SPS Research Review?

In accordance with district policy 4280 and 4280SP Seattle Public Schools maintains a research review process managed by the department of Research and Evaluation (R&E).

Research review is required for all individuals and organizations seeking to conduct human-subjects research or research using secondary administrative data involving SPS students and staff, including school leaders, administrators, teachers, and other employees.

Before applying, please review the research guidelines and application materials below. The guidelines describe the review process, timelines, requirements, and standards for approval.

The review committee meets monthly and considers:

Relevance to district strategic priorities and goals
Rigor of proposed research methodology
Potential risks and benefits to schools and study participants
Burden to the district, schools, staff, students, and families

Application and Guidelines

Application to Conduct Research in SPS

Research Amendment/Extension Form

Guidelines for Conducting Research in SPS

These guidelines are intended to help researchers understand the requirements for submitting a complete application, as well as the process and standards used to review research proposals.

Seattle Public Schools recognizes the value of supporting research but does not guarantee access to SPS students, staff, or data for research purposes. If access is approved, researchers may access only the schools, participants, and data authorized by Research and Evaluation. R&E may modify these guidelines as needed and may request changes to approved research projects.

R&E reviews three types of research proposals:

Internal research
External research
Partnerships/grants

Identifying the appropriate proposal type is important because application requirements and review timelines vary by category.

External research requires a full application (for first time applicants on a given project) or amendment form (for changes or extensions of ongoing approved external research). The full application includes Part I, Part II, Data Request Form (if applicable), and all attachments.

External Research includes:

Independent research conducted by individuals, organizations, or agencies not affiliated with SPS. This includes community based organizations (CBOs) who do not have a formal research agreement as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and/or DSA with the district and are conducting research studies. (To determine if a CBO data analysis effort constitutes a research activity, the CBO section of these guidelines.)
Research conducted by District employees for purposes outside of their work duties and/or work hours (e.g. research conducted to fulfill degree program requirements).
Product research conducted by a company or entity to study a product’s effectiveness.
Voluntary surveys of district staff, students, or families developed by outside research institutions, non-governmental agencies or other entities.

Internal research does not require an application, does not require data sharing agreements (DSAs), and do not generally require parental consent or the option to opt out of student-level data collection efforts. if internal research includes a data requests this should be submitted to the Department of Technology Services (DOTS). Internal Research includes:

SPS central office managers and directors who plan and conduct research on how to improve district services and programs within their area of supervision or as part of their general job duties (Note: if your internal project involves evaluation as part of a grant application, this places your project in the “Partnerships/Grants” category).
SPS school staff who conduct informal inquiries into classroom practices or piloting of new programs, products or services.

Partnerships and grants are evaluated on a case-by-case basis through consultation with R&E, and may require that applicants fill out the Part I application. Examples of Partnerships/Grants include:

Planned evaluation in grants to external sources with SPS as sole or joint applicant.
Voluntary government agency (federal, state, municipal, etc.) data collection efforts (e.g. state surveys). Note. mandatory data reporting to state or federal agencies is not subject to research review.
Mandatory surveys developed by outside non-governmental agencies or entities.
Community Based Organizations (CBOs) whose activities do not fall into the “research study” category as outlined in these guidelines, and who have a formal Memorandum of Understanding and/or Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) with SPS.

If your research involves a request for secondary data (e.g., student achievement data) collected or maintained by Seattle Public Schools, you must submit a Data Request Form in addition to the Research Application.

Please indicate on the form what data, including all variables and datasets, you hope to receive. Note that secondary data can be processed at the student-level and will not contain Free and Reduced Price Lunch information.

If your application involves a custom data request, please be advised that your request will be routed through the Department of Technology Services. All approved research requests will be filled in a .csv file format.

For secondary data requests, please visit the DoTS Data Reporting page to determine which category best fits your request or see the Public Records Requests and Archives Requests for more information.

Learn more about available SPS data