Baltimore County Public Schools Institutional Review Board
The primary purpose of the BCPS IRB is to protect the well-being of human subjects and assess the burden of participation in research studies.
All research in BCPS, including research conducted by BCPS employees, must be reviewed and approved by the BCPS IRB prior to the start of the study. Proposals involving data requests and/or new data collection must follow the below process. Researchers may not contact individual schools, central departments/offices or staff requesting participation prior to full approval from the BCPS IRB.
Currently, Baltimore County Public Schools is limiting the amount of new external research projects by entities, such as government agencies, private organizations, and institutions of higher education.
- Internal research projects from BCPS staff members will be reviewed.
- Doctoral dissertations, undergraduate/master's theses, capstone projects, or other course requirements, from non-employees will not be reviewed.
Proposal Submission
If you would like to conduct a research study, please complete the online Proposal Interest Form. Once the proposal interest form is submitted, a confirmation email will be sent with next steps.
Please review the Research Proposal Submission Checklist document. All information and materials needed should be gathered prior to completing the proposal application.
Submission of a research proposal does not guarantee approval. All participation by BCPS students, parents/caregivers, and staff is voluntary. Each proposal will be evaluated on the following:
- Burden to students and staff
- Impact on instructional program
Review and Notification: Once a proposal is submitted, an initial screening is conducted to ensure completeness. If the proposal is incomplete or unclear the researcher is notified by email of needed modifications or additional information.
Only complete proposals are reviewed by the full BCPS IRB at monthly meetings. After the meeting the researcher will receive communication indicating whether the proposal is approved, not approved, or the decision is pending and needs additional information or revisions.
Researchers are encouraged to submit their completed proposal well in advance of the project’s anticipated start date. Researchers must provide the BCPS IRB a copy of each report or product developed as a part or outcome of the research project. Researchers may not charge BCPS for any of these reports, projects, or summaries.
Action Research
An action research project is defined as any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, principals, or other school or office staff in the educational environment. The intended purpose of action research is to uncover solutions to everyday challenges within the school or office setting or reflect on one’s own teaching or work. BCPS staff may be conducting action research projects to fulfill part of their education requirements. In addition, Professional Development School (PDS) interns may need to conduct action research projects under the supervision of their mentor teachers.
Action research projects do not need the approval of the IRB if all of the following conditions are met:
- The person conducting the action research project is a BCPS teacher, principal, central office staff member, or a PDS intern under the supervision of their mentor teacher.
- The staff member will be working in their assigned work location(s).
- The staff member will be working within their regular job responsibilities and assigned content area
- The staff member will be working with their assigned students in their regular classroom/school environment.
- The action research project is part of the staff member’s degree or educational requirement.
If all of the above conditions are met, the action research project only requires the approval of the principal and/or office head. If any of the above conditions are not met, the action research study must be submitted to the BCPS IRB for approval per the approval process for conducting research. For PDS interns, the action research requires approval of the principal and must be conducted under supervision of the mentor teacher.
Examples of Action Research Activities
- Using unit exams to study the effectiveness of small group vs. large group instruction in the classroom
- An observational study of frequency of use of flexible seating in the classroom
- Examining various approved instructional strategies without modifying the curriculum
Examples of Activities that are NOT Action Research
- Administering a new questionnaire or survey to students about their social-emotional learning
- Students, parents/caregivers, or staff participating in focus groups
- Administering a survey to families, teachers, or other BCPS staff
If you have any questions about the research proposal review and submission process, please e-mail [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1.
How often does the BCPS IRB meet?
The BCPS IRB is scheduled to meet monthly during the second week of the month.
2. What is the process for submitting a research proposal?
Researchers must complete an interest form, found on the Research Submission Page (link). Within 48 hours of receiving the interest form, the researcher receives an email from the BCPS IRB with a personal, single use link to complete the proposal submission form. It is highly recommended to review the submission guidelines and proposal checklist, and to have all proposal materials gathered before submitting the interest form.
3. What happens to a research proposal once it is submitted?
Submitted proposals are reviewed for completeness before they are considered for committee review. Revisions are often required at this stage and are communicated via email to the researcher. Only completed proposal are reviewed by the committee and must be submitted 10 days prior to IRB committee meetings. The committee decides if the proposal is approved, denied, or pending, requiring additional information or revisions. Researchers are notified of committee decisions by a letter sent via email.
4. How long does it take for a proposal to be reviewed?
Review time varies depending on the completeness of the proposal at the time of submission and number of revisions required. If the committee requires revisions to a proposal at first review, those changes must be made at least 10 days prior to the next meeting date to be reviewed at the following meeting.
5. Why might the IRB reject a research proposal?
BCPS is committed to the teaching, learning, and well-being of all students and staff; therefore, research activities are considered ancillary to our primary mission. The BCPS IRB carefully weighs the burden and benefit to students, staff, schools, and system in the decision to approve or deny research proposals. A proposal will be rejected if the burden outweighs the benefits or overlaps with current evaluation activities.
6. What is the difference between active and passive consent/assent?
BCPS requires that all research studies use active consent/assent for study participants. Active consent/assent involves informed signed agreement to participate. Both student assent and parent/caregiver consent are required for children under the age of 18 years old.
Passive consent infers agreement when no specific action is taken. An example of passive consent includes enrolling participants in a study unless there is a direct refusal from parents indicating they do not want their child to participate.
7. In addition, BCPS does not allow a “I do not wish to participate” option on consent/assent forms. Can research participants be compensated?
Small or nominal compensation may be offered to students and/or families; however, BCPS does not allow staff or schools to accept compensation to participate in research studies.
8. What if I need to change an aspect of my research design?
All changes to approved research proposals must be submitted to and approved by the BCPS IRB prior to implementation.
9. What do I need to do at the close of my study?
Upon completion of a research study, you agree to share any results with BCPS through the BCPS IRB at [email protected].
10. How are data requests fulfilled?
Data requests are submitted through the research proposal submission process and are reviewed using the same criteria as research requests. Requests for data that can be found via publicly available sources (e.g., MD Report Card, MSDE Web site) will not be approved.