Conducting Research at Montgomery County Public Schools

Specific steps are required to obtain approval for research involving teachers, staff or students from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) (view school / site listing).

Note: the steps below are only required for research requiring review by the VT IRB. If you hope to conduct research with MCPS that does not require VT IRB review (e.g. research for an undergraduate class assignment), please contact MCPS directly: (Laura Williams, MCPS Grant Writer/Research Proposals, (540) 381-6158, lwilliams@mcps.org)

The required steps are as follows:

1. Submit your IRB application to the Virginia Tech IRB. Start a VT IRB application.
2. Once / if approved, the IRB office sends a "conditional approval" email to researchers and MCPS. This email states that the IRB application is conditionally approved contingent upon receipt of an approval letter from MCPS.
3. Researcher sends MCPS the conditionally approved IRB application and supporting documents. MCPS contact information and instructions will be included in the "conditional approval" email from the IRB office.
4. Once / if MCPS approval is obtained, researcher submits the MCPS approval letter to the IRB office.
5. IRB office issues an official IRB approval letter, which indicates that research activities involving human subjects may begin.

Because of its proximity to Virginia Tech, MCPS receive a large number of research requests. While it is the intent of MCPS to support VT research activities to the extent possible, the district’s first mission is the education of its students. Thus, MCPS must be selective regarding the projects to which it grants permission, in order to protect the time of its teachers, staff, and students.  The MCPS administration has suggested the following guidelines to maintain the current quality of our relationship.

• Start from the top. Permission must first be obtained from MCPS district-level administration, then principals, then teachers.
• Recognize that IRB approval does not constitute automatic approval to conduct research within schools.
• Allow plenty of time to obtain approval and conduct the research.

As a Virginia Tech researcher, you have the opportunity to promote the University's values and standards while conducting business with MCPS administration, teachers, staff, students, and students' parents.