Atlanta Public Schools (APS) encourages meaningful empirical research and offers the services of the Office of Research and Evaluation to facilitate the efforts of researchers in conducting approved studies. Guidelines have been formulated to regulate research activities, to protect the rights of students and staff, and to avoid interference with the ongoing instructional programs in schools.

The following conditions apply to all research requests:

• Research applications must contain all required documents upon submission for review. Researchers must submit a completed Atlanta Public Schools Research Request Application. The committee will not review incomplete applications. 
• Research proposals that include data collection will be reviewed twice a year by the Research Review Committee. 
  • Applications for fall start dates (i.e., August 1st - October 31st) must be submitted by May 1st of each year. Decision letters will be delivered no later than July 31. 
  • Applications for winter/spring start dates (i.e., January 1st - March 31st) must be submitted by October 1st of each year. Decision letters will be delivered no later than December 15.
• Research using administrative data only (i.e., requests for existing data to support formal research) will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Decision letters within 12 weeks of the date of submission.
• Due to the administration of state standardized tests, no research may be conducted in APS schools during the months of April or May. 
• The committee may approve or deny research proposals. During the review period, the committee may follow-up with the applicant for clarity and/or may request modifications to the proposal.

More detailed information regarding the processes and procedures for conducting research can be reviewed in the Research Resources section.