About External Research
To better align our work with district-wide goals for budget and personnel optimization, Íøºì±¬ÁÏ has refined its research focus. Priority is given to external research applications that support the metrics outlined in the District Scorecard. By centering our research efforts on these key pillars, we ensure that external partnerships contribute meaningfully to the success and readiness of our students.
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The Research
About the External Research Application
NOTE: The application for the 2026-2027 school year will be made available in the coming months. If interested in a new research project, please fill out our . This is not an application - it is meant to inform the department of your intent to apply for the upcoming research application cycle.
The Íøºì±¬ÁÏ external research application ensures that all projects conducted within the district meet high standards of methodological rigor and strategic relevance. This process protects instructional time and ensures that research activities are mutually beneficial for both the investigators and our school communities.
Submission Deadlines (2026–2027)
Our district does not conduct a rolling application submission window. To maintain a systematic review cycle, the Research-Insight-Analytics team adheres to a strict submission timeline.
- Site-Based Research Applications: Due Monday, June 1, 2026.
- Database-Centric Research Applications: Due Monday, November 2, 2026.
Why We Require a Formal Application
The application serves as a critical vetting tool to ensure:
- Strategic Alignment: Every project must align with Íøºì±¬ÁÏ’s vision, goals, and the District Scorecard.
- Institutional Rigor: We review all proposals for sound methodology and ethical considerations to maintain the integrity of our data and student experiences.
- Campus Readiness & Consent: We ensure that participating campuses are fully informed, eager partners. No research is conducted without the explicit commitment of campus leadership to ensure a collaborative and voluntary environment.
- Operational Clarity: The process establishes clear guidelines for what is permissible within the district, providing researchers with a transparent roadmap of requirements and timelines.
Once submitted, the RIA team evaluates each proposal based on its technical merit, feasibility, and potential for actionable insights. The following section.
How District Approval Works
Before a project reaches the implementation phase, it undergoes a rigorous Expert Content Review. This stage evaluates the proposal’s alignment with current district priorities and departmental capacity. Our experts assess whether the research methodology is sound and if the timing of the study conflicts with existing district-wide initiatives or testing windows. The Content Review Committee is composed of two subgroups who review for the following:
Methodology. This group focuses on evaluating the research methodology, ensuring that the approaches and analyses are sound and robust, that all documentation is aligned with AISD policy, and there is not undue burden being asked of students, families, staff, or employees.
District Interest. This group assesses whether the proposed research aligns with the district’s goals and priorities. They determine whether the research is necessary, already covered, or feasible given current capacities. After a research application is submitted, the committee engages in a collaborative review process during the first six weeks of the summer. This involves ongoing communication with the researcher, clarifying details and ensuring a mutually agreeable outcome. When all parties have come to an agreement, the researcher then moves on to obtaining campus approval. They will also determine if there is departmental capacity.
For Site Research Requests
Campus Approval. District approval serves as a prerequisite, but the final authority for any on-site activity rests with our campus leaders. Once the Content Review Committee reaches a consensus with the researcher, the Research-Insight-Analytics team issues a formal Approval Memo. It signifies that your project has been fully vetted for rigor, methodology, and district alignment by the RIA department. To maintain campus security and instructional focus, principals and staff are instructed only to engage with researchers who provide this valid Approval Memo. Íøºì±¬ÁÏ does not typically allow for any active research to be conducted during the Spring semester.
The issuance of an Approval Memo—typically occurring by mid-summer—initiates the recruitment phase. During this window, researchers are responsible for conducting outreach to campus leaders to secure participation for the upcoming academic year. It is vital that researchers include the Approval Memo in all initial communications to demonstrate transparency and prior district vetting.
Because principals hold the ultimate authority over their respective campuses, no district-level directive will override a principal’s decision to decline participation in a research project. Once a principal agrees to the study, the partnership is formalized through the singing of a Principal Recruitment & Agreement to Participate (PRAP) form. This signed document, which serves as a formal record of campus consent, must be submitted back to the RIA Department to finalize the research lifecycle.
For Centralized Data Research Requests
Íøºì±¬ÁÏ manages a robust repository of student and institutional data. Access to these records—whether historical or current—is governed by strict privacy standards and institutional review. All data gathering from AISD requires a Data Sharing Agreement that is to be signed after application approval.
Existing Records & Database Access. For researchers seeking de-identified or identified student-level data from district databases, the application requires a high level of specificity. Approval of a research application does not grant automatic access to data; it serves as the prerequisite for a formal Data Sharing Agreement (DSA).
Data Specification: Researchers must categorize their requests by data type (De-identified, Identified with Consent, or Comparison Groups) and define the specific data sets and years required. For identified records, the data requested must align exactly with the variables described in the researcher’s participant consent forms. Please be advised that once a project is approved, data extraction and processing are billed at a rate of $100 per hour (or current market rate).
Student Data Policy. Campuses are not authorized to distribute student-level data to any researchers or program providers (e.g., student demographics, program participation, grades, etc.). Any data distributed from your campus could violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Please contact and/or send researchers to externalresearch@austinisd.org for data requests. We will coordinate all data pulls and limit what researchers ask of schools and staff.
Unsolicited Surveys and Research
As staff emails are publicly available, many groups send out surveys without research approval. Forward emails or links to externalresearch@austinisd.org. We will contact and stop survey requests from spamming yours and other staff inboxes. We thank you in advance for your diligent support in this effort.