NYC DOE IRB

The New York City Department of Education is the largest school system in the nation, with nearly 1.1 million students and 135,000 employees, including 75,000+ teachers, and an annual operating budget of over $24.0B+. The Department of Education (DOE) is committed to creating a system of 1,800+ great schools.

In 1980, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) established the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to screen requests to conduct research in NYC public schools. Currently, the DP-IRB requires a proposal submission from any person who wishes to conduct research at a school site or gather information from students, parents, school and non-school based DOE personnel, or request privacy data about students or staff maintained by the DOE. Submitters include graduate degree candidates, university faculty, DOE employees, independent researchers or groups, and public agencies.

The primary role of the DOE DP-IRB is to protect the rights of human research subjects and human subjects data, ensuring that research activities are in compliance with federal, state, and city regulations and DOE policies and procedures. Researchers are allowed to conduct studies within our system provided that the proposed research is scientifically sound, addresses important educational challenges, does not compromise the privacy of our students, staff, or parents, and does not disrupt the work of students, teachers and administrators. The DP-IRB reviews over 500 proposals annually.