Campus Council Committee/IRB:
Currently, a campus council committee is in place at the writer's work setting to enact review and planning procedures. This committee is comprised of one teacher from each grade level, plus, a representative for auxiliary teachers. Both sexes are represented on this committee. Two of the teachers are involved in subjects dealing with scientific information. Other committee members include, two community leaders, which are unrelated to any educational institute and two parents of currently enrolled students. The committee meets on the last Thursday of each month to discuss campus policies, procedures, special projects involving outside community members, TAAS issues, and other relevant issues pertaining to the activities conducted on the school campus. The campus council committee meets appropriate qualifications for the structure of an IRB committee. The campus counsel committee will serve as the IRB committee.
Guidelines for IRB:
The Institutional Review Board is governed by the stipulations and guidelines contained in pertinent Federal regulations, as well as, the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles 9. Any policies adopted by the IRB committee may be changed or modified at regularly scheduled IRB meetings. The vote of the majority of members present will preside. At least five of the twelve members must be present on all voting. Members assigned to the board will serve for two years. The committee reserves the right to include specialists in areas that certain research is done. Specialists may be approved by a majority vote of the members on the committee. During the process of reviewing any research studies, if the committee is made aware that there is a conflict of interest, pertaining to a member of the committee, the chairperson has the right to exclude the member in conflict, from further participation.
In planning a research study, the investigator has the ethical responsibility to weigh the scientific and human values that could compromise any rights of a human participant. In accordance with the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principle 9, sub principle A, the formal application form requires the investigator to give grave attention to ethical procedures in regard to research involving human subjects. Careful evaluation of ethical acceptability is of the utmost importance.
Before any research may be conducted, the safeguards outlined in the application form must be adhered to. These safeguards are that, the investigator be responsible for checking if there are prior studies of the requested research. All public documents should be used to understand the vulnerabilities of the subject. The investigator's obligation to seek ethical advice and to follow safeguards must be presented in the protocol, addressing how the investigator has planned to protect the rights of the subjects is paramount. Medical records should be reviewed to ensure that the subject's risk factors are minimal. Informed consent forms must accompany any application for permission to conduct research.
