School Climate Interview Informed Consent

Appendix B. SCI Informed Consent Statement

I. CONSENT STATEMENT

Introduction: Thank you for agreeing to meet with us today. I am __________and I work for a company called ICF International. Your school is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), ICF International, Broward County Public Schools, and the Hetrick Martin Institute to help your district learn more about the health behavior and experiences in school of 9th through 12th grade students, particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (or LGBTQ) students. You were asked to participate in this interview because you were identified as a knowledgeable staff member in the [school/district] that can provide valuable information about the school climate. You may be asked to participate in an interview again as we continue the program evaluation. Interest in participation will be assessed at each year. It is not mandatory and you can choose not to participate in a subsequent year even if you choose to participate this year. Before we begin, I would like to review a few points about this interview. These points are also reflected on the copy of the consent statement that I gave you:

• This interview is completely voluntary. You do not have to take part in this interview. Whether or not you take part in this project will not affect your job or the services your school receives from the district.

• With your permission, we will audio-record the interview so that we do not miss anything. We will also be taking notes.

• Your name will not be linked with the notes or audio recording from this interview. No quotes or comments you make will be linked with your name in any way. Your name will not be used in any publications or reports about these interviews.

• We will only share overall findings from these interviews with the school district, and we will protect your identity as a respondent. We do want to note that only a few people in your school district are being interviewed; however, we will do everything we can to protect your identify when providing reports to the district and will not include specific quotes that may make you identifiable.

• You may choose to not take part in the interview at any time. You may also choose to not answer certain questions and still continue in the discussion. You can also choose to stop participating in the interview at any time and leave the room.

• We expect this interview to take about 60 minutes, and you will receive a $25 gift card to thank you for participating in this project.

In order for this process to be useful to the school and the district, it is important that you describe the school climate as it REALLY is, and not how it’s “supposed to be.” We would like to learn about all aspects of the school climate as they are now – as well as areas in which changes are being implemented or not – so that we have a basis for comparing changes that occur over time. In a group discussion, others in the group will hear what you share. We ask that you all help maintain the confidentiality of each participant’s answers by not repeating what you hear inside this room. However, we cannot prevent what other members of the group may say when they leave this room.

At the end of our discussion, we will also provide a list of resources that may be helpful to the school in improving the school climate for LGBTQ students. Your copy of the consent statement also has the contact information for the principal investigator of this evaluation, who you can contact if you have any questions about today’s interview.

Do you agree to participate? YES NO

Do I have your permission to record the interview? YES NO

If yes, continue:

Thank you. ***TURN ON RECORDER***