Parent Notification Letter G4-12 Students

OMB Supporting Statement Evaluating the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program

Appendix A-1. Notification Letter for Parents of Students in Grades 4-12

W hen you applied for a DC Opportunity Scholarship, how was your experience?

We want to hear from YOU

Dear Parent of [CHILD_FNAME CHILD_LNAME],

We are doing a study of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). When you applied for a private school scholarship through this program, you agreed to complete annual surveys and release your child’s test scores and school records to the U.S. Department of Education and its study team.

• We’ve included a $5 gift card to thank you for reading this letter.

• We would like you to complete a 15 minute parent survey. We’ll email you a link to complete it online.

• After you complete the survey, we’ll give you another $20 gift card.

The parent survey will ask about what you looked for when choosing a school for your child and about your experiences with the OSP.

• We would also like [CHILD_FNAME] to complete a 15 minute student survey – either in school, or using a link that we will email to you.

• After your child completes the survey, we will give them a $10 gift card.

The student survey will ask about your child’s experiences at school.

The study will not identify you, your child, or your child’s school in any public reports. The Department may keep information collected for this study in case other researchers want to use it in the future. The Department and any researchers they hire must follow all federal laws regarding privacy and confidentiality. There is minimal risk of a breach of privacy.

Is it ok for us to ask your child to take the student survey?

YES: Great, thanks! There is nothing you need to do.

NO: If you do not want your child to take the student survey, please email the study team at [email protected], or call (toll-free) 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX by Month XX, 20XX. Deciding not to complete the parent or student survey will not affect your child’s OSP scholarship or eligibility to re-apply.

Questions about the study? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX (toll-free), or email [email protected].

Questions about study participants’ rights? Please call Abt’s IRB Administrator at (877) 520-6835 (toll-free).

Questions about the OSP? Please call Serving Our Children toll-free at 1-888-DC-YOUTH (329-6884).

Paperwork Burden Statement: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 15 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions and complete the information collection. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, application or survey, please contact (National Center for Education Evaluation/Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, SW Room 502i, Washington, DC 20208) directly. (Note: Please do not return the completed instrument, form, application or survey to this address.)

Abt Associates Inc. Appendix A-1. Parent Notification Letter  ▌pg. A1-1