DGA helps schools and complex areas in reviewing vendor agreements and/or contracts to ensure they include data sharing language (language to specify that the external party's use of the data will comply with state law and FERPA) before completion of purchase or start of services. This process assists schools that want to use free or contracted educational services (e.g., computer software, mobile apps, and web-based tools provided by a third-party), ensuring the security of personally identifiable information of students and employees, and compliance with federal and state laws governing the protection of Department data.
DGA also reviews and processes data requests, whether for research or evaluation, internal purposes, or community and external agency partnerships. The Department continuously receives requests for student and employee data; in response, DGA has created a vetting process for conducting research in the Department and collecting or requesting data from Department schools and offices. DGA also provides support and training to schools, agencies, internal offices, and other requestors with their data sharing needs and questions.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO REQUEST DATA OR CONDUCT RESEARCH IN HIDOE?
Individuals can submit research applications or data requests through the processes described below.
These are the simplest options for obtaining HIDOE data.
There are multiple data resources that are available for public access and use. Click here for a compiled list.
The Coursework Form option is allowable with certain conditions (see more details in the form).
If you already have an existing agreement with HIDOE to conduct certain research or data collection activities through a means other than the research application, it may be necessary for the Data Governance and Analysis Branch to review consent or assent forms before research activities.
De-identified Student Data from Education Records: To appropriately direct your request for de-identified student data, please complete the Data Request Form. You will be directed to the appropriate contact office. DGA retains the right to approve or refuse all requests.
YRBS Data: If you are interested in Hawaii's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data, you should first review the large collection of reports on the Hawaii Health Data Warehouse as these resources may be sufficient. In addition, a large compiled data set is available on the CDC website that contains all of the standard questions that can be used for national comparison. If, however, you require raw YRBS data for the state of Hawaii’s specific "state-added questions," you should contact the Hawaii Department of Health for more information on how to request YRBS Health Indicators.
If you have HIDOE support for your project to be conducted on behalf of a school, complex, complex-area, or the state, you are likely eligible to bypass the research approval process and enter into a data sharing agreement. The timeline for creating and approving a data sharing agreement is typically much shorter than a research application.
Before entering into a data sharing agreement, it is important to know what types of HIDOE data are available. In some agreements, it is appropriate for HIDOE office staff, school personnel, or data systems to provide data directly to you. In many cases, however, it is preferable for the data to be pulled by the Data Governance and Analysis Branch and shared via CSV files. (Read more about HIDOE data.) Data shared using either method cannot begin until the Data Sharing Agreement has been approved and signed.
For next steps on entering into a data sharing agreement with HIDOE, please email DGA.
Per BOE Policy, all research projects require the approval of the Superintendent or designee. Research applications must be submitted through the process described below. Due to the evolving situation with the current pandemic, the HIDOE research program is requiring all research projects to review and comply with the guidance provided in the research application. Please review the following documents for details:
Additional Forms that may be required or useful for your application:
Researchers are encouraged to use other resources that have been developed by other state and national organizations to inform their research methods to ensure that they are employing appropriate best practices in their project. For example, the Privacy Technical Assistance Center provides a toolkit of resources that can help users of HIDOE data understand their responsibilities with regard to student information privacy and data destruction.