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Understanding the Pre-Approval Process: Applying for

Pre-Approval

A Webinar for Site Coordinators and Students 2025-26

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SRC Purpose

The Science Review Committee (SRC) is responsible for:

  • Making sure student experimenters and experimentees are safe.
  • Making sure all State and Federal privacy and ethical guidelines are followed.
  • The SRC is responsible for reviewing project proposals and providing feedback until all safety, privacy and ethical guidelines are met.

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Projects Requiring Pre-Approval

Projects involving:

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  • HUMAN PARTICIPANTS
  • VERTEBRATES AND HIGHER ORDER INVERTEBRATES including Cephalopods.
  • POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS BIOLOGICAL AGENTS - PHBA
  • HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, ACTIVITIES, OR DEVICES - HCAD

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The 4 Steps to Submitting a Proposal

  1. Site Coordinator enrolls school online
  2. Student logs into online registratration (https://app.lascifair.org/) and enters his/her information.
  3. Student receives password by email
  4. Student logs back into online registration system and enters proposal

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 1

  • The Site Coordinator must have completed the online enrollment process for the school

Please view our Site Coordinator 101 PPT for more information.

  • Site Coordinators must have entered their information as well as their

school’s information into the online system.

  • Receipt of payment is not required for students to apply for pre-approval.

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Important Notes:

  • Our online system will only allow a maximum of 30 projects per school to be submitted..
  • If a school has more than 30 projects needing pre-approval, Site Coordinators should consider the quality and caliber of the

student(s) project / topic / uniqueness of experiment.

  • If a team is requesting pre-approval, only 1 student (the Team Captain) should submit the information. All members of a team must come from the same school.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 2

  • Once a school is enrolled online, students may submit their proposals via our online system.
  • Students need to go to https://app.lascifair.org/ and select “Click here to register a new account.”
  • On the next screen, students will select “I am a student” from the drop down menu and then click “Continue”.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 2, cont’d

  • The student will now fill in the required information for each field.
  • If a student’s school does not appear on the drop down menu, the student must exit the site and let their Site Coordinator know that the school has not completed enrollment.
  • The student needs to use an email address that is checked frequently and can receive emails from noreply@lascifair.org. When the student is done entering the Profile Information, the Code of Conduct boxes must be

Checked before submitting.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 3

  • When a student is finished entering his or her Profile Information and clicks “Continue”, the system will show that the information was

received and that an email containing the password has been sent.

  • When the student receives the password, he or she needs to write it down somewhere safe.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4

  • Once the password is received, students can log into the online registration system (app.lascifair.org) using their email address and password.
  • On the next screen, students will indicate that they are submitting a proposal for Pre-Approval.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4, cont’d

  • Students will then select the type of project they are submitting (human participants, vertebrates/higher functioning invertebrates, potentially hazardous biological agents, hazardous chemicals/activities/devices).
  • If a project falls into more than 1 of the areas, then additional forms must be submitted.
  • If your project involves humans in any way, you need to complete the Human Participants Form.
  • In addition, Senior Division students need to complete the ISEF Human Consent form. All human participant forms have to be brought to the fair, with signatures.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4, cont’d

  • Once on the relevant form, the student will enter the information into the fields as prompted.
  • At the bottom of the form, there are fields for the teacher/advisor, adult supervisor, biomedical scientist, animal care supervisor, etc.
  • Students MUST enter the correct email for each of the individuals as the system will send a email to all listed, asking that person to verify his/her role in the project.
  • The SRC reviewers will not receive the proposal until ALL the verifications are complete.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4, cont’d

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4, cont’d

  • Once the proposal is submitted online, the student is finished!
  • Please allow the SRC time to review the proposal.
  • Please view your dashboard regularly to see the progress of the review and to make corrections/additions if needed.
  • Please check your email regularly. We may email the student/ teacher/ site-coordinator asking for clarifications.

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Important Reminders

Please Make Sure That…

  • The student clearly explains the steps he or she is going to do in the experiment.
  • The student clearly describes all safety precautions and risk mitigations taken during the experiment.
  • The student makes it clear when he or she will have adult supervision during the experiment and what the adult will do for the project/experiment.
  • The References section includes at least 1 source that is not a website. No Search URL’s
  • The references are properly API formatted.

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ThankYou!

  • Thank you for taking the time to understand the general pre- approval process.
  • You are strongly encouraged to read our Rules and Regulations document to further understand what needs pre-approval.
  • Our website has Frequently Asked Questions about projects requiring pre-approval as well.
  • If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the SRC Committee at Pre-approval@lascifair.org