Understanding the Pre-Approval Process:

Applying for Pre-Approval

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A Webinar for Site Coordinators and Students 2026-27

In Memorium: Anne Maben

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Anne Maben, longtime supporter and board member of the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair, passed away on October 5, 2025. A passionate educator and mentor, Anne dedicated her life to inspiring students and empowering science teachers across California.

Known for her boundless energy, generosity, and love of learning, Anne shared her time and expertise freely. She was also an avid birder, photographer, and nature lover — finding beauty in the world and helping others see it too. Annie was so proud of each and every student. She recognized and honored each young scientist or engineer at the Fair with her encouraging words, a big smile and she was instrumental in photographing each student with their projects.

Her impact on science education and the lives she touched is lasting and profound. Anne will be deeply missed and warmly remembered.

She is responsible for many of the slideshows, documents and forms LACSEF uses to this day.

LACSEF Executive Board

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
• POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS BIOLOGICAL AGENTS - (PHBA)
• HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, ACTIVITIES, OR DEVICES - (HCAD)

Steps to Submitting a Proposal

1. Site Coordinator enrolls school online.
2. Student completes the Intent to Participate (ITP) Form.
3. Seniors ONLY complete the Sr Research Plan(SRP) Form.
4. Student logs into online registratration (https://app.lascifair.org/) and enters his/her information.
5. Student receives password by email.
6. Student logs back into online registration system and enters proposal for pre-approval.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 1

• The Site Coordinator must have completed the Account Creation process for the school, and received a Password.
• Please view our Site Coordinator 101 PPT for more information.
• Site Coordinators use the Password to enter their and their school’s information into the online system.
• Receipt of payment is not required for students to apply for pre-approval. Payment is required for participating in the Fair.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Steps 2 & 3

• Student completes the Intent to Participate (ITP) Form.
• Seniors ONLY complete the Senior Research Plan (SRP) Form.

Important Notes:

• Our online system will only allow a maximum of 30 pre-approval 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.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4

• Once a school is enrolled online, students may submit their proposals via the LACSEF Portal. Detailed Steps to participate here.
• Students need to go to the LACSEF Portal 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”.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4, cont’d

• The student fills 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. Many schools block outside emails. When the student is finished entering their Profile Information, the Code of Conduct boxes must be Checked

before submitting.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 5

• 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.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 6

• Once the password is received, students can log into the LACSEF Portal using their email address and password.
• On the next screen, students will indicate that they are submitting a proposal for Pre-Approval.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 6, 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 area, then those forms must also be submitted.
• If your project involves humans in any way, you need to complete the Human Participants Form that includes a Human Consent form.
• All human participant forms have to be brought to the fair, with signatures ON JUDGING DAY.
• In addition, Senior Division students need to complete the ISEF Human Consent form included in the Senior Research Plan

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 6, 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.

Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 6, cont’d

• Each pre-approval has a template that can be used as a scratch sheet before the student goes online to fill out the forms.
• The online form has to be completed in one sitting whereas the template can be saved and returned to complete at a later time
• It is strongly recommended that Site Coordinators require their students to download and fill in the corresponding template(s) and get supervisor approval before completing the form(s) online.

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 6, cont’d

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Templates (linked below) can be saved and returned to complete at a later time.

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• Human Participants
• Vertebrates and Higher Functioning Invertebrates
• Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents - PHBA
• Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices - HCAD

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Obtaining Pre-Approval: Step 4, cont’d

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

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 should be primary sources and must be APA formatted. No Search URLs.

Thank You!

• 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 about projects requiring pre-approval Frequently Asked Questions as well.
• If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the SRC Committee at Pre-approval@lascifair.org