Site Coordinator 101

76^th Annual Los Angeles County Science & Engineering Fair

• You have decided to embark on the science fair journey with your students!
• As a school’s Site Coordinator, you will serve as the liaison between your students, parents, school, and the Los Angeles County Science Fair.
• Understanding the role and responsibilities of being a Site Coordinator is critical to the success of the Fair and your students’ participation in it.
• We thank you in advance for all that you do.

Before you get started….

• To be a Site Coordinator, you must be an adult designated by the site or district administrator, or a lab researcher at a sponsoring institution. When you enroll your site, you will have to include your position at your site.
• In order to enroll your school/site, you will also have to complete a Google Form that can be found here.
• Coming soon! Asynchronous Teacher workshop course! Workshop information will be announced on our website as soon as it is available.

CONTINUING THIS YEAR !!!

1. All projects need to have a Google Form Intent to Participate submitted. This form will help students determine if a project requires Pre-Approval.
2. Pre-Approval categories have changed - now aligned with ISEF.
3. The 4 categories that will need pre-approval are as follows:

Human Participants

Vertebrates and Higher Functioning Invertebrates Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents - PHBA Hazardous Chemicals, Activities and Devices

4. Microbes and Tissue-Cell Lines have been combined as Potentially

Hazardous Biological Agents - PHBA.

5. Vertebrate Form will include Higher Functioning Invertebrates.
6. The updated LACSEF Rules and Regulations can be found here.

Reminders for 2025-2026

• All Advisory Committee Meetings will be held virtually – the dates/times can be found on our website.
• We recommend selecting a member to attend the Advisory Committee Meetings to help plan the Fair.
• All Waiver forms and supporting documentation need to be submitted by 1/23/26. No Fee Waivers will be accepted after 1/23/26
• Pre-approval opens on 8/25/25 and closes on 11/3/25
• Submit pre-approval forms early to the Science Review Committee (SRC)!

Reminders for 2025-2026 continued

• There will be no late submissions to the SRC. All deadlines are final.
• Any problems with submitting proposals need to be emailed immediately to pre-approval@lascifair.org
• All communication with parents / students and the Fair must be via the Site Coordinator. No direct communication should occur. We will not respond to individual parents or students.
• The Site Coordinator is responsible for checking all information before it is submitted to the Fair.
• Please note the Rules & Regulations have been updated. Make sure you read those completely.

Pre-Approval

1. The information on this PowerPoint is just an overview, not an exhaustive list.
2. Some projects will need to be approved by the Fair Science Review Committee (SRC) before a student can begin experimentation. Learn more here.
3. Site Coordinators must make sure they are familiar with ALL the Rules and Regulations for each category including projects that require pre-approval.
4. If you have students whose projects involve Human Participants, Vertebrates Or Higher Functioning Invertebrates, Use Of Hazardous Chemicals, Activities, Or Devices (HCAD), and/or Use Of Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents (PHBA), you will need to view and approve the appropriate Pre-Approval documents.(See slide 9)

Pre-Approval, cont’d

• If a student begins experimentation before approval is received, the project will not be allowed in the Fair.
• If a project is registered in the Fair and it is determined that the project needed and did not receive pre-approval, the project will not be allowed in the Fair.
• A single project may need multiple pre-approval forms
• Schools can submit a total of 30 projects (not forms) for pre-approval.
• Team projects (team = 2-3 students at the same school) only need to be submitted for pre-approval by 1 team member (designated team captain)

Projects Requiring Pre-Approval

Students should fill out the template BEFORE registering!

• Rules for projects involving Human Participants. Fillable Template
• Rules for projects involving Vertebrates or Higher Functioning Invertebrates. Fillable Template
• Rules for projects involving Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents - PHBA. Fillable Template
• Rules for projects involving Hazardous Chemicals, Activities and Devices - HCAD. Fillable Template

Pre-Approval Dashboard

• Once students have submitted a project for pre-approval, Site Coordinators and teachers need to keep track of the status of student submissions.
• You can see what has been submitted,
• what is awaiting verification from supervisors,
• what has been denied and pending resubmission,
• and what has been denied a second time.
• You need to go into the student submissions to see what needs to be fixed so you can advise the student.

Quick action by the Site Coordinator will prevent projects from being denied participation in LACSEF

Reminders for 2025-2026

• Projects involving poisonous plants (such as hemlock) and/or venomous animals (such as bees) require

Pre-Approval for projects involving Hazardous Chemicals, Activities and Devices - HCAD

• Projects involving soil samples from known or suspected contaminated areas (including around oil refineries and gas stations) require Pre-Approval for projects involving Hazardous Chemicals, Activities and Devices - HCAD
• Projects involving Cephalopods should be treated like vertebrates

When in Doubt, PRE-APPROVE!

• There is nothing worse than having a student registering their project and finding out that it needed pre-approval, was not obtained on time resulting in the project being REJECTED.
• The Pre-approval process ends before Project Registration that includes Abstract submission begins. There are no exceptions.
• Make sure that you and the students have carefully read the

relevant pages on ALL 4 categories of pre-approval.

• Alternatives can be experiments on plants or simple engineering design projects.

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WHEN IN DOUBT, SUBMIT FOR PRE-APPROVAL!!

Responsibilities in the Fall

In the Fall, the Site Coordinator needs to:

• Enroll the school by:
• Going through this entire PowerPoint and completing the Google Form
• Entering the school and contact information into our online registration system (deadline is 1/23/26)
• Mailing the Enrollment Fee/ Waiver Form along with any appropriate enrollment fee.
• Become familiar with the Rules and Regulations including what types of projects require pre-approval
• Oversee student research and experimentation

Responsibilities in Jan/Feb

In the Spring, the Site Coordinator needs to:

• Determine projects that will represent the school site at the 76^th Annual Los Angeles County Science & Engineering Fair
• Communicate Student Online Registration Procedures to students (online registration opens 12/5/25) which includes Abstract submission
• Approve online the projects and students that will participate in the Fair
• Recruit adult judges and volunteers to help at the Fair
• Make sure students and their parents know what to do and what to expect for the In-person Fair

Important Deadlines 2025-2026

• 11/3/25: all information for project pre-approval must be submitted ONLINE by midnight (can be submitted earlier)
• 11/10/25: “Early Bird” enrollment fees must be received
• 11/21/25: all re-submissions for project pre-approval must be submitted ONLINE by midnight (can be submitted earlier)
• 1/23/26: last day to enroll school for 2026 Fair
• 2/10/26: last day for students to register their projects online for the 2026 Fair
• 2/13/26: last day for Site Coordinators to approve students / projects
• 2/20/26 to 2/27/26 : students’ project upload window

What to do as the Fair Approaches

In January and February, Site Coordinators need to:

• Make sure students have registered online a few days before the deadline (2/10/2026) in case there are problems or questions.
• Proofread the abstract students have submitted online and have students make any necessary corrections. The abstract is used to determine if the project will be allowed in the Fair. Projects with vague abstracts might not be permitted.
• Remember that the judges also have access to the abstracts for review before the Fair. A good Abstract helps the judges understand the project and evaluate accordingly.
• CAUTION: If the minimum word count for the abstract is not met, the project will not be allowed in the Fair.

What to do as the Fair Approaches, cont’d

●

Periodically check your Dashboard

and follow-up with your students to ensure all verifications and revisions are completed.

• Approve online the projects and students that will be participating in the Fair by the deadline (2/13/26). Each school can send a total of 13 projects, all of which can be team projects.
• Download the Site Coordinator Final Information Packet from the website after it is posted (you will receive an email telling you that it has been posted)

What to do as the Fair Approaches, cont’d

The following project components must be uploaded to the LACSEF Student Registration Site for judges to review before the interview:

• Maximum 3-4 min video of a student talking about their project, max 5 scanned pages from their logbook, 15 slide Digital Display and a PDF version of their Research Report so that judges can review these items before

the in-person Interviews

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Detailed directions will be on the website, closer to the Fair

What to do as the Fair Approaches, cont’d

Prepare students for the Fair by:

• Making sure they have downloaded and read the Student Final Information Packet
• Making sure students know that they must have uploaded their 3-4 min video, max 5 logbook pages, their 15 slide Digital Display and their research report prior to on-site registration, or else the project will not be allowed at the Fair
• Explaining to students the flow of events as listed in the Final Information Packets (Online Registration, in-person Interviews with Judges, Awards Program)

Online Links to Critical Docs, Sites

• School/Site Coordinator Online Registration Form
• Enrollment Fee/ Waiver Form
• Rules & Regulations
• Online Pre-approval Site @

https://app.lascifair.org

(opens Aug. 25, 2025)

Thank You!!

• Thank you so much for viewing this PowerPoint.
• We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to make sure that you know how the Fair “works”.

• Please click on the link below to complete the Form. You will receive an email with a unique password to use when you log in to the Registration Site.

Google Form