2-BESD RFP Phonics Intervention PreK-5 Curriculum Adoption SY26-27 (1).docx

Box Elder School District

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Elementary Phonics Intervention Program Adoption (K-5) Solicitation #: BESD-01-062026

PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

Box Elder School District (BESD) is seeking to adopt an Elementary Phonics Intervention program for grades K-5 for our 13 elementary schools. The goal in this adoption cycle is to provide up-to-date, research-based, relevant, and appropriate tier 2 and 3 phonics intervention materials that will effectively support evidence-based teaching and learning practices in our elementary classrooms, aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR) framework. Additionally, this adoption aims to offer teachers, interventionists, and all students greater access to high-impact strategies, materials, diagnostic tools, and a supportive data system.

Moreover, through the curriculum adoption process, the District aims to advance the Box Elder School District and Board of Education’s mission, vision, and values by:

Ensuring that all students learn at grade level or higher by:

1. focusing on learning, collaboration, and results to improve student achievement

2. fostering and modeling a growth mindset in students and employees

3. being solution-oriented and looking at challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement

4. being positive and treating everyone with dignity, respect, and courtesy at all times

5. hiring and retaining quality teachers and educational support staff

6. providing ongoing professional learning opportunities for all staff

7. providing quality instructional resources for each classroom

8. cultivating, developing, and maintaining partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies to support our students

The purpose of the RFP is to solicit complete proposals in accordance with the Proposal Response Format listed in the RFP from agencies with expertise in providing high-quality, standards-aligned phonics intervention curricular resources for large public-school districts. The selection and implementation of an evidence-based intervention curriculum is a complex process as it will serve a broad range of student and educator needs. Therefore, experience with successful management of similar systemic literacy projects is integral to this project’s success

This RFP is designed to provide interested parties with sufficient basic information to submit proposals meeting minimum requirements, but it is not intended to limit a proposal’s content or exclude any relevant or essential information. Respondents are at liberty and are encouraged to expand upon the specifications as to provide further evidence of service capability under any proposed agreement.

Proposals will be evaluated, and each requirement will be scored. Emphasis will be placed on a verified research and evidence base grounded firmly in the Science of Reading, focusing on structured and systematic phonics instruction. The selected program must seamlessly interface with a developmental phonics continuum with student diagnostic testing, data system, digital resources, student data privacy, and ongoing support.

BESD reserves the right to reject all proposals or waive any non-statutory informality. The contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible offeror whose proposal receives the highest total score under the evaluation criteria set forth in this RFP. The Board's decision to accept or reject the contract will be final. Upon completion of the intervention adoption process and selection, BESD will assume ownership of all materials provided as part of the proposal and will assume full responsibility for student record management in all related digital systems.

The Elementary Phonics Intervention Curriculum Adoption Committee is composed of highly-qualified literacy coaches, administration, and parents. To ensure diverse, representational evaluations, the committee is made up of members from various schools and background. Each member will personally review all materials submitted for approval. District procurement personnel will then review all evaluations and submit the final recommendation directly to the BESD Board of Education. This multi-level evaluation process involving numerous people guarantees each publisher equity and fairness in the bidding, evaluation, and selection process.

Respondents are strongly encouraged to carefully read the entire request for proposal.

It is anticipated that this RFP will result in a contract award to a single contractor.

BESD will not be liable for any costs proposers may incur in the preparation or presentation of this proposal.

I. BACKGROUND

BESD has a PreK-5 grade student enrollment of approximately 5,600 students. BESD currently operates 13 elementary schools. BESD offices are located at 960 S Main, Brigham City, UT 84032.

Table showing student enrollment and teacher counts across PreK-5 grades for thirteen elementary schools.

Century

68 students 3 teachers 62 students 3 teachers

3 teachers 67 students 3 teachers 77 students 3 teachers

1 teacher 72 students 4 teachers 60 students 3 teachers 69 students 3 teachers 61 students 3 teachers 60 students 3 teachers 74 students 3 teachers

1 teacher 90 students 5 teachers 78 students 4 teachers 95 students 5 teachers 97 students 5 teachers 95 students 4 teachers 106 students 4 teachers

Garland

89 students 4 teachers 97 students 4 teachers 102 students 4 teachers 95 students 5 teachers 105 students 5 teachers 116 students 5 teachers

2 teachers 121 students 6 teachers 132 students 6 teachers 126 students 6 teachers

138 students 6 teachers 116 students 6 teachers 143 students 6 teachers

1 teacher (all grades) 1 student 1 teacher (all grades) 1 student 1 teacher (all grades) 1 student 1 teacher (all grades) 2 students 1 teacher (all grades)

2 students 1 teacher (all grades)

Lake View

89 students 5 teachers 84 students 4 teachers 90 students 4 teachers 87 students 4 teachers 96 students 4 teachers 106 students 4 teachers

2 teachers 95 students 5 teachers 78 students 4 teachers 75 students 4 teachers 87 students 4 teachers 74 students 4 teachers 87 students 4 teachers

North Park

97 students 6 teachers 108 students 5 teachers 110 students 4 teachers 96 students 5 teachers 113 students 5 teachers 96 students 5 teachers

Park Valley

3 students 1 teacher (K-2) 1 student 1 teacher (K-2) 2 students 1 teacher (K-2) 3 students 1 teacher (3-5) 1 student 1 teacher (3-5) 3 students 1 teacher (3-5)

Snowville

4 students 1 teacher (K-2) 3 students 1 teacher (K-2) 3 students 1 teacher (K-2) 3 students 1 teacher (3-5) 3 students 1 teacher (3-5) 6 students 1 teacher (3-5)

Three Mile

122 students 5 teachers 107 students 5 teachers 109 students 5 teachers 127 students 6 teachers

1 teacher 109 students 5 teachers 107 students 5 teachers

II. ISSUING OFFICE AND RFP REFERENCE NUMBER

The District’s Purchasing Department is the issuing office for this document and all subsequent addenda relating to it, on behalf of the BESD Teaching and Learning Department. The reference number for the transaction is #:BESD-01-062026 . This number must be referred to on all proposals, correspondence, and documentation relating to the RFP.

NOTICE: Wherever the term bid, bidder, bidding or quote appears in this solicitation or reference is made to a bid, bidder, bidding, or quote, it shall be interpreted to mean offeror, as defined in 63G-6a-103(30). RFP, or Request for Proposals, as defined in 63G-6a-103(38) and the procurement shall be conducted subject to the provisions of 63G-6a-701-711.

III. LENGTH OF CONTRACT

The Contract resulting from this RFP will be for a period of 5 years. The contract may be renewed for up to 5 additional years, for a total of 10 years, if agreed upon by both parties.

BESD reserves the right to review contract(s) on a regular basis regarding performance and cost analysis and may negotiate price and service elements during the terms of the contract.

IV. PRICE GUARANTEE PERIOD

All pricing must be guaranteed for the entire term of the contract.

V. STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Any contract resulting from this RFP will include but not be limited to the State of Utah Terms and Conditions and the Student Level Data Protection Standard Terms and Conditions. Exceptions and or additions to the Terms and Conditions are strongly discouraged.

Exceptions and additions to the Terms and Conditions must be submitted with the proposal response. Exceptions, additions, service level agreements, etc. submitted after the date and time for receipt of proposals will not be considered. Website URLs, or information on website URLs must not be requested in the RFP document and must not be submitted with a proposal. URLs provided with a proposal may result in that proposal being rejected as non-responsive. URLs are also prohibited from any language included in the final contract document.

BESD retains the right to refuse to negotiate on exceptions should the exceptions be excessive, not in the best interest of the District. Negotiations could result in excessive costs to the District or could adversely impact existing time constraints.

If negotiations are required, the contractor must provide all documents in MS Word format for redline editing. The contractor must provide the name, contact information, and access to the person(s) that will be directly involved in legal negotiations.

VI. DETAILED SCOPE OF WORK

The desired outcome for this adoption cycle is to provide up-to-date, research-based, relevant, and appropriate phonics intervention materials that will effectively support teaching and learning practices for our elementary students and will offer all teachers and paraprofessionals greater access to relevant resources/tools.

The following list of requirements, although extensive, is not exhaustive and is intended to provide interested parties with sufficient basic information to submit proposals meeting minimum requirements, but is not intended to limit a proposal’s content or exclude any relevant or essential information. Moreover, the Committee members will be expected to use their knowledge of BESD’s learning communities’ needs and classroom requirements as they evaluate the curricular resources in relation to the selection criteria.

Curricular/Design Requirements

1. Utah Reading Standards for ELA & Science of Reading Alignment

· Alignment Documentation: Intervention materials must be recommended in the Intervention Curriculum section of the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Literacy Curriculum List in accordance with state literacy legislation, showing rigorous alignment with Science of Reading (SoR) frameworks.

2. Elementary Phonics Intervention Curricula (Tier 2 & Tier 3)

a. Essential Phonics Intervention Criteria

· Submitted proposals must explicitly state how their program transitions students through a highly structured phonics continuum that aligns with the LETRS Phonics Scope and Sequence.

· Lessons explicitly state the learning goals and purpose.

· Lessons feature phonological awareness practice that directly aligns with the targeted phonics skill.

· Opportunities to review previous instruction are built into each lesson.

· Instruction features an explicit, teacher-led introduction of new skills. (I do)

· Lessons allocate specific instructional time for interactive, guided practice. (We do)

· Lessons incorporate explicit encoding and dictation exercises aligned to the focus skill.

· Lessons include explicit connections to word meaning.

· Instruction includes systematic practice with connected text across words, phrases, sentences, and passages.

b. Physical Qualities

· Materials are presented in a way that is easy to read and implement.

· All corresponding teacher resource materials, student tools, and hands-on manipulatives are ready for immediate classroom use.

· Layout is consistent; and allows access through multiple modalities (print and online).

c. Student Materials

· Materials are developmentally appropriate and engaging to students.

· Student materials include opportunities for hands-on interaction.

Digital Resources/Tools Requirements

1. Assessment, Data Continuity, and Student Grouping

a. Diagnostic Data System

· The selected program must include a literacy intervention data platform to all historical student diagnostic and skill mastery data, and tier-based intervention grouping histories.

2. Digital Curricula

· Available digital resources can easily be viewed online.

3. Usability

· User-friendly access (i.e., Single Sign On) and navigation for all users. (Classlink)

· Digital resources/tools must be compatible with the BESD’s student information system.

· Digital resources/tools must be web-based and device-agnostic.

· Administrators can easily manage school, teacher, and student accounts (i.e., delete accounts, change usernames, move schools, be assigned to more than one school).

· Please include technical support contact information so BESD can determine specific compatibility.

4. Student Data Privacy

· All digital/electronic/online resources and tools meet all Federal and State student data privacy requirements. Information about Federal and State requirements can be accessed by following the link: https://schools.utah.gov/studentdataprivacy

Professional/Service Requirements

1. Training, Service and Support

· Agency has knowledgeable and capable curriculum deployment/implementation specialists who will guide our district employees through the implementation process.

· Agency provides reasonably detailed trainings for teachers and administrators.

· Agency’s customer support is available 24/7 via phone, email, or online support portal with a guaranteed response of one business day after receiving notice of issue.

· Agency offers initial on-site training, training of trainers, and refresher trainings as necessary.

· Digital resources/tools guaranteed accessibility at all times, unless notified.

· Digital resources/tools guaranteed uptime bug fixing policy.

· Agency provides webinars, instruction videos, and online resources to provide teachers support in implementing the curriculum.

2. Evidence of Performance

· Agency has a broad client base of districts of various sizes, with different requirements and unique needs.

· Agency exhibits a strong, steady client retention rate within the K-12 public school market that proves its success in providing high levels of value and service to its clients.

· Service provider can present multiple references from districts of similar size and requirements as BESD.

Sensitive Material Requirements

· Learning material cannot contain sensitive material as defined in this policy.

· Utah Code § 53G-10-103(2)(a) (2025)

· Utah Admin. Rules R277-468-2(1) (November 7, 2022)

· Utah Admin. Rules R277-469-3(2)(c) (July 9, 2024)

· Utah Admin. Rules R277-628-3(1)(a)(i) (August 7, 2024)

VII. ANTICIPATED SOLICITATION TIMELINE

Table outlining the anticipated solicitation timeline from RFP release to contract creation.

VIII. QUESTIONS

All questions must be submitted through the Utah Public Procurement U3P-Bonfire site by June 22nd by 2:00pm MDT. Answers will be given via the U3P-Bonfire platform.

IX. PROPOSAL RESPONSE FORMAT

All proposals must include a technical proposal and cost proposal. Formats for both documents follow:

A. Technical Proposal Format Hard copies are to be tabbed by section.

Tab 1. Executive Summary. The one or two-page executive summary is to briefly describe the offeror's proposal. This summary should highlight the major features of the proposal. It must indicate any requirements that cannot be met by the offeror. The reader should be able to determine the essence of the proposal by reading the executive summary. Protected information requests should be identified in this section.

Tab 2. Detailed Response. This section should constitute the major portion of the proposal and must contain at least the following information:

1. A complete narrative of the offeror's assessment of the work to be performed, the offeror’s ability and approach, and the resources necessary to fulfill the requirements. This should demonstrate the offeror's understanding of the desired overall performance expectations. Clearly indicate any options or alternatives proposed.

2. A specific point-by-point response, in the order listed, to each requirement in the RFP.

Tab 3. Protected Information. All protected information must be included in this section of proposal response. Do not incorporate protected information throughout the proposal. Rather, provide a reference in the proposal response directing readers to the specific area of this Protected Information section.

The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code Ann., Subsection 63-2-304, provides in part that:

the following records are protected if properly classified by a government entity:

(1) trade secrets as defined in Section 13-24-2 if the person submitting the trade secret has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63-2-308 (Business Confidentiality Claims);

(2) commercial information or non-individual financial information obtained from a person if:

(a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair competitive injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the governmental entity to obtain necessary information in the future;

(b) the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the public in obtaining access; and

(c) the person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63-2-308;

(3) (6) records the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement proceedings or give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a governmental entity, except that this Subsection (6) does not restrict the right of a person to see bids submitted to or by a governmental entity after bidding has closed;

GRAMA provides that trade secrets, commercial information or non-individual financial information may be protected by submitting a Claim of Business Confidentiality.

To protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, the offeror must: provide a written Claim of Business Confidentiality at the time the information (proposal) is provided to the district and include a concise statement of reasons supporting the claim of business confidentiality (Subsection 63-2-308(1)).

If you submit a proposal containing confidential information you must submit an electronic “redacted” (excluding protected information) copy of your proposal response. Copy must clearly be marked “Redacted Version.”

A Claim of Business Confidentiality may be appropriate for information such as client lists and non-public financial statements. Pricing and service elements may not be protected. An entire proposal may not be protected under a Claim of Business Confidentiality. The claim of business confidentiality must be submitted with your proposal on the form which may be accessed at:

http://purchasing.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/confidentialityclaimform.doc An entire proposal cannot be identified as “PROTECTED”, “CONFIDENTIAL” or “PROPRIETARY” and may be considered non-responsive if marked as such.

To ensure the information is protected, you must include all protected information in Tab 3 of the proposal response. Any protected information incorporated in other sections of the proposal response may result in release of data at no fault of the District.

All materials submitted become the property of BESD. Materials may be evaluated by anyone designated by the District as part of the proposal evaluation committee. Materials submitted may be returned only at the District’s option.

B. Cost Proposal Format

The proposal must be set forth in such a way that it will allow the merits of the proposal to be evaluated in conjunction with applicable cost. Cost points will be evaluated and awarded according to the following formula: Cost Points × (Lowest Proposed Price / Proposed Price). Please use the provided form (see Attachment A). Please review the Best and Final Offers section below to ensure you properly submit your cost proposal.

X. SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL

Proposals must be received by the posted due date and time. Proposals received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration.

For this RFP, the following materials must be received by the Box Elder School District Purchasing Department (Attn: Yvette Gunn, 960 S Main St, Brigham City, UT 84302):

· Hard Copies: One (1) original and ten (10) identical copies of your proposal.

· Digital Copy: One (1) identical digital copy submitted via the Utah Public Procurement Place U3P-Bonfire site.

· Physical Samples: One (1) physical sample of materials.

For the digital proposal submission, you should attach two separate documents titled "Technical Proposal” and “Cost Proposal”. For the hard copy, these documents should be separate from each other. The cost proposal should be in a sealed envelope with the RFP reference number and the phrase “Cost Proposal” clearly marked on the envelope.

If individual digital codes are required to access online curriculum, our committee will require 10 codes.

Cost will be evaluated independent from the technical proposal, and as such, is to be submitted separately from the technical proposal. Failure to submit cost separately may result in your proposal being determined non-responsive. Inclusion of any cost or pricing data within the technical proposal may also result in your proposal being determined non-responsive.

NOTICE: By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, offeror is acknowledging that the requirements, scope of work, and the evaluation process, outlined in the RFP are fair, equitable, not unduly restrictive, understood and agreed to. Any exceptions to the content of the RFP must be protested to the purchasing agent prior to the closing date and time for submission of the proposal.

XI. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

A Minimum Mandatory Requirement Committee will review each program to determine if it is recommended in the Intervention Curriculum section of the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Literacy Curriculum List in accordance with state literacy legislation, showing rigorous alignment with Science of Reading (SoR) frameworks.

Programs that meet the minimum mandatory requirement will be passed on to the Scoring Committee. The Scoring Committee criteria can be found here: Phonics Intervention Curriculum Scoring Committee Criteria

Programs moving forward to the Scoring Committee will need to send their sample materials to the district for a thorough review by the Scoring Committee. Sample materials should include: Teacher Edition, Student Material Samples, Manipulatives, Resources and Access to Digital Resources. It is expected that materials will arrive at the district for review no later than June 30.

Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in the proposal. All proposals in response to this RFP will be evaluated in a manner consistent with the Utah Procurement Code, rules, policies and the evaluation criteria established in the RFP.

Table breaking down the evaluation criteria point weights between cost and technical requirements.

60 Essential Elementary Phonics Intervention Curricula Criteria 26 Digital Resources/Tools 21 Professional/Service Requirements

Understandability and comprehensiveness of information supplied in this RFP will affect the evaluation of the above criteria.

XII. SHORTLIST

PROPOSED: Offerors must meet all requirements outlined in the criteria below. Proposals that fail to meet any required criteria may be determined non-responsive and may not be considered further in the evaluation process. Proposals will be ranked based on the weighted technical criteria. Offerors must achieve a minimum threshold of 60% of the available technical points (64.2 out of 107 points) to be shortlisted and advance to the next stage of evaluation.

· Intervention materials must be recommended on the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Literacy Curriculum List in accordance with state literacy legislation, showing rigorous alignment with Science of Reading (SoR) frameworks.

· Submitted proposals must explicitly state how their program transitions students through a highly structured phonics continuum that aligns with the LETRS Phonics Scope and Sequence.

· Lessons explicitly state the learning goals and purpose.

· Lessons feature phonological awareness practice that directly aligns with the targeted phonics skill.

· Opportunities to review previous instruction are built into each lesson.

· Instruction features an explicit, teacher-led introduction of new skills.

· Lessons allocate specific instructional time for interactive, guided practice.

· Lessons incorporate explicit encoding and dictation exercises aligned to the focus skill.

· Lessons include explicit connections to word meaning.

· Instruction includes systematic practice with connected text across words, phrases, sentences, and passages.

· Materials are presented in a way that is easy to read and implement.

· All corresponding teacher resource materials, student tools, and hands-on manipulatives are ready for immediate classroom use.

· Layout is consistent; and allows access through multiple modalities (print and online).

· Materials are developmentally appropriate and engaging to students.

· Student materials include opportunities for hands-on interaction.

· The selected program must include a literacy intervention data platform to all historical student diagnostic and skill mastery data, and tier-based intervention grouping histories.

· Digital textbook resources can easily be viewed online.

· User-friendly access (i.e., Single Sign On) and navigation for all users. (Active Directory Integration, LDAP, SAML, Clever, Classlink)

· Ability for the district digital administrator, building administrator, and class teacher to manipulate the curriculum offered.

· Digital resources/tools must be compatible with the BESD’s student information system.

· Digital resources/tools must be web-based and device-agnostic.

· Administrators can easily manage school, teacher, and student accounts (i.e., delete accounts, change usernames, move schools, be assigned to more than one school).

· All digital/electronic/online resources and tools meet all Federal and State student data privacy requirements. Information about Federal and State requirements can be accessed by following the link: https://schools.utah.gov/studentdataprivacy

· Agency has knowledgeable and capable curriculum deployment/implementation specialists who will guide our district employees through the implementation process.

· Agency provides reasonably detailed trainings for teachers and administrators.

· Agency’s customer support is available 24/7 via phone, email, or online support portal with a guaranteed response of one business day after receiving notice of issue.

· Agency offers initial on-site training, training of trainers, and refresher trainings as necessary.

· Digital resources/tools guaranteed accessibility at all times, unless notified.

· Digital resources/tools guaranteed uptime bug fixing policy.

· Agency provides webinars, instruction videos, and online resources to provide teachers support in implementing the curriculum.

· Agency has a broad client base of districts of various sizes, with different requirements and unique needs.

· Agency exhibits a strong, steady client retention rate within the K-12 public school market that proves its success in providing high levels of value and service to its clients.

· Service provider can present multiple references from districts of similar size and requirements as BESD.

· Learning material cannot contain sensitive material as defined in this policy.

· Utah Code § 53G-10-103(2)(a) (2025)

· Utah Admin. Rules R277-468-2(1) (November 7, 2022)

· Utah Admin. Rules R277-469-3(2)(c) (July 9, 2024)

· Utah Admin. Rules R277-628-3(1)(a)(i) (August 7, 2024)

XIII. BEST AND FINAL OFFERS

Vendors should offer their best offer in the original technical and cost proposals. The use of a Best and Final Offer process is regulated by Utah Code 63G-6a-707.5 and will only be used if:

a. no single proposal addresses all the specifications stated in the RFP;

b. all or a significant number of the proposals are ambiguous on a material point and the evaluation committee requires further clarification in order to conduct a fair evaluation of proposals;

c. the evaluation committee needs additional information from all offerors to complete the evaluation of proposals;

d. the differences between proposals in one or more material aspects are too slight to allow the evaluation committee to distinguish between proposals;

e. all cost proposals are too high or over budget; or

f. another reason exists supporting a request for best and final offers, as provided in rules established by the applicable rulemaking authority It is important to understand this so as not to anticipate that a best and final process will allow for a vendor to “sharpen their pencil” in a subsequent phase.

XIV. AWARD OF CONTRACT

Award shall be made to the offeror whose proposal is the most advantageous to the District taking into consideration price and the other evaluation factors set forth in this request for proposals. The highest scoring proposal will be awarded the solicitation.

Attachment A

COST PROPOSAL FORM

Box Elder School District has approximately 5,500 students in grades K-5 per year. The student population in K-5 varies slightly each year. Student licenses need to be transferable between grades to accommodate the fluctuations in student populations. Please provide cost per year based on a 5 year contract with the option to extend up to 5 more years.

COST:

materials including manipulatives, learning libraries, number lines, etc.

Teacher resource materials will be provided by _______ students /teacher ratio.

List all materials included in basic package costs. List any discounts related to the number of student licenses purchased. List multiyear pricing as applicable.