22Q0025_PWS_042822.pdf

DRAFT

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Department of Defense Education Activity

4800 Mark Center Drive

Alexandria, VA 22350

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PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

System Accreditation Services

1. General Information and Scope of Work

1.1 Agency

1.1.1 The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) provides PK-12 instruction to over 66,000 dependents of active-duty military and civilian employees. In the Americas, DoDEA operates 50 schools located in seven states, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In Europe and the Middle East, DoDEA operates 64 schools located in Germany, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Bahrain. In the

Pacific, DoDEA operates 45 schools located in Korea, Japan (mainland and Okinawa), and Guam. DoDEA also operates a full time K-12 virtual school option with teaching hubs in each DoDEA region:

Americas, Europe, and Pacific. DoDEA's curriculum, resources and student achievement scores on standardized assessments compare favorably to those of high-performing US public school systems.

1.1.2 DoDEA schools have various grade configurations, with the most common being PK-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Of

DoDEA’s 159 brick-and-mortar schools, 100 schools have students in at least three of the grades K-5; 57 schools have at least one grade 6-8. Of the 6-8 schools, five are part of a K-6 or PK-6 school. DoDEA also operates 41 high schools (which includes our fully accredited virtual high school).

Table 1: School Year 2022-23 Enrollment Projections

(rounded to the nearest 10)

Grade Students Grade Students Grade Students Grade Students

PK 3,190 3 6,080 7 4,690 11 2,870

K 6,360 4 5,840 8 4,200 12 2,570

1 6,390 5 5,680 9 3,890 PK-12

Total 66,280 2 6,170 6 5,040 10 3,310

1.1.3 Military-connected students experience high mobility rates across the nation and throughout the world.

Therefore, DoDEA makes a concerted effort to mitigate transitional barriers to military-connected students’ success, working toward a worldwide systemic education network.

1.1.4 DoDEA has adopted College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) in mathematics, literacy, the arts, social studies, and science, which are rigorous, research-based, and reflect the knowledge, skills and dispositions students need for success in college and/or careers and are aligned with the Common Core State Standards

(CCSS); National Core Art Standards (NCAS); Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards; Society for Health Education and

Physical Education Standards (SHAPE America); and the International Society for Technology in Education

(ISTE) Standards for Students.

1.2 Background

1.2.1 All DoDEA schools, except the newly formed virtual K-8 school, are accredited. The K-8 virtual school program was established in response to the educational needs of students due to the pandemic-caused school closures. Accreditation services provide the military and civilian community served by DoDEA with an external review of the quality of our educational programs systemwide. Accreditation services support the goal of ensuring that DoDEA students achieve at a high level and can transition successfully into other K-12 schools, institutes of higher education, or the 21st century workplace.

1.2.2 Unlike US public school systems, DoDEA is not obligated to follow US Department of Education regulations, and our accreditation cannot be based upon them.

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1.2.3 Although there are multiple accrediting agencies in the United States, only one company since 1946— which has changed ownership and names multiple times—has provided accreditation services for DoDEA.

1.2.4 The accreditation process has been an invaluable professional learning experience for administrators and educators and has had guided changes that have improved student learning and achievement at the individual student, classroom, and school levels.

1.3 Scope of Work

1.3.1 DoDEA requires comprehensive system accreditation services by a US accrediting agency with a strong national presence, especially in states that have large military populations. In addition to accreditation visits/reports to each DoDEA school during the life of the contract, DoDEA requires the following:

▪ Analytics that measure student learning and achievement to include digital learning and college & career readiness; school/district/system support for student learning and achievement; and engagement of key stakeholders.

▪ Access to resources that include an accrediting web-based platform, accreditation-related continuous improvement tools, accreditation handbooks, research papers, templates, guides, and standards & their corresponding rating guide.

1.3.2 DoDEA expects to award one contract for a base and nine option years.

2 Requirements

2.1 System Accreditation Services: Provide accreditation and related services for all schools, including DoDEA’s virtual high school and teaching hubs in Europe and the Pacific.

The tasks below are provided to help the Contractor gain a better understanding of the requirements. The tasks are not all inclusive. The Contractor is expected to develop the total solution to meet all the requirements in accordance with a performance-based approach.

Supporting Tasks

Task 1, Membership and Framework—The Contractor shall provide the following:

1) Annual membership from a US accrediting agency that (1) has a strong national presence, especially in states that have high military populations, (2) includes all DoDEA schools, and (3) reflects the opening and or closing of schools, access to resources that include accrediting web-based platform, accreditation-related continuous improvement tools, accreditation handbooks, research papers, templates, guides, and standards and its corresponding rating guide for school-level/above-school-level administrators and other stakeholders.

2) Accreditation framework for each district and each school within the districts to improve student learning and achievement. The written framework shall be posted on DoDEA’s learning management system (LMS, Cornerstone) and include the following:

▪ Research-based model for accreditation that (1) empowers/supports schools/system to focus on student learning and classroom environments before and after each accreditation visit, (2) accommodates the unique nature/ characteristics of DoDEA’s schools, (3) provides a concrete distinction between the evaluation of virtual and brick-and-mortar schools, (4) includes free web-based readings for further study and related web-based support, and (5) data literacy modules for continuous improvement. Note: An estimated four 60-minute modules shall be provided. The exact number of modules shall be determined post-award in consultation with the contracting officer’s representative (COR).

▪ Analytics that measure (1) student learning and achievement to include digital learning and college & career readiness, (2) school/district/region/system support for student learning & achievement, and (3) engagement of key stakeholders

Task 2, Accreditation Services—The Contractor shall:

1) Schedule district accreditation visits on dates and at places that DoDEA approves in writing at least 180 calendar days in advance of each visit.

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2) Schedule visits to every school within the district on dates and places that DoDEA approves in writing at least 90 calendar days in advance of each visit.

3) Conduct accreditation site visits to districts and schools during the second semester each year of the contract.

4) Provide notification at least 60 calendar days in advance of an in-person site visit needs to be replaced by a virtual site visit. Draft a contingency plan to do the virtual site visit(s) for DoDEA’s review at least 45 calendar days before the site visit(s). Finalize the draft based on written feedback from the COR at least 30 calendar days before the visit(s) occur. Note: DoDEA will provide written feedback in a timely manner— usually within five business days of receipt of the draft.

Task 3, Team Selection—The Contractor shall:

1) Provide the qualifications of accreditation team leaders and team members 90 days in advance of a district visit for DoDEA approval. Ensure the accreditation team leaders and members are representative of school-level, district-level, and state-level practitioners and experts. For additional information, see PWS 3.2.

Note: DoDEA will provide written feedback in a timely manner—usually within five business days of receipt of the qualifications.

2) Coordinate with the COR if substitutions are necessary. For additional information see PWS 3.2 (4).

3) Provide the number of Contractor staff for each visit. The table below shows the estimated number of

Contractor staff expected for each visit:

Year Visits Schools Staff

Base Europe - East 31 20

Pacific - West 12 12

Option 1

Americas - Southeast 24 15

Europe - South 16 11

Virtual High School 1 4

Option 2 Americas - Mid-Atlantic 26 15

Europe - West 17 10

Option 3 Pacific - South 13 8

Option 4 Pacific - East 20 12

Total DoDEA 160 107

This 5-year cycle of visits will be repeated in Option Years 5-9.

There will likely be small variations in the number of schools and number of Contractor staff, but exact numbers cannot be precisely predicted at this writing.

Task 4, Team Orientation—The Contractor shall:

1) Ensure all accreditation team members are validated and verified to perform their duties. Provide, upon request, evidence that team members have completed the required online DoD Anti-Terrorism training prior to departure for overseas travel and, if required, the required documents and information to obtain base entry.

For additional information see PWS 3.12, Security Requirements.

2) Present—for each district visit—a one-hour district accreditation meeting for the orientation of all team members including the accompanying DoDEA personnel prior to the school accreditation visits at a date, time, and place approved by DoDEA in writing at least 30 calendar days prior to the initial school visit. Note:

PWS 4.4 lists the information DoDEA will provide for this meeting.

Task 5, Reports—The Contractor shall:

1) Onsite Oral Briefing: Provide a clear and concise oral public briefing onsite at the end of each district visit that summarizes the team’s preliminary findings to include strengths, challenges, and accreditation status. Provide a digital draft of the onsite oral briefing to the COR two business days after the public briefing. Finalize three business days after receipt of written feedback from the COR. Note: All stakeholders, including the command and parents/ sponsors, are invited to attend the public briefing.

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2) District Report: Draft the district report for the district superintendent and COR to review 30 business days before the public briefing. Finalize the report three business days after receipt of written feedback from

DoDEA.

Task 6, Above-School-Level Services—The Contractor shall:

1) Provide virtual consultation services to each district being visited each year of the contract to support the evaluation of our continuous improvement process as deemed necessary by the COR in consultation with the

Contractor. Perform the following:

▪ Make all arrangements for each district meetings in consultation with the COR, including the virtual platform. Note: The number and length of meetings depends on the needs of each district which are determined post-award.

▪ Provide the consultation on the mutually agreed upon dates and times.

▪ Draft the notes/recommendations from the meetings and finalize them based on written feedback from the COR.

2) Lead 12 monthly 60-minute virtual meetings each year with DoDEA leadership to include HQ leaders to review/discuss the accreditation process and related challenges and progress. Perform the following:

▪ Make all arrangements for the meetings in consultation with the COR, including the virtual platform.

▪ Draft the agenda and finalize it based on written feedback from the COR.

▪ Present on the dates and times mutually agreed upon by the COR and Contractor.

▪ Draft the meeting minutes and finalize them based on written feedback from DoDEA.

Task 7, Meetings: The Contractor shall provide the medium through which each meeting occurs, record each meeting’s minutes. Submit the draft minutes to the COR within two business days of the event. Finalize the minutes two business days after receipt of written feedback from the COR.

1) Post-Award Conference: Participate in a video- or teleconference with the COR five business days after award

IAW FAR Subpart 42.5.

2) Other Post-Award Meetings: Meet with the Contracting Officer (KO), COR, and/or other Agency personnel, as appropriate, to review Contractor performance, as required by DoDEA. The KO may discuss the Agency’s view of Contractor performance, and the Contractor shall apprise the Agency of any problems being experienced. The

Contractor shall take appropriate action to resolve any outstanding issues the Agency raises.

Task 8, Technical Support)—The Contractor shall

1) Requests from School or District Visits: Provide virtual technical assistance to resolve challenges that

DoDEA schools or districts may have with the Contractor’s reporting requirements in a timely manner, i.e., in a timeframe that does not negatively impact or delay a site visit.

2) All Other Requests: Provide industry-standard technical support for its digital resources for the life of the contract via telephone or by email within one business day or less from the initial contact to include but not limited to assisting with service problems, product setup, upgrades, and troubleshooting.

2.2 Performance Standards and Acceptable Quality Levels

2.2.1 Performance Standard: Tasks shall be completed by per the acceptable quality level (below).

2.2.2 Acceptable Quality Level: Ninety-five percent of tasks will be completed by the required completion date. The remaining five percent shall be completed no later than ten business days after their due date.

3 Constraints

3.1 Place of Performance: Work shall be performed at the Contractor’s facilities, DoDEA schools, and DoDEA district superintendent offices.

3.2 Key Functions—The Contractor shall provide the following: Project Manager/ Alternate Project Manager, Team

Leaders, Team Members, and Consultants. They shall be available, from 9AM to 3PM EST, Monday - Friday, except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

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1) Program Manager/Alternate: Provide a program manager and alternate to be responsible for the performance of work, who shall act for the Contractor when the program manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. The program manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to the daily operation of this contract.

2) Lead Evaluators: Provide a lead evaluator for each district accreditation visit to be responsible for all activities related to the accreditation review visit. Each lead evaluator shall have at least three years of experience doing school accreditation visits and will preferably have experience doing accreditation visits at DoDEA schools.

3) Team Members: Provide team members who have been K-12 school administrators or above-school-level subject-matter experts. Each team member will preferably-have at least one member who has performed accreditation visits at DoDEA schools.

4) Consultants: Provide consultants to support districts prior to their accreditation review. Each consultant shall have at least three years of experience doing school accreditation visits and will preferably have experience doing accreditation visits at DoDEA schools.

5) Changes: Personnel provided as replacements to key functions after contract award shall meet or exceed the qualifications and experience of those provided upon award of the contract. Notify the COR in writing regarding all personnel changes ten business days in advance of the change.

3.3 Holidays and Hours of Operation

1) The program manager or alternate shall be available during the hours of 9AM to 3PM Eastern Standard Time

(EST), except for Federal holidays and Federal government closures/shutdowns. The following list shows recognized Federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents Day, Memorial

Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

2) Although there are different time zones within Europe and the Pacific and different hours for specific schools throughout DoDEA, the normal business hours for the regions roughly correspond to the following: Americas, 0700-1500 EST; Europe, 1300-2100 EST; and Pacific, 2000-0400 EST.

3.4 Availability: The Contractor shall make all resources available for the life of the contract.

3.5 Anti-Bias, Diversity, and Inclusion—The Contractor shall provide resources free of age, racial, color, national origin, disabling conditions, sexual, gender, religious, and ethnic bias and present balanced coverage of multi-cultural contributions and representation, where appropriate.

3.6 Privacy—The Contractor shall:

1) User Accounts: Require, wherever applicable, that individual accounts possess unique usernames and passwords that do not require personally identifiable information (PII) to access online content, i.e., first & last name and any other unique personal information.

2) Contractor Personnel: Ensure personnel assigned to this contract take proper precautions to protect information from disclosure. Collect and/or store all agency-owned or agency-controlled PII IAW the relevant requirements of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C, per http://www.archives.gov/about/laws/privacy-act-1974.html.

3) Privacy Training: Ensure Contractor staff who have access to DoDEA’s student, teacher and/or staff personally identifiable information take the DoD Privacy Act/Personally Identifiable Information (PA/PII) training before gaining access to the data and yearly thereafter. Provide copies of the certificates of completion to the COR which can be audited at any time by the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or his/her designee.

3.7 Section 508 Compliance—Ensure Contractor resources, wherever applicable, meet the following requirements:

1) IT Requirement: Ensure all electronic hardware and software that is procured under this contract/purchase order comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, (29 U.S.C. 794d) and the

Architectural & Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Electronic Information Technology (EIT)

Accessibility Standards (36 CFR part 1194). More information may be found at http://www.section508.gov.

2) Deliverable Requirement: Ensure the following occur:

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▪ Outputs/deliverables do not adversely affect accessibility features of existing EIT technologies.

▪ EIT related to the requirements of the contract are accessible to people with disabilities, per 29 U.S.C 794(d).

▪ Outputs/deliverables including functional performance, information, documentation, and support requirements are considered. Standards from 36 CFR Part 1194 Subpart B, C, and D apply to this acquisition.

3.8 Optical Character Resolution (OCR): The Contractor shall provide, upon request, two digital OCR copies of print materials in one or more of the following formats:

▪ Digital Accessible Information System/National Instructional Materials

▪ Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) with cascading style sheet

▪ HyperText Markup Language (HTML)

▪ Portable Document Format (PDF), (unlocked, embedded fonts, single page)

▪ Rich Text Format (RTF)/Word document

3.9 Data: All data developed as a result of any work awarded under this contract is and shall remain the property of the Government.

3.10 Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): Contractor (including any subcontractor) personnel performing work under this contract may receive, have access to, or participate in the development of, proprietary or

Privacy Act information (e.g., personal information, education, etc.) may create a current or subsequent OCI as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. Whenever the Contractor becomes aware that such access or participation may result in actual or potential OCI, the Contractor shall (1) immediately notify the Contracting Officer (KO) in writing and (2) promptly submit a plan to the KO to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. Note: The KO will unilaterally determine if the Contractor’s plan is acceptable. If the KO determines the plan cannot satisfactorily avoid or mitigate an OCI, s/he may implement other remedies to include prohibiting the Contractor’s further participation in contracted requirements.

3.11 Travel

1) Area of Travel: The Contractor shall travel to each site as scheduled post-award. Note: This contract does not authorize travel for Government personnel.

2) Travel Policy: The Government will reimburse the Contractor for allowable travel costs incurred by the contractor in performance of the contract and determined to be IAW FAR Subpart 31.2, subject to the following provisions: travel required for tasks assigned under this contract shall be governed in accordance with rules set forth for temporary duty travel in the DoD Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). The Contractor shall execute all travel IAW DoD regulations and policies. All travel and expenses above $75 shall be approved by the COR in writing, prior to travel.

3) Travel: Travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time are authorized for travel beyond a 50-mile radius of the local office, whenever a task assignment requires work to be accomplished at an alternate work site. No travel, subsistence or associated labor charges for travel time shall be charged for work performed within a 50-mile radius of the Contractor’s local office, normal work site, or temporary work site unless approved in advance by the COR. Under no circumstances will costs be reimbursed for travel performed for personal convenience and daily travel to and from the normal work site, to include parking expenses.

3.12 Security Requirements—The Contractor shall follow the guidance whenever a site visit or above-school level meeting occurs on a military base/installation:

3.12.1 Installation/Base Passes & Access: The local supporting military installation/base will issue all required installation/base passes to Contractor employees at no cost to the Contractor. To be eligible to perform work under this contract, the Contractor shall meet all applicable European installation/base access requirements covered including Army in Europe Regulation 190-16 and USAFE Instruction 31-208.

Passes shall be in each Contractor employee’s possession at all times while on a military installation.

The Contractor shall return base passes to the appropriate office within one business day upon termination of employment or completion of this contract. The Contractor shall ensure that it coordinates Installation/Base Passes Access well in advance of the projected start dates for their employees as the turnaround is unpredictable and can vary for different locations.

3.12.2 Visitor Policies: The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor employees strictly comply with established

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DoDEA visitor policies pursuant to DoDEA Regulation 4700.2, Internal Physical Security, March

2001 and DoDEA Regulation 4700.1, DoDEA Antiterrorism Program and Standards Para 4.7.11, which can be provided by the COR upon request. This shall include the mandatory use of visitor badges necessitating the positive identification of all visitors and Contractors. Visitor or Contractor noncompliance with the visitor policy will be documented within 24 hours of occurrence for follow-up with the Contracting Officer or Installation Commander, as appropriate.

3.12.3 Identification Badges: All Contractor and subcontractor personnel who require physical access to a

Federally-controlled facility and/or access to a Federally-controlled information system shall follow the

Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201 "Personal Identity

Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors" and the associated Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) implementation guidance for personal identity verification OMB Guidance M-05-24, dated August

5, 2005, "Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12-Policy for a Common

Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors" as required by FAR 4.13. The

Contractor shall provide picture identification badges to all Contractor personnel. Identification badges shall be worn and visible at all times while Contractor personnel are on Government premises.

Badges shall display a recent picture of the Contractor employee, Contractor employee’s name, company name, and the badge’s expiration date.

3.12.4 Access to and Disclosure of Information: The Contractor may require access to data and information proprietary to a Government agency, another Government contractor, or of such nature that its dissemination or use, other than as specified in this contract, would be adverse to the interests of the

Government or others. Neither the Contractor nor Contractor employees shall divulge or release data or information developed or obtained under performance of this contract, except to authorized

Government personnel or upon written approval of the COR or designated representative. Disclosure of information regarding operations and services of the activity to persons not entitled to receive it, or failure to safeguard any classified, proprietary or other similar items or information that may come to the Contractor (or any persons under the Contractor’s control) in connection with work under this contract, may subject the contractor, contractor’s agent, or employees to criminal liability under Title 18, Sections 793 and 798 and/or other sections of the US Code. Neither the Contractor nor Contractor employees shall disclose or cause to be disseminated, any information concerning the operations of the activity that could result in, or increase the likelihood of, a breach of the activities’ security or interrupt the continuity of operations.

1) The Contractor shall direct all inquiries, comments, or complaints arising from matters observed, experienced, or learned as a result of, or in connection with the performance of this contract, the resolution of which may require the dissemination of official information to the COR.

2) Inquiries received by the Contractor for work performed under this contract shall be referred to the

Contracting Officer for evaluation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of 1975, Public Law

93-502, 5 U.S.C., Section 552. The Contractor shall not release any information concerning the project to the public without written authorization from the Contracting Officer.

3) The Contractor shall not release any information (including photographs, files, public announcements, statements, denials, or confirmations) on any part of the subject matter of this contract, or any phase of any program hereunder, without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer or COR. The

Contractor shall not release information regarding individuals without prior authority of the Project

Officer/COR. Any documentation showing individuals’ names or other personal information shall be controlled and protected. The provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, 5 U.S.C., Section 552a shall apply.

4 Government-Furnished Information / Resources

4.1 DoDEA in consultation with the Contractor shall determine the dates and times of each school visit post-award.

4.2 Escorts: DoDEA personnel will accompany accreditation team members during their school visits and briefings. Accreditation team members shall not enter DoDEA schools or visit classrooms without a DoDEA escort.

4.3 Information: DoDEA will provide the following information in a digital format and in a timely manner:

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a) Understanding the Blueprint for Continuous Improvement.

b) Understanding the difference between DoDEA and US public schools.

c) Background information about DoDEA and its regions, districts, and schools.

d) Major initiatives affecting DoDEA schools. including DoDEA’s response to the pandemic crisis.

e) Host nation conditions, international travel, lodging, meals, and other pertinent information.

f) Installation/base security requirements.

5 Contract Deliverables

Milestone/Deliverable Word

/ Excel

Digital

Copies

Task /

PWS

Planned

Frequency

Membership and Framework

—Membership Yes Yes 1 (1) Ongoing after receipt of initial delivery order

—Accreditation Framework Yes Yes 1 (2) Framework made available to DoDEA staff

30 calendar days prior to each district visit

—Data Literacy Modules Yes Yes 1 (2) Drafts of each module shall be finalized based on COR feedback post-award.

Accreditation Services

—Scheduling District Visits Yes Yes 2 (1) 180 calendar days in advance

—Scheduling School Visits Yes Yes 2 (2) 90 calendar days in advance

—Conduct Visits Yes Yes 2 (3) As scheduled post-award

—Virtual Site Visits Yes Yes 2 (4) If required due to unforeseen events

Team Selection

—Personnel Qualifications Yes Yes 3 (1-2 ) 60 calendar days in advance

—Teams for Site Visits Yes Yes 3 (3) 60 calendar days in advance

Team Orientation

—Validation Yes Yes 4 (1) Completed prior to travel to the districts

—Accreditation Meeting Yes Yes 4 (2) As scheduled post-award

Reports

—Onsite Oral Briefings Yes Yes 5 (1)

Dates and times of oral briefing determined post-award

Draft of briefing, two business days after oral briefing was delivered. Final three business days, after receipt of written feedback from the COR

—District Reports Yes Yes 5 (2)

Draft report, emailed to the COR 30 calendar days before the public briefing

Final report, three business days after receipt of written feedback from the COR

Above-School-Level Services

—Consultation Services Yes Yes 6 (1) As scheduled post-award

—Monthly Virtual Meetings Yes Yes 6 (2) As scheduled post-award

Meetings Yes Yes 7

Post-award conference: Five business days after award.

Other Meetings: As scheduled post-award

Technical Support

Requests from School or

District Visits Yes Yes 8 (1)

Addressed by help desk within 30 minutes of receipt of email or telephone call.

All Other Requests Yes Yes 8 (2) Industry-standard support ongoing after receipt of initial delivery order

6 Acronyms and Definitions

CCRS College and Career Ready Standards

DoD/DOD Department of Defense

DFARS Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement

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EIT Electronic Information Technology

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulations

IAW In Accordance With

PA/PII Privacy Act/Personally Identifiable Information

QASP Quality Assessment Surveillance Plan

Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) – Basic structural element in a procurement instrument describing and organizing the required product or service for pricing, delivery, inspection, acceptance, invoicing, and payment.

The use of the term “line item” includes “subcontract line number,” (SLIN), as applicable.

Contracting Officer (KO) – The only individual with expressed authority to obligate (bind) the Government by means of entering, administering, and terminating contracts within the limits of the authority delegated via a

Contracting Officer’s warrant.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – Qualified and trained Government employee, nominated by the requiring activity (RA) and appointed in writing by a KO primarily to perform specific technical or administrative functions on a specific contract(s); serves as the ‘eyes and ears’ of a KO to assure the Government’s best interests are protected via the terms and conditions of the contract(s) appointed. COR’s do not have authority to obligate

(i.e., bind) the Government.

Contractor - Supplier or vendor having a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Deliverable – Usually physically delivered items but may include such items as digital documents/reports.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) – Tabular listing of performance objectives and standards that provides the basis for a meaningful QASP.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions describing the required results in clear, specific, and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

7 Performance Requirement Summary (PRS) and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

7.1 Performance Requirement Summary (PRS)

Performance

Objective

Performance

Standard AQL Inspection Method

Membership

Task 1 (1)

100% compliance with the PWS

Same rights and privileges accorded to members of similar size school systems COR inspection

Framework

Task 1 (2)

100% compliance with the PWS

No more than one district will have its framework posted late during the 5-year period of performance

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

Accreditation

Services

Task 2

100% compliance with the PWS

Onsite and, if required, visits will occur as scheduled post-award.

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

Team Selection

Task 3

100% compliance with the PWS

No more than one team member per year will have failed to complete his or her required training, etc.

COR inspection

Team Orientation

Task 4

100% compliance with the PWS

No more than one team member per year will have failed to obtain proper validation.

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

Reports

Task 5

100% compliance with the PWS

Not more than one oral briefing report or district report will be submitted late per year.

COR inspection

Above-School-Level

Services, Task 6

100% compliance with the PWS

Not more than one consultant meeting and one virtual meeting shall be postponed due to Contractor’s inability to attend

COR inspection

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Performance

Objective

Performance

Standard AQL Inspection Method

Meetings, Task 7 100% compliance with the PWS

No more than one meeting per year will need to be rescheduled due to

Contractor issues

COR inspection

Technical Support

Task 8 (1)

100% compliance with the PWS

No site visit will be compromised or significantly delayed due to lack of real-time technical support

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

Technical Support

Task 8 (2)

100% compliance with the PWS

Acknowledgement of all inquiries within ten minutes of receipt.

Resolution of 90% of issues within one business day. Resolution of remaining

10% within five business days.

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

7.2 Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP): The Government will utilize a QASP to monitor the Contractor’s performance on the contract. The QASP is a living document and can change at any time during the life of the contract. As such, the Government reserves the right to unilaterally edit the QASP at the Government’s discretion.

Technical Exhibit #1 - TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall comply with the applicable technical requirements detailed below.

1.1 Software and Cloud Security Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1.1.1 Ensure all online resources, cloud-based services and instructional software meet the Department of

Defense (DoD) and DoDEA Cybersecurity requirements as defined below. Note: Software, cloud services and associated websites are rigorously tested to ensure no security risks are posed to DoDEA infrastructure and its users.

1.1.2 Complete the Cloud Services questionnaire that was submitted as part of the proposal submission and provide copies of and/or access to any software listed in the proposed solution.

1.1.3 Ensure on-premises software support post-installation integration of the necessary Security Technical

Implementation Guides (STIG) for applicable systems and applications, including Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows IIS, Apache, Oracle databases, and Microsoft SQL Server databases. Note: The application to obtain the STIG Viewer is found at https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/srg-stig-tools/, and the STIGs themselves may be downloaded from https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/downloads/.

1.1.4 Ensure its content accessible from the web is compatible with the following browser platforms: Internet

Explorer 11, Google Chrome, and Edge. Ensure that any applicable STIGs are implemented.

1.1.5 Ensure on-premises software, which is subject to static and dynamic analysis testing, imposes no risk to DoDEA systems, users and/or data. Note: DoDEA assesses software products to ensure compatibility with existing system configurations and software, testing may also include reverse engineering analysis.

1.1.6 Provide a plan of actions and milestones (POA&M) to mitigate any cybersecurity findings resulting from non-compliant and/or vulnerable components within 30 calendar days of written notification from DoDEA.

1.1.7 Participate, as needed, in interviews and deep system architecture inspections. Note: Per DoD policy for cloud-based services, DoDEA conducts a supplemental series of validations, which closely mirror the

Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Internet Cloud vetting processes.

Contractor participation/cooperation is normally required to complete this process.

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1.2 System Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1.2.1 Ensure, per Section 1.1 (above), any software installed and/or accessed in or by a DoDEA system, network whether stand-alone or web-based, is compatible with standards cited herein.

1.2.2 Provide minimum desktop/server system technical specifications, available reference architectures, networking specifications and diagrams, and applicable systems configuration documentation for the proposed product solution.

1.2.3 Ensure all software is compatible with the following minimum baseline:

Specifications Minimum

Memory 4 GB

Hard Drive 100 GB

Processor Intel® Core™ i5-8365U Processor 8th Generation (up to 4.1GHz, 6MB cache) equivalent or better (Must show benchmark/pass-mark scores)

Video Graphics Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 (1920x1080) equivalent or better

Operating System Windows 10

Browser Environment Chrome; Edge; Edge Chromium, IE 11 or higher

1.2.4 Ensure software is completely functional on a standard DoDEA desktop without the need / requirement for administrative-level user rights and/or permissions or the requirement to use or insert external media to execute the software.

1.2.5 Provide software that does not require modifications to folder permissions while executing.

1.2.6 Ensure, if applicable, that software packages support unattended installation methods used by enterprise software packaging and deployment systems. Notes: DoDEA currently distributes software packages via

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). Older 16-bit software are automatically denied.

1.3 Data Management Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1.3.1 Provide a mechanism for batch administration and automation of routine data management tasks via flat file import, or representational state transfer (REST) based web service application programming interfaces

(APIs). The mechanism shall provision and manage data objects within the Contractor’s system, including but not limited to organizational structures, student accounts, staff accounts, courses, and class rosters.

1.3.2 Provide all necessary documentation and assets to facilitate batch administration and automation of routine data management tasks, including but not limited to roster template files (i.e., comma separated value templates); data element/field definitions documentation; data interchange formats and schemas (XML/JSON); and/or data dictionaries for the purpose of mapping organizational student information system (SIS) data to the Contractor’s required input formats.

1.3.3 Provide a single point of contact to support DoDEA in performing the required data integration activities within the Contractor’s system.

1.3.4 Configure DoDEA enterprise within its system and/or databases as the appropriate organizational entity

(i.e., region, district, school) upon a request in writing from the contracting officer’s representative

(COR). Note: DoDEA’s organization hierarchy consists of the following: one system, three regions, eight districts, 62 communities, and 160 schools, including the K-12 virtual school programs.

1.3.5 Participate in a technical meeting with DoDEA within ten business days after award for the purposes of preparing for onboarding of new services and initial configuration of administrator-level accounts.

1.3.6 Ensure the transfer of any Sensitive, Confidential data including but not limited to PII data be transferred in a secure means meeting any requirements set by DoDEA’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

1.4 DoDEA Software License Keys: The Contractor shall provide (1) license keys and electronic downloads for software required under this Contract to the COR and (2) software directly to DoDEA schools, districts, or regions only if explicitly required to do so in the contract or in writing by the COR.

1.5 Cybersecurity Supporting Elements/Requirements and Scalability—The Contractor shall:

1.5.1 Comply with the same Federal law and DoD policies and guidance to which DoDEA is subject. These requirements include but are not limited to the cybersecurity requirements defined in the following documentation:

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▪ DoD Directive (DoDD) 8500.01E, Information Assurance, which may be found at https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/850001_2014.pdf.

▪ DoD Security Technical Implementation Guidance (STIG), which may be found at the following

URL: https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/downloads/.

▪ DoD Risk Management Framework (DODRMF) per DoD Instruction 8510.01 found at https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/851001p.pdf?ver=2019-02-

26-101520-3004.5.2.

1.5.2 Provide security patches/upgrades to include third-party applications in response to public-released security vulnerabilities associated with its software solution. Provide a POA&M for any security vulnerabilities within five business days of discovery. Software upgrades/patches shall be included in the licensing cost and be performed at the least disruptive times as determined by DoDEA in writing. Note: Any exception to this requirement must be approved in advance and in writing by DoDEA’s Chief Information Officer

(CIO) or designated official.

1.5.3 Ensure any portion of its solution that involves Internet access by DoDEA students complies with the relevant requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act, Pub.L. 106-554, § 1(a)(4) [Div. B, Title

XVII, § 1701], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-335.

1.5.4 Ensure its solution is robust enough to serve the needs of a large community of learners dispersed across the world using a variety of bandwidths and scalable to meet future growth, both in terms of instruction and the number of users.

1.5.5 Ensure Contractor staff who have access to DoDEA’s student, teacher and/or staff personally identifiable information take the DoD Privacy Act/ Personally Identifiable Information (PA and PPI/PII) training before gaining access to the data and yearly thereafter. Provide copies of the certificates of completion to the COR which can be audited at any time by the CISO or his/her designee.