26017_Request_for_Information_Comprehensive_Assessment_Platform_Solutions_for_Large-Scale_K-12_District_Implementation.pdf

HillsboroughSchools.org • P.O. Box 3408 • Tampa, FL 33601-3408 • Procurement Services (813) 272-4374

Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center • 901 East Kennedy Blvd. • Tampa, FL 33602-3507

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

For

26017-RFP-EST Comprehensive Assessment Platform Solutions for Large-Scale K-12 District Implementation

1 OVERVIEW

Hillsborough County Public Schools (“HCPS”) hereby issues this Request for Information (“RFI”) to announce that HCPS is seeking responses from all qualified firms or individuals that provide the commodities and contractual services as described herein.

Hillsborough County Public Schools’ assessment program serves 242 school sites and over 200,000 students. Currently, HCPS utilizes the School City testing platform (Renaissance). The district has 3,154 tests, of which 1,471 are secure tests.

There are 2,104 school-created and 2,296 teacher-created tests. Tests are administered online and/or via paper. Online tests must be able to include technology-based item types, include accommodations such as text-to-speech, and all tests must be exportable into PDF and Word. Test item bank must be aligned to the Florida B.E.S.T. standards, and HCPS must be able to link items to standards. The district also uses FOCUS as its Student Information System (“SIS”). Any comprehensive assessment platform must be compatible with the FOCUS platform.

This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational purposes only, and no contract will be awarded as a result. A firm or organization’s response to the RFI—or lack thereof—will have no impact on the evaluation of responses to any subsequent competitive solicitation released. Responses will be used solely for information and planning purposes.

2 SUBMISSION DETAILS

HCPS posts all solicitations and supporting documents on www.myvendorlink.com (“VendorLink”). It is the respondent's responsibility to monitor VendorLink for future solicitation opportunities, due dates, and updates, and to ask questions under any HCPS solicitation.

All questions must be submitted via VendorLink.

Please upload your responses to this RFI via VendorLink before the due date identified below.

3 RFI TIMELINE

Please review the RFI timeline below. Dates may be modified or amended by HCPS, which will post an amendment to this RFI notifying prospective respondents of any change.

RFI Released: Monday, January 12, 2026.

Deadline for Questions: Monday, January 19, 2026, at 4:00 pm.

Responses Due: Monday, January 26, 2026, at 4:00 pm.

4 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida (“HCPS” or the “District”) is a political subdivision organized under Section 4, Article IX, of the State Constitution and Florida Statutes. HCPS, which is coterminous with Hillsborough County, is the nation’s seventh-largest school system. HCPS currently has 242 PreK-12 schools, specialty centers, and technical colleges, serving approximately 225,000 students and employing approximately 24,000 staff members. Management of HCPS is independent of metropolitan and city governments. The School Board of Hillsborough County, Florida (the “Board”), a public corporation existing under the Laws of the State of Florida, is the policy-making body of HCPS. The Board consists of seven members elected by geographic area. Among other duties, the Board has broad financial responsibilities, including the approval of the annual budget, which for the 2019/2020 fiscal year is $3 billion. The Chief Executive Officer is the Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Van Ayres, who was appointed by the Board and is responsible for all financial transactions and records of HCPS.

Vision. Preparing Students for Life.

Mission. To provide an education and the supports that enable each student to excel as a successful and responsible citizen.

5 GOALS AND OUTCOME

Describe the goals for the services and programs you hope will be impacted by responses to the RFI. State whether a future RFP is anticipated, the RFI goal statement should be open-ended and not unnecessarily limit the information that could be submitted and be transparent about how information will be used.

Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) is seeking information from qualified firms regarding assessment platform solutions to inform future planning and potential solicitations. With a budget of approximately $1 million, HCPS currently utilizes School City (Renaissance) to manage district-wide testing. Our goal is to identify a solution that:

• Includes a data visualization/dashboard platform which is easy to navigate.

• Provides comprehensive training and ongoing customer service support for district and school staff.

• Integrates seamlessly with existing district systems and supports large-scale data extracts and analysis.

• Improves assessment administration processes and efficiency.

• Increase the availability and transparency of data for all district stakeholders.

• Promotes efficient management of district online and paper exams for over 200,000 students.

• Is capable of delivering large data extracts in real time.

• The ability to extract data into existing templates, including Macro embedded files.

• Supports robust reporting, analytics, and secure test administration.

• Enhances accessibility and accommodations for students, including text-to-speech and other supports.

HCPS anticipates that information gathered through this RFI will inform the development of a future Request for Proposal (RFP). Respondents are encouraged to share innovative solutions and approaches; the goal statement is intentionally open-ended to avoid limiting the scope of information submitted. All information received will be used to guide district planning and ensure the selection of a platform that meets the evolving needs of our students and staff.

6 WHO SHOULD RESPOND

HCPS is especially interested in hearing feedback on this proposed project from the following firms, organizations, or individuals: HCPS is especially interested in feedback from firms and organizations that:

• Have existing contracts and/or experience with large Florida school districts.

• Possess infrastructure and customer service capacity to support a large organization (over 200,000 students).

• Can provide comprehensive customer service and training for all district schools and administration during the transition.

• Have demonstrated experience in extracting and transferring large volumes of test items from legacy platforms

(e.g., School City), including robust quality control processes to ensure successful migration.

• Offer scalable solutions with proven reliability and security for high stakes testing environments.

• Can integrate with our FOCUS SIS.

Respondents should be able to describe their experience supporting similar districts, detail their approach to data migration and quality assurance, and outline their capacity for ongoing support and training.

7 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Describe what information you hope to receive in response to this RFI. Consider breaking this list of information into categories or listing specific questions you would like to see answered. Generally, it is best practice to make many questions optional, so respondents can provide information only on their areas of expertise, or information they are comfortable providing.

You may also consider including specific questions in each category, to encourage responses to be more targeted.

Specific questions will produce a more structured response but may lead respondents to exclude potentially relevant information that is not specifically asked about.

Suggested Language to include:

Respondents are invited to provide information on the following subjects of interest to HCPS:

Background information on RFI respondents:

• Introduce the organization by sharing more about the organization’s history, size, scope, and background.

• Provide a description of the organization’s past experience providing the solution to other school districts.

• Provide a description of past work with school districts, state, and local governments.

• How, and to what extent, would implementing the solution result in improved outcomes as well as savings?

• Are you aware of any evaluations or studies we should consult that demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution?

• What is the size and characteristics of the proposed target population your organization would be interested in serving in a pilot program?

• Are there particular considerations HCPS should be aware of if it pursues a similar solution?

• What additional resources would be necessary to make your project successful?

Specific questions to inform the design of a future IT RFP and its Scope of Work:

• Provide brief, relevant background information about your organization and prior work experience or products you offer related to our needs.

• What are the most cost-effective software solutions you or your organization are aware of?

• What potential risks are produced by transitioning to a new project management solution? Please provide examples from your organization’s experience if possible.

• What should HCPS expect a potential vendor to do to mitigate or avoid those risks?

• How are other similarly sized school districts using the solution software in innovative ways?

• What innovative strategies have you or your organization seen or performed with other school districts to employ the solution?

Please provide any additional background information or context that may be useful for HCPS to draft their RFP, i.e., implementation timelines, budget information, and similar materials that provide insight into achieving the goals of the RFI or challenges to be faced by HCPS in maintaining the solution.