27033 - Mass Communication System RFP.pdf

RFP 27033 | Mass Communication System

Request for Proposal (RFP) #27033

Mass Communication System RFP

PROPOSAL DEADLINE:

November 6, 2025 - 2:00pm MDT

SPECIAL NOTE: This Request for Proposal (RFP) does not obligate Jefferson County Public School District R-1 (“District”) to award a contract or complete the proposed project. The District reserves the right to cancel this RFP, or any resulting contract, at any time if it is in its best interest. Proposals must be clear and concise. Proposals that are difficult to follow or that do not conform to the RFP format or binding specifications may be rejected. Responding proposers must include the required information called for in this RFP. The District reserves the right to reject a proposal if required information is not provided or is not organized as directed. The District also reserves the right to change the evaluation criteria or any other provision in this RFP.

http://www.minnstate.edu/system/csc/sourcing/RFP.html

District Background RFP Overview Project Background/Current State

Section II. RFP General Information RFP Timeline RFP Inquiries

Section III. Scope of Work / Specifications Specifications Experience and Qualification Questions Scope of Work Questions

Section IV. Proposal Requirements Proposal Contents and Organization (details on how responses must be organized)

Section V. Response Evaluation Phase 1 - Review Phase 2 – Interview (if held)

Section VI. RFP General Requirements, Terms, and Conditions Addendum to RFP Authorized Signature Certification of Independent Pricing Determination Contract Mandatory Provisions Contract Term Deviations and Exceptions Incurring Costs Information Contact Media / News Releases Modifications or Withdrawal of Proposals Multiple Awards Non-Discrimination Notice of Errors in RFP Offer Held Firm Open Records and District Ownership of Proposals Proposal Rejection and Waiver of Informalities

Section VII. Contract General Requirements, Terms, and Conditions Public School Contracts Student Data Transparency & Security Open Records Governmental Immunity

TABOR

Information Access for the Blind

Section I. RFP Overview

Table of Contents

RFP Overview

District Background

Jefferson County School District R-1 (the District), is the second largest school district in Colorado, serving about 800 square miles and approximately 75,000 students. The District employs more than 14,000 full-time and part-time staff members. The District has 83 elementary schools, six K-8 schools, 17 middle schools, 17 high schools, 12 option schools, 15 charter schools, an online school, a career/technical education school, and two outdoor lab schools. For more information, visit the website at www.jeffcopublicschools.org.

Through this Request for Proposal (RFP), Jefferson County School District R-1 (the District) invites vendors to propose a modern, cloud-based mass communication platform to replace the District’s legacy system, SchoolMessenger Communicate. The proposed solution must support centralized, scalable, and secure communication across more than 140 schools, aligning with Jeffco’s strategic goals for equity, accessibility, cybersecurity, and operational efficiency.

The required solution must:

• Be cloud-based and support multi-channel communication (email, SMS, voice, push notifications).

• Enable two-way communication between district employees, students and families, allowing recipients to respond and engage directly through supported channels.

• Offer multilingual capabilities and comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards, as mandated by Colorado HB21-1110.

• Integrate with district systems including Infinite Campus, Workday, and Oracle PeopleSoft.

• Provide secure authentication (SSO, MFA), encryption (AES-256, SSL/TLS 1.2+), and role-based access controls.

• Include emergency notification features, customizable templates, and granular user segmentation.

• Ensure compliance with FERPA, COPPA, and district data governance policies.

Proposals must cover all associated software licensing, implementation services, data migration, ongoing support and maintenance, administrator and end-user training, and documentation of vendor security posture and data retention polices.

Section I. Overview http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org./

Project Background / Current State

Jeffco currently uses SchoolMessenger Communicate as its district-wide mass communication tool, offering basic capabilities such as email, phone, and text messaging. Due to Jeffco’s evolving needs, the proposed solution to this RFP must support:

• Compliance with accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA)

• Advanced multilingual support

• Real-time, two-way communication features

• Integration with district-wide systems

Currently many schools and departments have adopted alternative third-party tools, leading to:

• Inconsistent communication practices

• Increased cybersecurity risks

• Fragmented user experiences across the district

The use of various alternative communication tools has created inefficiencies and elevated risks. A centralized, modern communication platform is needed to:

• Standardize messaging across the district

• Improve accessibility and usability

• Strengthen cybersecurity and data privacy

• Support consistent, two-way engagement across multiple communication channels

Vendors are invited to propose a comprehensive solution that addresses these challenges and supports the District’s vision for unified, inclusive and secure communication across all schools and departments.

RFP Timeline

RFP Inquiries

Event Date Date of Issuance October 6, 2025 Inquiry Deadline October 16, 2025 - 2:00pm MDT Addendum Issuance As soon as possible after Inquiry Deadline Proposal Deadline November 6, 2025 - 2:00pm MDT

Prospective proposers with questions regarding this RFP must submit inquiries via BidNet no later than the Inquiry Deadline date and time noted above.

Questions will be answered according to the timeline above and posted with the original RFP.

The District’s agent for purposes of this RFP is Joann Heimerman. Other persons are not authorized to discuss RFP requirements before the proposal submission deadline and the District shall not be bound by and responders may not rely on information regarding RFP requirements obtained from non-authorized persons.

Section II. RFP General Information

Specifications

Attachment A – Specifications (General, Technical, and Functional) An Excel workbook containing specifications and requirements.

Attachment B – IT Technical Questionnaire An Excel workbook containing technical questions about the solution.

Attachment C - Software Security Assessment and Self Report (Consensus Assessment Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ) An Excel workbook containing a standardized security assessment as required by the District’s IT Information Security Team.

Note: Instructions on how to complete each attachment are listed within each document.

Restate each question in your response document.

1. Do you have experience in the K-12 public education sector?

2. Describe your experience working with school districts, including any projects involving mass communication platforms, student data privacy, and accessibility compliance.

3. Describe your most recent similar project.

4. Include project scope, timeline, outcomes, and any lessons learned. Highlight how your solution addressed communication challenges in a public education setting.

5. Describe your project management approach.

6. Outline your methodology, tools used, and how you ensure timely delivery, stakeholder engagement, and quality assurance.

7. How will you administer system training, and what is your training approach?

8. Detail your training strategy for administrators, staff, and end-users. Include formats (e.g., live, virtual, self-paced), materials, and ongoing support.

9. Provide details on customer support after the system is live.

10. Include support hours, escalation procedures, SLAs, and availability of dedicated account managers or technical support teams.

11. Describe the key roles, team members, and organizations that will deliver your proposed solution.

Identify your implementation team, their roles, and relevant experience. Include bios or resumes if available.

12. The District requires one point of contact for project management and implementation. Provide the name, title, and contact information for this individual. Confirm that this person is U.S.-based and will manage all communications and coordination.

Section III. Scope of Work / Specifications

Scope of Work Questions The following summarizes important requirements, issues, and assumptions to be addressed by this project. Proposers are asked to provide responses to each item below to describe how their solution or approach will address needs.

Restate each question in your response document.

1. Project Understanding & Objectives: This section helps the District assess how well the proposer understands the goals, context, and constraints of the project.

a. How does your proposed solution align with the District’s goals for centralized, accessible and secure communication across all schools and departments?

b. What assumptions have you made about the District’s current environment, user base, and implementation constraints?

2. Solution Design & Deployment: The District seeks a scalable, cloud-based platform that can be deployed efficiently and evolve over time. This section explores how your solution is built and delivered.

a. What is the architecture of your platform (e.g. cloud-native, hybrid, SaaS), and how is it deployed across large, distributed organizations? Provide comprehensive documentation of the application architecture, including all cloud dependencies.

b. What are the system’s resource capacity limitations, including any thresholds for storage, throughput, or concurrent usage?

c. How does your solution support scalability and performance for a district with over 140 schools?

d. What licensing model do you offer, and how does it support ongoing feature updates and lifecycle management?

3. Communication Capabilities: The platform must support diverse communication needs, including real-time, two-way, and multilingual messaging. This section focuses on core functionality.

a. How does your platform support multi-channel communication, including email, SMS, voice and push notifications?

b. What two-way communication features are available, and how can administrators configure response permissions and workflows?

c. How does your solution support multilingual communication, including translation workflows and language customization?

d. What tools or features are available for emergency messaging and time-sensitive alerts?

4. Accessibility & User Experience: Ensuring equitable access for all users is a priority. This section addresses usability and compliance with accessibility standards.

a. How does your platform meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards and comply with Colorado HB21- 1110?

b. What accessibility testing and documentation (e.g., VPAT, ACR) do you provide?

c. How does your user interface support intuitive navigation and mobile-first design for staff, students and families?

5. Integration & Interoperability: The platform must work seamlessly with existing district systems. This section explores how your solution connects and exchanges data.

a. How does your solution integrate with Infinite Campus, Workday, Oracle PeopleSoft and other district systems?

b. What APIs, connectors or data exchange mechanisms are available to support real-time synchronization?

c. How does your platform manage identity and contact data across systems?

6. Identity & Access Management: Secure and efficient access management is essential. This section focuses on authentication, authorization, and automated provisioning.

a. What single sign-on (SSO) standards does your platform support (e.g., SAML, OIDC), and is single logout with Entra ID available?

b. How is multi-factor authentication (MFA) implemented for administrative and user access?

c. How does your role-based access control model work, and can users hold multiple roles simultaneously?

d. How does your solution integrate with the District’s Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tool to support automated provisioning and deprovisioning of user access?

e. What configuration options are available for managing access rules based on role, school assignment, or department?

7. Data Protection & Security: The District requires strong data protection and regulatory compliance. This section addresses encryption, privacy, and incident response.

a. How does your platform support SPF and DKIM configurations to enable DMARC compliance when sending messages using jeffco.k12.co.us email addresses? Please describe your implementation approach.

b. How is data encrypted at rest and in transit, and what key management options are available?

c. How does your solution comply with FERPA, COPPA, and other applicable data privacy regulations?

d. What incident response procedures are in place, including breach notification and remediation protocols?

e. How are audit logs collected, retained, and accessed for investigation and compliance?

8. Monitoring, Reporting & Analytics: Visibility into system performance and communication outcomes is critical. This section explores reporting and data access capabilities.

a. What are the typical delivery speeds for mass notifications across supported channels? Please include metrics for average and peak delivery times.

b. What dashboards and reporting tools are available for message delivery, engagement, and system health?

c. How can administrators access logs, metrics, and audit trails?

d. What programmatic access (e.g., REST API, CLI) is available for extracting data or integrating with third-party systems?

9. Implementation & Project Management: The District expects a well-managed rollout with clear milestones and communication. This section covers your approach to delivery.

a. What is your proposed implementation timeline, including configuration, testing, training, and go-live support?

b. What project management methodology will you use, and who will serve as the primary point of contact?

c. What onboarding and training resources are provided for district administrators, staff, and end-users?

10. Support & Service Levels: Ongoing support and service reliability are essential. This section addresses SLAs, escalation paths, and included services.

a. What training resources do you provide to support system adoption, including instructional videos, written tutorials, and other materials for administrators, employees and end-users?

b. What support model do you offer, including hours of availability, escalation paths, and support desk location?

c. What is your standard SLA, including uptime commitments, response times, and penalties for noncompliance? Provide comprehensive SLA documentation, including outage response times, penalties for SLA violations, and disaster recovery procedures with testing frequency and recovery time objectives.

d. What professional services are included (e.g., data migration, legacy system transition, ongoing maintenance)?

e. What significant enhancements or feature updates are planned for your product or service in the next 6 to 12 months, and what are the expected release timelines?

f. How do you manage service updates, feature releases, and communication with clients?

Section IV. Proposer Requirements

Proposals must be received no later than November 6, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. MDT, District Clock.

Proposals are to be submitted via bidnetdirect.com/colorado directly to the opportunity number as listed on the cover sheet of this RFP.

Proposals received after the due date and time as listed on the cover of this RFP will not be accepted.

E-mail or submissions in any form outside the instructions within this RFP will not be accepted.

Proposers are encouraged to begin the submission process early. Bidnet provides proposers with a PDF and acknowledgement in the proposer dashboard of a successful submission. File upload processes may take more time than anticipated.

Proposal Contents and Organization

Interested proposers should submit a proposal that includes, in this order:

1. Letter of Interest A maximum two-page letter of interest that includes an understanding of the District’s projects and objectives of this RFP.

2. Experience and Qualifications Questions

Section III includes two subsections with questions that must be answered (Experience and Qualifications Questions & Scope of Work Questions). Please restate each question and include your responses.

3. Scope of Work Questions

Section III includes two subsections with questions that must be answered (Experience and Qualifications Questions & Scope of Work Questions). Please restate each question and include your responses.

4. References

Provide contact information for at least two current references from entities that can speak to your project management, and proposed solution.

References may or may not be contacted at the discretion of the District.

5. Attachments A, B, and C

Note: Attachment B asks that you include your Service Level Agreement (SLA).

6. Attachment D, Cost Worksheet

Attachment D, Cost Worksheet must be included in a separate file from the rest of your response.

https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado

Section V. Response Evaluation The selection process consists of two phases, followed by negotiations with the apparent winner.

Phase 1 – Review The District’s Selection Committee will evaluate and score the RFP submittals based on the selection criteria listed below:

Selection Criteria Points

Letter of Interest/Organization How complete and concise was the letter of interest and RFP response? Was the RFP well organized, in order, and with complete information?

Experience and Qualifications Questions 15

Scope of Work Questions 50

Attachment A - Specifications (General, Technical, and Functional)

Maximum 60

Legal 10

Functional 10

Technical 10

Data 10

Information Security 10

Support & Training 10

Attachment B – IT Technical Questionnaire IT Review

Attachment C: CAIQ IT Review

Attachment D: Cost Worksheet Scoring Committee Review

Total Maximum Points 130

Phase 2 – Interview (if held)

If selected by the District to hold interviews, an interview invitation will be sent out to the candidates with the highest RFP submittal scores. The invitation will explain the interview requirements, provide an agenda, and provide the time and location. The purpose of the interview is to ensure a full understanding of the RFP responses and to introduce key members of the master plan team.

The interviews may consist of a presentation / work session followed by a longer period for questions and answers. During the short presentation, the lead consultant for the project should be identified along with members of the master planning team. Please note team members that will not be directly working on the project are not invited to the oral interviews.

Addendum to RFP

Authorized Signature

Certification of Independent Pricing Determination

Contract Mandatory Provisions

Contract Term

Deviations and Exceptions

Incurring Costs

Proposers are responsible for reviewing bidnetdirect.com/colorado for addenda and updating their proposals accordingly.

Each proposal must be completed and signed in the firm's name or corporate name of the proposer and must be fully and properly executed and signed by an authorized representative of the proposer. Proof of authority of the person signing may be required at the discretion of the District.

Respondents shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to anti-trust, anti-collusion, price-fixing, and other protections of fair trade and fair competition. Except as a Proposer may otherwise disclose with particularity in its submission of a response, the Proposer certifies that the prices and other terms in the response have been arrived at in full compliance with all applicable laws.

As a public entity formed by the provision of the State Colorado constitution and is, in whole or in part, run with the use of public funds. The District may, from time-to-time, apply for, elect to or otherwise incorporate the use of federal funds in the course of business. As specified in Section VI, Contract Requirements, Terms and Conditions, the District is required to include, and cannot agree to conflicting terms. Respondents shall have appropriate legal review of Section VI, and this proposal.

The District desires to enter into a contract after the competitive negotiation process with the successful proposer(s). The District will negotiate the final term length and terms for renewals during contract negotiations. If the District and the proposer are unable to negotiate and sign a contract within a reasonable timeline, as determined by the District, the District reserves the right to seek an alternative agreement, negotiate with other Proposers, or cancel the RFP.

Deviations from and exceptions to terms, conditions, specifications or the manner of this RFP shall be described fully on the Proposer's letterhead stationery, signed and attached to the proposal submittal page(s) where relevant. In the absence of such statement the Proposer shall be deemed to have accepted all such terms, conditions, specifications and the manner of the RFP. A Proposer's failure to raise an issue related to the terms, conditions, specifications or manner of this RFP prior to the proposal submission deadline in the manner described shall constitute a full and final waiver of that proposer's right to raise the issue later in any action or proceeding relating to this RFP.

The District is not liable for any cost the Proposer(s) incurs prior to or outside of a signed contract, purchase order, or another authorized acquisition document. The Proposer has no property interest, of any nature, in the subject matter of this RFP, any award, or a contract until a contract is signed by the authorized representatives of the Proposer and the District.

Section VI. RFP General Requirements, Terms and Conditions https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado

Media / News Releases

Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals

Multiple Awards

Non-Discrimination

Notice of Errors in RFP

Offer Held Firm

The District’s agent for purposes of this RFP is:

Name: Joann Heimerman Title: Senior Procurement Agent E-mail address: joann.heimerman@jeffco.k12.co.us

Other persons are not authorized to discuss RFP requirements before the proposal submission deadline and the District shall not be bound by and responders may not rely on information regarding RFP requirements obtained from non-authorized persons. Questions must include the name of the questioner and his/her telephone number, fax number and/or e-mail address. Anonymous inquiries will not be answered.

Proposers shall not make any news releases or engage in any other publicity relating to this RFP, RFP proposals or resulting contracts without prior written approval by the District.

Proposers may withdraw or modify their proposals at any time before the proposal deadline.

The District reserves the right to award this RFP wholly or in part, to multiple Proposers, if the District determines this to be in the best interests of the District.

The Proposer shall comply with all applicable State and Federal laws, rules and regulations, and District policies prohibiting discrimination, intimidation, or harassment, based on ethnicity or race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, veteran status, or disability.

The District requests that Proposers report any errors or omissions in this RFP to the District Representative.

Unless otherwise specified, all bids/proposals submitted shall be valid for a minimum period of 180 calendar days following the date established for receiving bids/proposals. At the end of the 180 calendar days the bid/proposal may be withdrawn at the written request of the bidder/proposer. If the bid/proposal is not withdrawn at that time, it remains in effect until an award is made or the solicitation is cancelled.

The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or portions of them, to waive irregularities, informalities, and technicalities, to re-issue or to proceed to obtain the service(s) desired otherwise, at any time or in any manner considered, in the sole discretion of the District, to be in the District’s best interests.

The District may modify or amend any provision of this notice or the RFP at any time.

Information Contact mailto:joann.heimerman@jeffco.k12.co.us

Open Records and District Ownership of Proposals

The District is a public entity whose records are subject to public inspection in accordance with the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. § 24-72-200.1 et seq. (“CORA”). Once the District awards a contract, then all proposals, whether successful or not, will become public records subject to public inspection in accordance with CORA. Proposals will become the property of the District after the proposal deadline and will be considered public records and thus accessible to the public under applicable law.

Proposal Rejection and Waiver of Informalities

This RFP does not obligate the District to award a contract or complete the proposed project and, reserves the right to cancel this RFP if it is considered to be in its best interest. The District also reserves the right to waive minor informalities and, not withstanding anything to the contrary, reserves the right to:

• reject any and all proposals received in response to this RFP;

• waive or decline to waive any informalities and any irregularities in any proposal or responses;

• request clarification(s) of Proposer’s proposal;

• adopt all or any part of the Respondent’s proposal;

• select a proposal for contract negotiation other than the one with the lowest cost;

• select the Respondent it deems to be most qualified, responsive, and responsible to fulfill the needs of the District;

• negotiate any aspect of the proposal with any proposer;

• terminate negotiations and select the next most responsive proposer for contract negotiations;

• terminate negotiations and prepare and release a new RFP.

Student Data Transparency and Security

Open Records

Public School Contracts

The District’s procurement contracts are subject to many federal and state laws that mandate certain standard contract provisions. The following is a list of important laws that prevent the District from negotiating its standard contract terms.

• Terms and Conditions in Public School Contracts, C.R.S. § 22-1-135 et seq.

• The Student Data Transparency and Security Act, C.R.S. § 22-16-101 et seq.

• The Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”), C.R.S. § 24-72-203.

• The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. 21-10-101 et seq.

• The Colorado Constitutional Provision known as the “Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR)” and legislation enacted and caselaw decided thereunder.

• Information Technology Access for Individuals Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired, C.R.S.§ 24-85-101 et seq. and its implementing regulations. Respondents are advised to review the full text of these laws.

The District will not award contracts to respondents who reject or attempt to modify contract provisions that are governed by these and other state and federal laws.

The following is a summary of the above cited laws and their mandates regarding District contract provisions. In the event of a conflict between this summary and the actual text of the law, the latter controls.

Contract provisions purporting to do any of the following are void:

• Requiring the District to indemnify or hold others harmless;

• Allowing for binding arbitration or other extra-judicial dispute resolution;

• Limiting the contractor’s liability for certain events;

• Waiving, altering, or limiting the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act;

• Waiving, altering, or limiting the application of the Student Data Transparency and Security Act; or

• Conflicting with Colorado law or providing for the law of a jurisdiction other than Colorado to govern.

Governs the way contractors collect, use, and dispose of student personally identifiable information.

Note: All Contractors who have, hold, produce, collect, request, or store in any manner District data may be required to complete a Data Protection Addendum (DPA).

Requires public inspection of public records with certain restrictions and exceptions. The District’s procurement contracts are public records open to inspection. For this reason, District contracts will not contain confidentiality terms.

Section VII. Contract Requirements, Terms and Conditions

Governmental Immunity Protects the operations of the District against certain tort and other liability.

TABOR

Protects public funds and their appropriation, budgeting, and funding for fiscal years beyond the fiscal year in which a procurement contract becomes effective.

Information Access for the Blind

Requires web content to be delivered in a manner accessible to the blind and visually impaired. WGCA

2.1 standards must be met for all sites, PDFs, etc. for systems that may include access for staff, students, community member, etc.

Note: All contractors may be required to provide to the District, upon reasonable request, a VPAT for all systems hosting, serving, producing, or providing digital content for the District.