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Attachment A

Special Education – Audiobook Lending service

Alternate ID #: 27SEPRLS2 COMMBUYS Bid #: BD-27-1026-DOE02-DOE01-133020

Background:

The Department is seeking a vendor to produce audio versions of textbooks and offer an audiobook lending service to K-12 schools for their students with print disabilities at no cost to the district. The audiobooks can be in either synthetic audio format or human speech audio format. The vendor will also provide outreach, support, and training services to teachers and students for the use of these audiobooks.

In cases where electronic National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) files are available through the federal National Instructional Materials Accessibility Center (NIMAC) repository, the audiobooks should be provided to schools within two-weeks of the date of request. Audiobooks derived from NIMAS files should include synthetic audio, electronic text, and any images supplied by the publisher.

The purpose of these services is to provide access to the curriculum for students with print-related disabilities. For more information, see the Department’s web site (https://www.doe.mass.edu/specialeducation/iep/assistive/default.html).

This bid is covered under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Scope of Service:

For each year of the contract, the vendor will:

· Provide a system for producing and lending audio versions of textbooks to Massachusetts K-12 public school districts (including public school districts, charter school districts, and vocational technical districts) for use by students with print disabilities.

· Offer an unlimited number of audiobooks, along with training and support, to a specified number of Massachusetts public school students with print disabilities.

· Outreach to all Massachusetts public school districts (including public school districts, charter school districts, vocational technical districts, and districts that have not accessed or have had limited use of these audiobook services) to inform them about the services offered through this contract, via the use of a state-specific website, mailings, and/or telephone calls.

· Outreach to public school districts with diverse cultural and socio-economic needs.

· Assist school personnel with the ordering of audiobooks as needed.

· Provide training and technical support to teachers in the use of the audiobooks.

· Provide a system for assuring that districts comply with copyright law as they borrow and use the audiobooks.

· Serve as an authorized user of the NIMAC on behalf of Massachusetts, in order to produce audiobooks in the most efficient manner possible.

· Download digital file sets from the NIMAC repository, as needed, create student-ready audiobooks containing synthetic speech and electronic text, and any images supplied by the publisher. The vendor will provide such audiobooks to schools within two weeks of the date of request when NIMAS electronic file sets are available from the NIMAC.

· Coordinate the recording of audio as needed to produce books in human speech audio format when NIMAS file sets are not available, as funding allows.

· Submit invoices on a quarterly basis (September, December, March, and June) to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (the Department).

· Provide data on a quarterly basis (September, December, March and June) to the Department to correspond with the invoices submitted. Reports should include:

· Student identifier (also include grade and disability, but not student name)

· Student’s district

· Student’s school

· Date the student’s first book was downloaded

· Number of books ordered/downloaded by the student

· Number of books ordered/downloaded for the student by educator(s)

· Numbers of Massachusetts teachers participating in webinars and number receiving other types of training or assistance

· Provide the Department with the results of any surveys of Massachusetts public schools that the vendor conducts.

Budget:

This contract will be for 1 year, with the possibility of a six, one-year renewals, at the Department’s discretion, if funding is available and vendor performance is satisfactory.

An annual amount of $199,418 is available for the audiobook services during each year of the contract, subject to appropriation. These funds will cover the costs associated with contract activities outlined in the scope of service.

Please include seven line-item budgets and budget narratives, (inclusive of all seven years), not to exceed an annual amount of $199,418 for a possible total of $ 1,395,926. Budgets must be provided by deliverable and must be inclusive of all costs

PLEASE NOTE: All bid postings such as this one, that are under $250,000 annually, will give preference to Small Business Program Plan (SBPP) registered bidders. Those that are registered SBPP bidders will be evaluated first and if able to meet all the needs of the procurement, will be awarded. Non-SBPP bidders are not reviewed if a SBPP bidder can be awarded. To learn more about the SBPP click here.

Requirements:

· The bidder must have experience and expertise in producing audio versions of textbooks, offering a large-scale audiobook lending service, and providing outreach, support, and training to educators and students.

· The bidder must also have experience downloading files from the NIMAC repository and converting them to student-ready audiobooks containing synthetic audio, electronic text, and any images supplied by the publisher.

Preferred:

· The bidder should have knowledge of Massachusetts school districts and the curriculum standards that Massachusetts uses.

· The bidder should have demonstrated ability to examine and improve practices and supports (internal and/or external) from a racial equity lens.

Submission Requirements:

Vendors are required to submit a detailed, all-inclusive, deliverables-based budget and justification (narrative) for the budget years FY2027, FY2028, FY2029, FY2030, FY2031, FY2032 and FY2033.

BUDGET REQUIREMENTS

The budget and budget narrative (explaining the budget figures) must include the following:

· The per-student fee for accessing the audiobooks and the estimated number of students that will be served under the contract. Also specify if there will be any limit placed on the number of books each student and/or educator may download.

· The fee, if any, for downloading the software needed to access the audiobooks.

· The per-student cost for any students who are registered after half the year has passed

· The cost for training and support for educators

· The cost of outreach to every Massachusetts public school district (including public school districts, charter school districts, and vocational technical districts) The proposed rates will be reviewed by the Department and may be subject to negotiation. The rates must be agreed upon prior to the execution of any contract under this Master Agreement.

NARRATIVE REQUIREMENTS -- not to exceed 8 pages, excluding attachments (e.g., cover sheet, resumes, and additional information)

Listed below are the required components in the order that they must appear in the response submission. An application must include information on the following:

· Evidence that the applicant has the organizational and administrative capacity to serve a large number of schools in Massachusetts in a timely manner

· A brief description of the applicant’s plans, and proposed timeline, for outreach to all Massachusetts public school districts including plans for outreach to public schools with diverse cultures and socio-economic needs.

· A brief description of the applicant’s plans, and proposed timeline, for outreach to all Massachusetts public school districts (including public school districts, charter school districts, vocational technical districts, and districts that have not accessed or have had limited use of these audiobook services) to inform them about the services offered through this contract, via the use of a state-specific website, mailings, and/or telephone calls.

· A brief description of strategies(s) that will be used to help ensure that schools will effectively use the services once they have signed up for them.

· Evidence that the applicant has experience and expertise in providing training and support for K-12 educators (attach current resumes of those who will provide the services) including a brief description of the training that will be provided for teachers, information the training will cover, and a proposed timeline.

· Evidence that the applicant has experience downloading file sets from the NIMAC repository and producing student-ready audiobooks with a two-week of the date of request .

· One of the Department’s foremost goals is to address inequities in education that exist in the Commonwealth. Describe your organization’s commitment to and actions taken to ensure racial equity (this should include efforts within your own organization to support equity and efforts when providing services to clients, as applicable). In addition, please share your organization’s current challenges with and ongoing efforts to ensure your organization is working towards building the mindsets, practices, and skills to support racial equity.

· Assurance that the applicant will submit invoices and reports to the Department on a quarterly basis along with proposed due dates.

· Attachment B – Contact information form (complete and upload with COMMBUYS submission

· Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) Form (available on COMMBUYS to download, complete and upload with response). Bidders are highly encouraged to offer a PPD to expediate payment and provide cost savings to the Commonwealth. Bidders unable to provide a discount can claim hardship. Hardship must be accepted by the team and procurement office.

Responses MUST be uploaded to COMMBUYS. Responses not posted to COMMBUYS will not be considered for evaluation. Do not Email and/or mail responses to the department.

To respond to this bid, please register on the COMMBUYS website. If you need assistance contact the OSD Help Desk at OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov or (8am - 5pm ET Monday – Friday) at 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197.

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