5-RFP 26-13 Student ID System - Solicitation Document - Signed.pdf

RFP 26-13 Student ID System Page 2

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP): 26-13

STUDENT ID SYSTEM

I. INTRODUCTION

The Board of Public Education for the City of Savannah and the County of Chatham (the “District”), the body corporate responsible for public education in Chatham County, which is commonly known as the Savannah- Chatham County Public School System (“SCCPSS”), seeks sealed proposals as specified in this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) 26-13 STUDENT ID SYSTEM.

The intent of these specifications is to solicit sealed Proposal Packages from qualified firms to establish a contract for a Student ID System.

It is worth noting at the outset that the competitive sealed proposal (“RFP”) process differs from competitive sealed bidding in two important ways:

1) It permits discussions with competing Offerors and changes in their proposal, including price; and

2) It allows comparative judgmental evaluations to be made on various criteria (in addition to cost) for award of the contract.

Vendors who wish to be awarded a contract by the District to provide the goods and/or services requested by this RFP shall be referred to herein as the “Offeror(s)” or “Bidder(s).” To be considered for an award of a contract under this RFP, Offerors should carefully read this solicitation document, and all of the forms, product specifications, service requirements, contract documents, or other materials that may be attached hereto or referenced herein. This RFP and the associated documents identify the goods/and or services requested by the District, contain the instructions for preparing and submitting proposals and supporting documentation (collectively “Proposal Packages”), and outline the process by which the District will award a contract for those goods and/or services, if it decides to award a contract at all.

II. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THIS RFP

A. A “Cone of Silence” Applies to this RFP.

A “Cone of Silence” is imposed upon this RFP after advertising and terminates at the time the District awards a contract. Except as specifically set forth below, the Cone of Silence prohibits any communications in any form (whether written, oral, or electronic) by, or on behalf of, a prospective Offeror for this solicitation, including any persons affiliated with or in any way related to a prospective Offeror, with any District employee, any member of the elected Board of Education that serves as the District’s governing body, the Superintendent or her staff, and any other persons involved in evaluating the proposal, such as program managers or members of any selection committee. The Cone of Silence is intended to prohibit lobbying for, or against, a particular Offeror or Offerors and to prevent prospective Offerors from circumventing the process for selection set forth in this RFP.

The Cone of Silence does not apply to oral communications with the Director of Purchasing, or the Director of Purchasing’s designees, at pre-proposal conferences, site visits (as applicable), presentations before selection committees, contract negotiations with offerors selected for award, or at other times expressly allowed by this solicitation. Written communications expressly authorized by this solicitation, such as (1) the submission of the proposal itself, (2) requests for interpretation, requests for material substitutions, protests, or similar inquiries to the purchasing department, (3) documents circulated at oral presentations before selection committees, or (4) documents circulated in connection with contract negotiations with the offeror(s) selected for award are also permitted in communication with the Director of Purchasing or the Director of Purchasing’s designees. The Cone of Silence does not apply to presentations allowed by Board policy or to the Board of Education at a duly called public meeting.

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In addition to any other penalties provided by law, violation of the Cone of Silence by any offeror may result in the rejection of the offeror’s response and disqualify the offeror from being awarded any contract as a result of this solicitation. Any person having personal knowledge of a violation of these provisions shall immediately report such violations to the District’s Purchasing Department.

B. The Goods and/or Services Requested by the District.

The goods and/or services requested by the District in this RFP are described in more detail in “Attachment A- Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Proposals, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements,” which is incorporated into this RFP by this reference.

C. The Advertising Dates for this RFP.

This RFP is being advertised on the SCCPSS Bonfire Portal which can be accessed through the link listed above and the link on the Purchasing Department page of the SCCPSS website, www.sccpss.com, from the “First Date of Advertisement” set forth in the Request for Proposals Timeline on the first page of this RFP until the “Proposal Closing Date and Time” set forth in the Request for Proposals Timeline on the first page of this solicitation, or as modified by subsequent addenda.

This RFP is also being advertised on the Georgia Procurement Registry (“GPR”) from the “First Date of Advertisement” (if the “First Date of Advertisement” is a weekday) or the first business day following the First Date of Advertisement, if the First Date of Advertisement falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or SCCPSS holiday.

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is also being advertised in the Savannah Morning News, the newspaper for legal notices in Chatham County, on the First Date of Advertisement and the Second Date of Advertisement set forth in the Request for Proposals Timeline on the First Page of this Solicitation.

D. Pre-Proposal Conferences Held by the Purchasing Department.

If a pre-proposal conference has been scheduled for this solicitation, the date, time, phone number, and location will be outlined in the chart below. Offeror should raise any questions it may have about the solicitation or the procurement at that time. An offeror may not rely on any verbal responses to questions at the conference.

Material issues raised at the conference that result in changes to the solicitation shall be answered solely through a solicitation addendum. If the below table is blank, then no pre-proposal conference is scheduled.

Date:

Time:

Location:

Phone number:

Other Pre-Proposal Conference Information:

E. Submission of Proposals in Response to this RFP.

Offerors shall timely deliver Proposals by uploading to the e-Procurement portal, https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com, BEFORE THE “Proposal Closing Date and Time” listed on the Request for Proposals Timeline on the first page of solicitation, unless the “Proposal Closing Date and Time” is extended by the District by an addendum to this solicitation. Proposal Packages shall be uploaded to the portal as PDF documents.

The Bonfire Hub is a procurement portal provided to the District by Bonfire Interactive. The Bonfire Hub is offered at no charge to Offerors, but Offerors will be required to register with Bonfire to submit their Proposal Packages. It is recommended that Offerors register with Bonfire before the date of proposal submissions to help ensure that they are not delayed in submitting a Proposal by the registration process. It will not be sufficient for an Offeror to have started the registration process before the “Proposal Closing Date and Time.”

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The Proposal Package must be fully uploaded and received by the Bonfire Hub System before the “Proposal Closing Date and Time.”

Please include with your Proposal Package all documents requested by this solicitation, including, but not limited to, copies of any requested licenses. Failure to include all of the information and/or documents requested by this solicitation could result in the Offeror’s Proposal not being considered by SCCPSS.

If a required form has a signature block for a notary, please sign that form in the presence of a notary and have the form notarized.

Time is of the essence. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their Proposal Packages are submitted in a timely manner through the e-Procurement portal. If an Offeror does not receive confirmation that its Proposal Package has been received after submission, then the Offeror should contact the Bonfire Support Team at support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com. While SCCPSS will accept all Proposal Packages received in the https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com portal before the Proposal Closing Date and Time, offerors should not wait until the last minute to submit the proposals. It shall not be sufficient to show that the Offeror was in the Bonfire Portal and in the process of uploading a Proposal Package at the at the “Proposal Closing Date and Time.” The submission must be timely completed through the portal to be accepted. The prevailing time will be that which shows receipt by the District through its e-Procurement portal. The District will not accept any Proposal Packages not timely submitted through the e-Procurement Portal.

By way of example, if the Proposal Closing Date and Time is 11:00 a.m. (ET), Offerors should plan to have their Proposal Packages submitted by 10:59:59:99 a.m., because they will not be able to submit Proposal through the e-Procurement Portal once 11:00 a.m. (ET) arrives, as determined by the e- Procurement Portal’s time stamp.

The “Proposal Closing Date and Time” may be extended for all prospective offerors within the discretion of the Senior Director of the Purchasing Department or her designee for any reason. A non-exclusive list of reasons why the deadline may be extended include: the issuance of addenda to this RFP or the associated specifications, a total absence of offers, District closure due to inclement weather, etc. The Senior Director of the Purchasing Department will either extend the deadline for all Offerors or not all.

F. Withdrawal of Proposal Packages.

Offerors may withdraw Proposal Packages at any time prior to the “Due Date and Time” set forth in the Request for Proposals Timeline on the first page of this solicitation or as may be amended by addendum. Offerors may resubmit a new Proposal Package provided it seeks to do so prior to the “Due Date and Time” for Proposal Package submission.

Except as allowed by law with the consent of the District, Proposal Packages cannot be withdrawn or modified after the submission deadline. Care should be taken to ensure that the information provided is accurate, complete, and consistent. Omission of any of the required information may subject the Offeror to disqualification. The District reserves the right to request information or respond to inquiries for clarification purposes only, but it is not required to give offerors an opportunity to correct inaccurate or incomplete Proposal Packages.

To revise and withdraw a proposal prior to scheduled deadline, please submit your withdrawal request at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com.

Proposal Packages may not be withdrawn after the “Due Date and Time” (as may be amended) except as allowed by law with the consent of the District.

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G. Receipt and Registration of Proposal Packages.

All Proposal Packages will be received in the Bonfire portal where they will be kept confidential and will be made available to District staff (but not the general public) for review and evaluation after the “RFP Closing Date and Time” for this solicitation as set forth on Page 1 of this solicitation or by subsequent amendment, unless sooner withdrawn by an Offeror as allowed by this solicitation. Proposal Packages formally withdrawn prior to the “RFP Closing Date and Time” will not be available to the District through the Bonfire portal for review or consideration. Except as required by law, Proposal Packages will not be made available to the general public unless or until an award is made (if any) to protect the competitive process.

If an award is made at the conclusion of the evaluation process, public and non-proprietary information about Proposal Packages will be made available to the public pursuant to Section Q below. If this RFP is cancelled before an award is made, proposals will not be made available for public inspection, except as may be required by law, to prevent Offerors from having an unfair advantage in future solicitations for the same goods or services.

H. Timely filed, Signed Proposal Packages Considered an Offer.

An Offeror’s timely-filed, signed Proposal Package shall be considered an Offer on the part of the Offeror which may become a binding contract on the Offeror if accepted by the District at the conclusion of the proposal evaluation process. By submitting a Proposal Package in response to this RFP, Offeror agrees that proposal will remain open for acceptance by the District for at least ninety (90) days without any changes in terms or pricing.

In event that the Offeror refuses to perform its promises made in its offer after acceptance by the District, the District may take such action as it deems appropriate to redress the offeror’s failure to perform, including legal action for damages or equitable relief, including specific performance, for the Offeror’s lack of required performance.

I. Form and Formatting of Proposal Packages.

The form and formatting requirements for Proposal Packages requested by this RFP are described in Attachment A-Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Proposals, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements” and in the attached Proposal Form.

J. Bid Bonds

A bid bond IS NOT required with Offeror’s bid for this RFP.

K. Performance and Payment Bonds

Payment and Performance bonds ARE NOT required for this RFP.

L. Offeror’s Essential Credentials and Business Structure to be considered a “Responsible Offeror.”

To even be considered for a possible award of a contract for the goods and/or services requested by this RFP, an Offeror must be deemed a “responsible” Offeror by the District’s Purchasing Department.

To be considered a “responsible” Offeror for the purpose of this RFP, an Offeror must be able to meet the minimum licensing, bonding, insurance, and contractual requirements of this RFP. The District reserves the right to request an Offeror provide additional information or documentation to demonstrate that it is a “responsible” Offeror. Failure to provide the requested additional information, in itself, will be sufficient grounds for the District to declare the Offeror to be not “responsible” or “non-responsive” for the purposes of this RFP.

If the goods and/or services provided by Offeror are a technology product (such as software), then the Offeror must demonstrate that its technology product complies with the District’s adopted accessibility standard and, if it fails to do so, then the Offeror may be disqualified as a non-responsive

RFP 26-13 Student ID System Page 6 offeror. The District retains discretion to determine which Offerors meet the District’s adopted accessibility standard, so long as all Offerors are held to the same accessibility standard. In the event that no Offeror providing a technology product (such as software) offers a technology product that complies with all of the requirements of the District’s adopted accessibility standard, the District reserves the right to consider only those Offerors whose standards are as close as possible to the District’s adopted accessibility standard. The District may request a compliance report or other documentation to show that the Offeror can comply with the adopted accessibility standard.

To be considered a “responsible” Offeror, the Offeror must demonstrate that it is either a) an in-state or out-of-state for profit, nonprofit, or professional corporation or limited liability company registered to transact business in the State of Georgia, b) an out-of-state for profit, nonprofit, or professional corporation that is excused from registering to transact business in the State of Georgia, c) a partnership, limited partnership, or joint venture composed of individuals who are U.S. Citizens, permanent residents, or residents of other countries who have not been prohibited from conducting business in the United States that can demonstrate to the District’s satisfaction through formal governing documents (such as a partnership agreement), insurance certificates, or other written documents that it has the ability and capacity to provide the goods and/or services requested by the District in the time and manner expected by the District; d) or an individual who can demonstrate through insurance certificates or other written documents to the District’s satisfaction that he/or she is a United States citizen, a permanent resident, or the resident of another country who has not been prohibited from conducting business in the United States and who has the capacity to provide the requested goods and/or services in the time and manner expected by the District. The attached solicitation forms will ask questions to ascertain information about the capacity of the Offeror, and Offerors should supply the most up-to-date version of any requested corporate registrations or corporate documents.

To be considered a “responsible” Offeror, the Offeror must demonstrate that it has all required business licenses or professional certifications needed to provide the required goods and/or services in the State of Georgia. The Offeror must provide copies of the most-up-to-date version of any required licenses or certifications.

To be considered a “responsive” and “responsible” Offeror, Offeror should disclose any possible conflicts of interests that may exist between Offeror and any “Related Party” and the SCCPSS, SCCPSS School Board members, or SCCPSS employees, so that the District can seek to evaluate the potential conflict of interest and determine whether a transaction with Offeror is appropriate given the potential conflict of interest under Board Policy or other applicable law. For purposes of this RFP “Related Party” is defined as: any corporate affiliate of Offeror, any owner of more than 10% of Offeror’s ownership interests, any of Offeror’s current officers, any of Offeror’s current directors, or any of Offeror’s current employees that Offeror reasonably expects to be involved in actually providing goods and/or services to the District in response to this solicitation.

The District shall have discretion to determine and evaluate potential conflicts of interest under its own policies, such as Policy GAG, and to determine whether an Offeror will be disqualified because of a potential conflict of interest. Some questions in the Offeror Information Form (Solicitation Form 1) are designed to help identify and evaluate potential conflicts of interest. If an Offeror declines to provide additional information requested to evaluate a potential conflict of interest, the Offeror may be disqualified as “non-responsive”.

Offerors shall be required to disclose whether Offeror, any Related Party, or any individual working for Offeror is a beneficiary under Georgia’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS) or the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS). No such individual shall provide any services to the District until their information and eligibility to perform services has been certified through TRS or PSERS. The Contractor agrees to provide any information required by TRS or PSERS. Any employees or other individuals working for or through the Contractor receiving retirement benefits under Georgia’s TRS or PSERS shall be subject to any applicable salary and service limitations as outlined in Georgia law, TRS, or PSERS policy. If TRS or PSERS does not approve the engagement of an Offeror or an individual working for Offeror because they are a TRS or PSERS beneficiary, the District may disqualify or terminate an Offeror or disallow a particular individual from providing services to the District and declare the Offeror “not responsive” or not “responsible.”

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More project-specific requirements for the Offeror to be considered a “responsible” Offeror, including insurance requirements, are set forth in more detail in “Attachment A- Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Proposals, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements,” which is incorporated by this reference.

M. O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 and E-Verify Compliance Required for “Responsible” Offerors.

To be considered a “responsible” Offeror, all Offerors are required to comply with O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91, a Georgia statute that prohibits a public employer such as the District from entering into any contract with a contractor who fails to participate in the federal work authorization program E-Verify or fails to demonstrate that it is not required to participate in the E-Verify program. In order to be deemed a “responsible” Offeror eligible for this RFP, the Offeror must provide the affidavit(s) or other documentation required O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91. While the District provides sample O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 affidavit forms in this RFP, Offerors are solely responsible for familiarizing themselves with their obligations under O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 and making sure that they provide the District with the required documentation. Information on enrolling in the E-Verify program can be found at:

https://www.e-verify.gov/employers/enrolling-in-e-verify.

N. The District’s Reservation of Rights to Cancel this RFP, to Amend the RFP Process, to Disqualify Offerors, and to Waive Irregularities and Technicalities.

The District, in the discretion of the Purchasing Director, the Chief Financial Officer, the Superintendent, or the District’s governing body, the elected School Board, may cancel this RFP at any time before the District executes a contract to any Offeror(s). The District may decline to purchase the goods and/or services solicited in this RFP at all, or it may decide to purchase some or all of the same goods and/or services through a similar or different procurement process.

The District, in the discretion of the Purchasing Director, the Chief Financial Officer, the Superintendent, or the District’s governing body, the elected School Board, reserves the right to amend this RFP and all attachments in any way and at any time (without cancelling it in its entirety) before the deadline for the submission of Proposal Packages. Any addenda amending this RFP will be made available to all Offerors on the District’s website. As stated above, the submission deadline will be extended at least seventy-two (72) hours if any addenda are issued less than seventy-two (72) hours before the submission deadline.

The District further reserves the right to amend this RFP in any way after the deadline for the submission of

Proposal Packages (without cancelling the RFP in its entirety), except the District will not amend the original proposal formatting or submission requirements or the criteria for determining whether the Offeror is a “responsive” or “responsible” Offeror. Non-exclusive example of such an amendment to this RFP may be the addition of an inadvertent omission from the project specifications.

The District further reserves the right to redo any stage of this RFP (without cancelling it in its entirety) if the

District, in the discretion of the Purchasing Director, the Chief Financial Officer, the Superintendent, or the District’s governing body, the elected School Board, has concerns that a stage of the RFP should be redone to eliminate any question of whether it was conducted properly.

The District reserves the right to reject any and all Proposal Packages submitted in response to this

RFP, and to waive any irregularities or technicalities in Proposal Packages received whenever such rejection or waiver is in the best interest of the District.

The District has the right to disqualify a proposal of any Offeror on the basis that the proposal is

“nonresponsive” or the Offeror is “not responsible.”

A proposal shall be deemed “nonresponsive” if it fails to include all of the information or documents required by this RFP. Accordingly, Offerors should carefully review this solicitation to determine all of the forms and additional documentation, such as business licenses, corporate registrations, insurance certificates, and tax documents, that will be required for submission. Forms with signature blocks should be signed, and forms with notary blocks should be signed in the presence of a notary and notarized.

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An Offeror shall be deemed “not responsible” if the District determines that the Offeror fails to meet the minimal requirements to be eligible for consideration, including but not limited to, a lack of capacity to do the work or provide the services requested, a lack of proper insurance, the lack of a valid business license, failure to satisfy e-Verify requirements, negative past performance ratings on District projects, being disqualified from working for the District because of poor performance on a prior project, a litigation history unsatisfactory to the District, or some other reason that gives the District reason to question the responsibility or reliability of the Offeror.

The District will also evaluate whether the Offeror’s workload will allow the offeror to complete this project within the established time, quality, or cost, or to comply with the offeror’s contract obligations. In evaluating the offeror’s workload, the District may consider whether the offeror has submitted Proposal Packages on other District projects and whether the award of multiple projects to the offeror may impair the offeror’s ability to complete this project within the established time, quality, or cost, or to comply with the offeror’s contract obligations or otherwise pose a risk to the District.

The District reserves the right to request an Offeror to provide additional information in response to any concern that an Offeror may not be a “responsible” Offeror. Failure to provide the requested additional information, in itself, will be sufficient grounds for the District to declare the Offeror to be not “responsible” for the purposes of this RFP.

Offerors represent that, to the best of their knowledge, all information that they submit to the District in response to this RFP, whether through a proposal or otherwise, is true and correct. If the District determines that information submitted by the Offeror is incorrect, the District may disqualify a proposal as “non-responsive.” If the District determines that an Offeror intentionally misrepresented information submitted in response to the RFP, the District may disqualify the Offeror on the basis that it is “not responsible” for this solicitation and in future solicitations.

O. Evaluation and Award of Contract.

A contract with the District, if one is awarded at all, for the goods and/or services requested in this RFP will be awarded by means of the award process described in “Attachment A - Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Proposals, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements.”

Depending on the nature of the goods and/or services the District may provide a sample of the contract it is willing to execute with a successful Offeror. If such a sample contract is attached, then the Offeror is deemed to have agreed that all of the terms contained therein will be acceptable by submitting a proposal. If the Offeror wants to propose materially different terms, then the Offeror should file a request for Material Substitution using the procedure outlined above before submitting its proposal.

For other goods and/or services, the District may ask Offerors to provide a proposed contract. The terms of that proposed contract will be evaluated as part of the selection process to determine whether the Offeror is “responsive” and “responsible.” The specifications for the goods and/or services requested by this RFP may also include specific contract terms outlined in “Attachment A - Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Proposals, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements” that should be included in any contract proposed by an Offeror.

By way of a non-exclusive example, the specifications may provide that the District will not agree to any contract provision requiring the District to indemnify any Offeror as such provisions are prohibited by District policy and state law. Conversely, there may be times when the District requires an Offeror to maintain certain levels of insurance, to honor certain warranties, or to provide indemnities to the District.

The District reserves the right to negotiate any and all terms of any and all contracts before they are executed by a District representative with authority to bind the District under board policy based on the dollar amount of the transaction or with express authority following a vote by the District’s governing body, the elected School Board.

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P. Consideration of Offeror Past Performance.

Successful Offerors should be advised that they will be evaluated by the District over the duration of the contract period. Performance will be documented. Poor performance may result in the Offeror being disqualified on future RFPs or may result in the deduction of points from the Offeror on future District solicitations, whether they are other invitations to proposal or requests for qualifications and requests for Proposal Packages. Good performance may result in the Offeror receiving additional points on future solicitations.

Q. Public Information.

It is the policy of the District that after final award of a contract as a result of this solicitation by a final decisionmaker under board policy depending on the dollar value of the contract, the contents of all proposals will be placed in the public domain and be open to inspection by interested parties. Trade secrets or proprietary information that are recognized as such and are protected by law may be withheld, if clearly identified as such in the proposal. Failure to list all proprietary sections of the submitted proposal shall relieve the District from any responsibility should such information be viewed by the public, a competitor, or be in any way accidentally released.

If this RFP is cancelled before an award is made, proposals will not be made available for public inspection, except as may be required by law, to prevent Offerors from having an unfair advantage in future solicitations for the same goods or services.

R. Offeror Questions, Requests for Interpretations, Requests for Material Substitution of Products, Services or Contract Terms, and Issuance of Addenda.

If an Offeror should have any questions relating to an RFP, including but not limited to the interpretation of RFP language, the specifications for the goods and/or services requested and/or requests for the substitution of different materials, products, or services, the terms of sample contract provisions attached to this solicitation and/or requests to propose different contract, the preparation of submission of Proposal Packages, or the evaluation and contract award process outlined in this RFP, the Offeror may deliver written requests for interpretation or requests for the substitution of products, services, or contract terms to the Purchasing Department through the e-Procurement portal at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com.

When reference is made in the specifications as to a particular manufacturer, type of process, brand name, or model number, such references are usually, but not always, made to designate minimum acceptable levels of quality and do not indicate a preference. In some instances, a particular manufacturer, type of process, or brand name is required.

In the event an Offeror would like to propose another manufacturer, process, brand name, model number, etc. other than those stated in the specifications for this RFP, the Offeror must provide complete technical information, specifications, manufacturer's name, model number and a complete list of deviations from stated specifications. The burden of proof for documenting that the proposed substitute is equal to the goods or services identified in the specifications rests with the Offeror. All determinations of the acceptability of the proposed substitute goods or services shall rest with the District staff and their decision shall be final.

Proposal Packages on equipment must be on standard, new equipment of the latest model and in current production, unless otherwise specified. Used, reconditioned or refurbished equipment is not acceptable unless otherwise specified.

All regularly manufactured stock electrical items must bear the label of the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

Any obvious error or omission in specifications shall not inure to the benefit of the Offeror but shall put the Offeror on notice to inquire of or identify the same from the District.

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If the Offeror wishes to propose materially different terms than those requested by the District in Attachment “A” or in any Sample Contract, then Offeror should request to propose different Contract terms by identifying the provisions it wishes to change or wishes to add.

All answers to questions for interpretation, requests for material substitution and requests for changes of contract terms shall be made by addenda to the RFP and shall be made available to all Offerors through the District’s purchasing portal. While the District will also make a good faith effort to email or fax any addenda to all Offerors who attended pre-proposal conferences, submitted requests for interpretations to the District, or otherwise communicated an interest to receive notice of addenda, the District’s failure to provide an Offeror with individualized notice of an addenda will not provide an Offeror with grounds to protest the implementation of this RFP. Offerors are ultimately responsible themselves for keeping track of addenda issued by the District before the deadline for submitting Proposal Packages in response to this RFP.

All requests for interpretation, substitution, or changes to contract terms, must be submitted to the Purchasing Department before the Deadline for Written Questions/Requests for Substitution set forth in the Request for Proposals Timeline as set forth on page 1 of this solicitation, as may amended. The District shall not be required to answer any questions about this RFP submitted after 4:59:59:99 p.m. (ET) on the date of this deadline.

The Senior Purchasing Director, or her designee, in her discretion, may extend the deadline for submitting requests for interpretation for all Offerors.

S. Protests.

Any actual Offeror or bona fide prospective Offeror who is aggrieved in connection with this RFP may protest to the Senior Purchasing Director by email to purchasing@sccpss.com. Please include “PROTEST- [OFFEROR NAME] PROPOSAL NUMBER, PROPOSAL NAME,” clearly marked in UPPER CASE in the subject line of the email. It is incumbent upon the Offeror to receive confirmation from the Purchasing Department that its protest has been received. Offerors who do not receive confirmation of the protest by email during normal business hours of 9:00:00 a.m. to 5:00:00 p.m. on the day the protest is sent should call the Purchasing Department to confirm receipt of the protest at (912) 395-5572.

By submitting a Proposal Packet in response to this RFP without filing a protest observing the deadlines set forth below, the Offeror waives any objection to the content of this RFP (including any attachment or addenda) issued prior to as well as any objection to any procedure outlined therein. Protests filed after the deadline for submissions shall only concern the implementation of the RFP as applied to the Offeror or addenda issued after the submission date.

Any protest to the content of this RFP (including any attachment or addenda) as well as any objection to any procedure or evaluation criteria outlined therein shall be filed no later than five (5) business days prior to the deadline for submissions of Proposal Packets, unless the objection concerns an addendum issued fewer than five (5) business days prior to the deadline for submissions of proposals, in which case, an objection may be filed to that addenda only at any time before the submission deadline.

Any protest filed after the submission deadline shall be submitted within five business (5) days after the action by the District on which the grievance is based, but in no case later than five business (5) days after the date of the District’s notice of intent to award a contract for the provision of goods and/or services requested in his RFP, which will be transmitted by email to all Offerors.

The District shall not intentionally withhold information that is stated in this RFP to be forthcoming at certain intervals, but failure of the District to notify an Offeror who might be aggrieved by the content of such notification shall not give rise to any claim or rights resulting from said failure. Only formal protests will be considered, and in order for a protest to be considered as formal, it must be presented in written form, and must contain a minimum of the following:

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A specific identification of the statutory or regulatory provision(s) that the District’s purchasing staff member or department is alleged to have violated, A specific description of each act alleged to have violated the statutory or regulatory provision(s) identified above, A precise statement of the relevant facts that include timelines and all involved parties, and An identification of the issue(s) that needs to be resolved that support the protest.

The letter of protest shall be taken under consideration by the Chief Financial Officer and/or the

Superintendent, who shall respond to the protesting Offeror within ten (10) business days of receipt of the letter of protest. The initial written response may explain that the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Superintendent need additional time to review the Protest. In any event, a final decision will be issued on the Protest by the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Superintendent before the execution of a final contract with the successful Offeror. An unresolved protest will not preclude the School Board from approving an award at a public meeting, but the resulting contract will not be executed until a final decision on the protest is made by the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Superintendent. The written decision of the Chief Financial Officer or Superintendent shall be final and conclusive.

T. Offerors Not Entitled to Reimbursement for their Costs Associated with Submitting Proposal Packages.

The District recognizes that participating in this RFP process, or any government procurement process, can be time consuming and expensive for Offerors. In participating in part of this process, Offerors acknowledge that their costs in participating in this process are the costs of attempting to do business with the District.

All Offerors or potential Offerors, including unsuccessful Offerors or Offerors or potential Offerors who file protests, agree that the District shall not be responsible for reimbursing the Offeror for any costs they may incur in connection with this RFP, including staff time, printing costs, attorneys’ fees, or expenses of litigation.

U. Gratuity Prohibition.

No Offeror shall offer any gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value to any official, employee, or agent of the District for the purpose of influencing consideration of this solicitation.

V. Certification of Independent Submission of Proposal Packages.

By submitting a Proposal Packet in response to this RFP, the Offeror must certify that:

1. The information is this Proposal Packet has been arrived at independently, without consultation, communication, or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition with any other Offeror or with any competitor;

2. The information in this Proposal Packet has not been knowingly disclosed by the Offeror and will not knowingly be disclosed by the Offeror prior to the District’s final determination regarding this RFP, directly or indirectly to any other Offeror or to any competitor;

3. No attempt has been made or will be made by the Offeror to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a proposal for the purpose of restricting competition; and

4. In the event the Offeror is a partnership or joint venture, each party thereto certifies the above.

W. Federal Requirements.

The District receives a number of federal grants. Some of the District’s purchases may be made with federal grant dollars, which may impose additional requirements than state law. The District strives to have a procurement process that complies with Federal regulations and standards for acquisition of property or services

RFP 26-13 Student ID System Page 12 required under a Federal award or subaward pursuant to 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.318 et. seq. Depending on the amount of a proposal, offer, or resulting contract, additional federal grant requirements may apply, including, but not limited to, the additional requirements listed below. To the extent it is determined that a specific purchasing project must comply with additional federal requirements, Offerors and successful Offerors agree that they will comply with any such federal requirements.

1. DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION VERIFICATION (required by the District for all Proposal Packages)

The District shall solicit offers from, award contracts to, and consent to subcontracts with responsible vendors and/or principals only. The serious nature of debarment and suspension of a potential Offeror under federal purchasing rules raises substantial questions about whether a vendor is sufficiently “responsible” to be awarded a contract by the District. Moreover, Federal regulations limit the District’s ability to enter contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities for projects involving federal funds. See 2 CFR 200.214. Accordingly, the District will consider whether Offerors have been suspended or debarred by a federal entity in making awards under this

RFP.

The Offeror certifies that the Offeror and/or any corporate affiliate of Offeror, any owner of more than 10% of Offeror’s ownership interests, any of Offeror’s current officers, any of Offeror’s current directors, or any of Offeror’s current employees that Offeror reasonably expects to be involved in actually providing goods and/or services to the District in response to this solicitation (“Related Parties”) have not been debarred, suspended, or declared ineligible by any agency of the State of Georgia or any agency of the Federal government or as defined in the 2 CFR 200.214 which states “Non-federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180.

The Vendor will immediately notify the District if Vendor is debarred or placed on the Consolidated List of Debarred, Suspended, and Ineligible Vendors by a federal entity.

By submitting a Proposal Package, the Offeror is certifying that is has not been debarred, suspended, or has any ineligible or voluntary exclusions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture or any other Federal or State Agency. All responses will be verified. Debarment and Suspension (Executive Orders 12549 and 12689) - A contract award (see 2 CFR 180.220) must not be made to parties listed on the governmentwide exclusions in the System for Award Management (SAM), in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR part 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR part 1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.” SAM Exclusions contains the names of parties debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded by agencies, as well as parties declared ineligible under statutory or regulatory authority other than Executive Order 12549.

2. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE CERTIFICATE (Required by the District for all Proposal Packages)

Per 2 CFR 200 Appendix II Section I - A Lobbying Certification and Disclosure must be completed for all proposals $100,000 and over. For consistency among solicitations, the District requires all Offerors to please complete Solicitation Form 4 Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment (31 U.S.C. § 1352) - Vendors that apply or bid for an award exceeding $100,000 must file the required certification. Each tier certifies to the tier above that it will not and has not used Federal appropriated funds to pay any person or organization for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a member of Congress, officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress in connection with obtaining any Federal contract, grant or any other award covered by 31 U.S.C. 1352. Each tier must also disclose any lobbying with non-Federal funds that takes place in connection with obtaining any Federal award. Such disclosures are forwarded from tier to tier up to the non- Federal award.

3. CONTRACT WORK HOURS/SAFETY STANDARDS ACT (for Proposals over $100,000)

All contracts awarded by a non-Federal entity in excess of $100,000 that involve the employment of mechanics or laborers must include a provision for compliance with 40 U.S.C. 3702 and 3704, as supplemented by

RFP 26-13 Student ID System Page 13

Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 5). Under 40 U.S.C. 3702 of the Act, each vendor must be required to compute the wages of every mechanic and laborer on the basis of a standard work week of 40 hours. Work in excess of the standard work week is permissible provided that the worker is compensated at a rate of not less than one and a half times the basic rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in the work week. The requirements of 40 U.S.C. 3704 are applicable to construction work and provide that no laborer or mechanic must be required to work in surroundings or under working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous. These requirements do not apply to the purchases of supplies or materials or articles.

4. RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER A CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT

(Applicable only to “funding agreements” under 37 CFR § 401.2 (a))

If the contract resulting from this solicitation meets the definition of “funding agreement” under 37 CFR § 401.2

(a) and the District or a subrecipient wishes to enter into a contract with a small business firm or nonprofit organization regarding the substitution of parties, assignment or performance of experimental, developmental, or research work under that “funding agreement,” the recipient or subrecipient must comply with the requirements of 37 CFR Part 401, “Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms Under Government Grants, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements,” and any implementing regulations issued by the awarding agency.

5. PROCUREMENT OF RECOVERED MATERIALS (2 CFR 200.323) (for Proposals over $10,000)

The District and its Contractors shall seek to comply with section 6002 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The requirements of Section 6002 include procuring only items designated in guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR part 247 that contain the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable, consistent with maintaining a satisfactory level of competition, where the purchase price of the item exceeds $10,000 or the value of the quantity acquired during the preceding fiscal year exceeded $10,000; procuring solid waste management services in a manner that maximizes energy and resource recovery; and establishing an affirmative procurement program for procurement of recovered materials identified in the EPA guidelines.

6. CLEAN AIR/ CLEAN WATER STATEMENT (for Proposals over $150,000)

The District expects its Contractors for proposals over $150,000 to comply with all applicable standards, orders, or requirements issued under Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251–1387). Violations must be reported to the Federal awarding agency and the Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). See C.F.R. § Pt. 200, App. II.

7. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR

EQUIPMENT (2 C.F.R. 200.216) (all Proposals concerning such equipment)

Offerors shall not:

(a)

(1) Procure or obtain covered telecommunications equipment or services;

(2) Extend or renew a contract to procure or obtain covered telecommunications equipment or services; or

(3) Enter into a contract (or extend or renew a contract) to procure or obtain covered telecommunications equipment or services.

(b) As described in section 889 of Public Law 115–232, “covered telecommunications equipment or services” means any of the following:

(1) Telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities);

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(2) For the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities);

(3) Telecommunications or video surveillance services provided by such entities or using such equipment;

(4) Telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services produced or provided by an entity that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director of the National Intelligence or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reasonably believes to be an entity owned or controlled by, or…