91995926Q0001-RFQ-March-2026-NAGB.pdf

National Assessment Governing Board Request for Quotations 91995926Q0001

March 5-6, 2026, Quarterly Board Meeting Houston, Texas

Solicitation Notice: RFQ 91995926Q0001

Conference Space and Lodging Services NAICS Code: 721110 (Hotels and Motels, Non-Casino) PSC: X1AB – Lease/Rental of Conference Space and Facilities Set-Aside: Total Small Business Size Standard: $40.0M

Overview

This is combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services, issued in accordance with FAR Part 12. This announcement serves as the only solicitation. Please read this notice in its entirety and follow all submission instructions carefully.

Eligibility and Submission Authorization Requirements

• Who may submit:

Any interested, responsible source may submit a quote directly to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), National Assessment Governing Board.

• Third-party submissions:

• If you are not the hotel or lodging venue, you must include a written proof of authorization to submit a binding quote on the venue’s behalf.

o Acceptable evidence: A signed agreement between the venue and the quoter.

o Without this, your quote will be deemed technically unacceptable.

Background

The National Assessment Governing Board (hereafter Governing Board, or NAGB) has a requirement to provide lodging and meeting services for its March 2026 Quarterly Board meeting. The Governing Board is an independent, nonpartisan board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known “The Nation’s Report Card”.

The Governing Board convenes four times per year to carry out its legislatively mandated responsibilities. Information on the Board and its work can be found at www.nagb.gov.

Meeting History

• November 2025: Hilton National Landing, Arlington, VA

• August 2025: Hotel AKA, Alexandria, VA http://www.nagb.gov/

• May 2025: Lyndon Baines Johnson Building, Washington, DC

• March 2025: Hotel AKA, Alexandria, VA

Quarterly Board Meeting Location and Requirements

Detailed information is available at https://www.nagb.gov/about-us/quarterly-board-meetings.html. This RFQ pertains only to the March 5-6, 2026, meeting in Houston, TX metropolitan area.

Requirements

Venues must be able to accommodate the lodging and meeting space requirements outlined below. Both the guest rooms and the conference facilities must be located within the same general property. Please note the meeting dates and geographic area are fixed and non-negotiable.

Lodging

Guest Rooms must be quoted at prevailing per diem rates for Houston, TX area:

Tuesday

March 3, 2026 Wednesday

March 4, 2026 Thursday

March 5, 2026 Friday, March 6, 2026 # Guest Rooms (King Rooms Preferred)

5 45 45 1

Meeting Space & Set Up Requirements

Meeting space set up, food and beverage, and audiovisual (AV) requirements are detailed on the following pages. While NAGB prefers to use the venue’s in-house A/V provider, it reserves the right to contract an external provided if needed.

https://www.nagb.gov/about-us/quarterly-board-meetings.html https://www.nagb.gov/about-us/quarterly-board-meetings.html https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2026

Event Name Start Time End Time Attendees Set Up NAGB Staff Office

12:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 4 24-hour hold

5:00 p.m.

Friday, March

10 pp

The room should have a conference table for 10 people and space to store meeting materials and equipment.

Will need five keys for staff to access the room during the day and after hours, as needed.

Plenary Set Up

12:00 p.m.

Wednesday

24-hour hold 60 pp Room should be set in a hollow square configuration for 25–28 participants.

On the right side of the hollow square, include classroom-style seating for 6 additional attendees. Below the hollow square, arrange classroom style for 24 people with a center aisle.

Please refer to the attached diagram for layout details.

NAEP Outreach Event

4:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 75-80 pp Room should accommodate panel seating on riser for 5 pp, rounds for 75-80 pp. Will need a room to host a reception for 80 pp with light refreshments following the panel.

4:00 – 5:00 pm Keynote 5:00 – 6:00 pm Panel Discussion 6:00 – 7:00 pm Reception

THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026

Registration 7:00 am

5:00 pm 2 pp Registration area outside the Plenary room with two 6-foot tables and two chairs. Will need access to power outlet.

Plenary 8:00 a.m.

5:00 p.m. 60 pp Room should be set in a hollow square

On the right side of the hollow square, include classroom-style seating for 6 additional attendees. Below the hollow square, arrange classroom style for 24 people with a center aisle.

Please refer to the attached diagram for layout details.

Breakout

(ADC)

8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 25 pp Set up conference style seating for 10 at the table, with theater-style seating for 15.

Breakout

(COSDAM)

8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 25 pp Set up conference style seating for 10 at the table, with theater-style seating for 15.

Breakout (R&D)

8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 25 pp Set up conference style seating for 10 at the table, with theater-style seating for 15.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2026

Registration 7:00 am

3:00 p.m. 2 pp Registration area outside the Plenary room with two 6-foot tables and two chairs. Will need access to power outlet.

Breakout Nominations

7:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. 25 pp Set up conference style seating for 10 at the table, with theater-style seating for 15.

Plenary 8:00 a.m.

3:00 p.m. 60 pp Room should be set in a hollow square

On the right side of the hollow square, include classroom-style seating for 6 additional attendees. Below the hollow square, arrange classroom style for 24 people with a center aisle.

Please refer to the attached diagram for layout details.

Food and Beverage

Meal Function Anticipated

# people Menu General Menu Discounts – 20% off published menu prices

Wednesday – Light Refreshments 75 Assorted appetizers and beverages Thursday – Coffee Service AM & Refresh 50 Regular, Decaf, Assorted Teas Thursday – Working Lunch (Buffet) 40 3-course hot buffet lunch Friday – Coffee Service AM & Refresh 50 Regular, Decaf, Assorted Teas Friday – Working Lunch (Box Lunch) 40 Box Lunch with Assorted Sandwiches, chips, a cookie, and beverage.

Audiovisual & Technical Requirements for NAEP Outreach Event

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

• Microphones:

• Podium and microphone

• 5 lavalier microphones

• 1 handheld microphone

• Projection Equipment:

• 1 screen

• NAGB will provide own LCD projector

• Pre-Meeting Preparation

• Technical run-through required the day before the meeting

Audiovisual & Technical Requirements for Breakout Rooms

Thursday, March 5, 2026

• Visual Equipment:

• 3 screen packages & projection carts

• NAGB will provide own LCD projectors

• Power and Cabling:

• Power outlets will be provided for the conference table

• Will need extension cords and set up assistance will be provided by the AV contractor or hotel

Audiovisual & Technical Requirements for Hybrid Meeting in General Session

Thursday, March 5, 2026 & Friday, March 6, 2026

• Microphones:

• 28 push-to-talk microphones (wired)

• 1 handheld microphone

• Projection Equipment:

• 1 screen

• 1 confidence monitor

• 2 OWLS (360° video conferencing cameras)

• NAGB will provide own LCD projector

• Zoom & Hybrid Support

• Zoom will be managed by NAGBs meeting contractor

• AV audio and video technical assistance is required.

• Pre-Meeting Preparation

• Technical run-through required the day before the meeting

• Power and Cabling:

• Power outlets will be provided for the general session table

• Extension cords and set up assistance will be provided by the AV contractor or hotel

• Recording & Audio Feed:

• Meeting will also be recorded by a court reporter to produce a verbatim transcript

• Court Reporter will need a feed to the house sound system

Preferred Concessions

Lodging

• One comp room for every 50 picked up credited the master bill.

• Reduced lodging rate for local staff who commute from a distance. Will pay own room, tax, and incidental charges.

• Waive resort fee (if applicable)

Audio Visual and Technology

• At least 20% off in-house AV partner services.

• Complimentary/discounted Wi-Fi in the guest rooms and meeting space

Food & Beverage

• Discount off the published menu prices.

Parking and Access

• Six complimentary day parking passes for local staff and speakers.

• Discounted daily and overnight parking rates for attendees who will drive to the meeting.

• Complimentary keys to access staff office.

Contract Clauses

• Attrition and Cancellation clauses must be 80% or less with a sliding scale at 30 and 60 days from the arrival date.

• See Contract Clauses section at the end of this document for required terms and conditions to be incorporated in the resulting contract.

Billing

Guest Room Billing and Reservations

• Guest room charges will be billed to the Governing Board’s Centrally Billed Account

(CBA)

• The Governing Board is tax-exempt.

• All reservations will be made via rooming list.

• Each guest is responsible for incidental charges.

Meeting Services and Payment

• Meeting services charges will be billed to a purchase order to include meeting room rental, food and beverage, audio-visual equipment and other meeting services.

• The vendor must submit the final invoice through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) at https: //www.ipp.gov for electronic payment.

Instructions to Quoters

The entity selected to receive and offer from ED must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintain an active registration throughout the life of the purchase order. SAM is accessible at https://www.sam.gov

Quoters must include their SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI) in their quote. If a UEI has not been established, the quoter should contact the appropriate entity via https://www.sam.gov to obtain one and indicate that they are an offeror for a government contract.

The selected quoter will also be required to submit Offeror Representations and Certifications prior to award. Additionally, the venue must register at www.ipp.gov for invoice submission.

Quotes must:

• Be signed and submitted by an official authorized to bind the organization

• Remain valid for 120 days

• Include the name and email of a designated individual authorized to conduct negotiations

Responses shall include:

1. Technical proposal

2. Cost Proposal

3. Past Performance

Technical Proposal

The proposal shall include the following, as detailed in the requirements section above:

(a) A description of the proposed meeting space, including names of the exact meeting rooms being offered. In addition, include descriptions, floorplans, capacities, set-up options, etc. and time of availability each day for each of the proposed rooms. Links to meeting space specs on hotel/facility’s website are acceptable if exact meeting rooms being offered are identified in the quote. NAGB desires meeting spaces near each other and that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

(b) Facility must be ADA compliant.

(c) Lodging at per diem rates, accommodations offered, room block pattern, cut-off date and reservation methods available.

(d) Confirm room block and space will be held, or the Governing Board shall be given the first right of refusal for a minimum of 10 days after quote submission date.

(e) Food & beverage menus.

(f) Audiovisual services (AV) must be available from an in-house provider, and include any discounts being offered as well as any additional fees for using other than the hotel’s in-house A/V provider.

(g) Wi-Fi, internet offerings including bandwidth, capacities, etc.

(h) Information/offerings on all other NAGB requirements such as shipping/receiving, parking, etc.

(i) Parking costs per day and overnight.

https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ http://www.ipp.gov/

(j) All special accommodations and concessions being offered.

(k) A cancellation clause or cancellation terms that include a sliding scale that reduces damages for earlier Cancellations and includes a commitment that the hotel will attempt to lessen its harm by reselling the space and functions and credits any revenues received from the resale against the liquidated damages in the amount not to exceed the full amount of such damages.

Cost Proposal

Vendors shall quote costs on a firm-fixed basis with detailed cost assumptions on the pricing spreadsheet included with the RFQ.

1. Draft proposed facility/hotel contracts using the guidance in the RFQ shall be submitted for each meeting.

2. A template detailing budget submission is provided as a separate attachment in Microsoft Excel format. The file shall be completed using formula/calculations and returned as part of the quote.

3. The proposal shall include a statement recognizing that as a federal entity, the Governing Board (U.S. Department of Education) is tax exempt, and therefore State/Local taxes will not be included as part of the overall price. If any specific documentation is required by the hotel to grant tax exemption, this information must be included in the quote.

Past Performance

Vendors shall provide at least two references (including name, organization, phone number) from clients for whom the proposed hotel or facility has delivered services of similar scope within the past three calendar years.

In addition, proposed facilities/hotels shall provide examples of government sponsored meetings of comparable size and scope hosted in the last 3 years.

Clarification Questions

NAGB will accept clarification questions via email only until 12:00 pm ET Thursday, November 13, 2025. Questions submitted after this deadline are not guaranteed a response.

Responses shall be provided after the deadline as an amendment to the RFQ. Oral explanations or instructions given by the Government before the award of the contract are not binding.

Submit all clarification questions concerning this solicitation to Tony White, Contract Specialist, Team Lead, at tony.white@ed.gov. The subject line of the email shall reference the RFQ number and the name of your organization. For example, the email subject line shall read:

Clarification Questions - RFQ 91995926Q0001- John Doe Company

Quote Due Date

Quotes are due via email only by 12:00 pm ET, Thursday, December 4, 2025 mailto:tony.white@ed.gov

Submit quotes in response to this solicitation to Tony White, Contract Specialist, Team Lead, at tony.white@ed.gov. The subject line of the email shall reference the RFQ number and the name of your organization. For example, the email subject line shall read:

Quote - RFQ 91995926Q0001- John Doe Company

Proposal Evaluation and Award

Proposals submitted in response to this RFQ will be evaluated in accordance with FAR Subpart 12.301(c)(2). The award will be based on best value to the Government, with significant consideration given to technical quality and vendor experience, followed by price. The Contracting Officer may issue a purchase order to a vendor other than the lowest-priced quoter.

The Government reserves the right to make an award without discussions and intends to evaluate and award based on initial quotes. Therefore, quoters should submit their best terms—both technical and pricing—in their initial submission.

The Contracting Officer may reject any or all quotes and may negotiate final terms with one or more quoters of the Government’s choosing. Formal source selection procedures under FAR Part 15 will not be used, and the Contracting Officer will not negotiate with quoters outside of those selected.

The Government will award a purchase order from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes:

1) Technical Quality

2) Cost / Price

3) Past Performance

Award with be made on best value to the Government. When combined, non-price factors are significantly more important than cost or price. However, as differences in technical proposals narrow, price and concessions may become the deciding factor for the award. At the Department’s discretion, quoters may be required to participate in a site visit to verify facilities and confirm adequate accommodations prior to award.

Technical Quality

Technical quality will be evaluated based on the following criteria to determine whether proposed venues meet and/or also exceed the Government’s requirements:

• Exact meeting dates.

• The proximity to the preferred location in downtown areas. For example, the Houston, TX area includes hotels located in Downtown, Midtown, Uptown/Galleria, Medical Center, and the Museum District.

mailto:tony.white@ed.gov

• Facility capability and suitability, including whether the venue is a full-service hotel/facility offering amenities such as guest rooms, on-site or nearby restaurants, fitness facilities, etc.

• Ability to meet all solicitation’s requirements for sleeping rooms, meeting space, and other specifications. This includes:

o General session room seating 28-30 in hollow square, with 30 classroom style around the perimeter o Breakout rooms that seat at least 10 conference style, with 15 in theater seating on the perimeter.

o Office space that accommodates at least 10 people conference style.

o Quality of meeting space, which may be evaluated through a site visit, prior experience with the venue, or other reasonable means such as online reviews and star ratings.

o Food and beverage offerings, including menu variety and suitability.

o Audiovisual services, evaluated for responsiveness, quality of equipment, and fair and reasonable prices.

o Concessions and complimentary offerings.

o Reasonable cancellation fees.

Cost / Price

Lodging shall be offered at per diem rates with meeting services priced at fair and reasonable costs. The Department will evaluate price by comparing the quoted fixed unit prices for guest rooms, meeting space, Wi-Fi and internet, Audiovisual services (A/V), storage and handling, food & beverage, parking, etc.

Food and beverage pricing will be evaluated based on any discounts offered on a) published menu pricing and the b) the service charge quoted.

A/V pricing will be evaluated by comparing quoted prices and any discounts offered off the in-house providers published pricing. The final contract amount will be determined once final attendance numbers are confirmed.

Past Performance Evaluation

Past Performance will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b)(3), focusing on the quoter’s experience hosting government-sponsored meetings. The evaluation may include:

• The contracting officer’s prior knowledge and experience with the venue or services

• Outreach provided in the quote

• Review of the quoter’s past performance in the CPARS system using the UEI number included in the quote.

Contract Clauses

The following clauses shall apply to any resulting purchase order. Quoters are responsible for reviewing the full text of these clauses and must ensure that no proposed terms and/or conditions conflict with them. These provisions address changes, disputes, payments, cancellation, etc.

https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

Quotes must be fully compliant with the terms of this RFQ. The Government reserves the right to reject any quote that does not adhere to these terms in all respects.

1. 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions and clauses can be reviewed at:

https://www.acquisition.gov/

Education Department Acquisition Regulation (EDAR) provisions can be reviewed at https://www.acquisition.gov/edar

2. FAR 52.212-4 -- Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (NOV 2023)

3. EDAR 3452.201-70 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) (May 2011)

(a) The Contracting Officer`s Representative (COR) is responsible for the technical aspects of the project, technical liaison with the contractor, and any other responsibilities that are specified in the contract. These responsibilities include inspecting all deliverables, including reports, and recommending acceptance or rejection to the contracting officer. (b) The COR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government or authorize any changes that affect the contract price, terms, or conditions. Any contractor requests for changes shall be submitted in writing directly to the contracting officer or through the COR. No such changes shall be made without the written authorization of the contracting officer. (c) The COR`s name and contact information: TBD at award. (d) The COR may be changed by the Government at any time, but notification of the change, including the name and address of the successor COR, will be provided to the contractor by the contracting officer in writing. (End of Clause)

4. EDAR 3452.224-70 -- Release of information under the Freedom of Information Act

(May 2011) by reference

5. EDAR 3452.233-70 -- Agency level protests (Oct 2023) by reference

6. EDAR 3452.237-71 -- Observance of Administrative Closures (May 2011) by reference

7. EDAR 3452.239–71 -- Department information security and privacy requirements

(Oct 2023)

8. EDAR 3452.242-73 -- Accessibility of Meetings, Conferences, and Seminars to Persons with Disabilities (Mar 2011) by reference https://www.acquisition.gov/ https://www.acquisition.gov/ https://www.acquisition.gov/edar

9. Deposit for Space and/or Cancellation Fee Maximum: It is the responsibility of the contractor to provide all resources needed for performance of the contract. For purchases of commercial items, the financing of the contract is normally the contractor's responsibility. However, since the use of security deposits to secure rooms or meeting space (space) is a commercial practice in this industry, the contracting officer may authorize payment of a security deposit to hold space when doing so will be in the best interest of the Government. Any security deposit or other commercial advance payment that may be appropriate for procuring space from a hotel, shall be limited to 15 percent of the contract price prior to the start of performance in accordance with FAR 32.202-1(b).

10. Insurance: The Hotel recognizes that the U.S. Department of Education (Group) is an agency of the United States Government and as such, will assume liability for property damage or personal injury in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Torts Claim Act (28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq.).

11. Indemnification: The Hotel recognizes that the U.S. Department of Education (Group) is a federal agency and as such, will assume liability due to negligence, loss or damage of persons or property in accordance with the Federal Torts Claim Act (28 U.S.C. 2671).

12. Overbooking Prior to Cut-off: If the hotel turns away rooms before the block is full, then the hotel will owe liquidated damages to the group equal to the number of room nights the hotel is unable to accept in the Government’s block, multiplied by 30% of the average Room Rate for each Guestroom Reservation that Hotel is unable to accept prior to the Reservation Cut-off Date. Additionally, the government shall be credited with the number of room nights turned away in the room pick-up report and will not be liable for damages, if any, for any resulting reduction or shortfall in the room pick-up.

13. Relocation / Walk: If a guaranteed and confirmed reservation is not honored because a room(s) is unavailable the date of arrival, the Hotel will pay for the first night of the guest’s stay at a comparable property, i.e., hotel of a like standard. The Hotel will pay for the guest’s transportation to and from the other property and return the guest as soon as a room becomes available. In addition, the Hotel shall credit a set ‘liquidated damages amount’ to the Master Account equal to the number of room nights the hotel relocated/walked, multiplied by 30% of the average Room Rate. Under such circumstances the Hotel will not be liable for any indirect or consequential damages and under no circumstances will the liability to the Hotel for a walked guest exceed what has been stipulated herein.

14. Hotel Maintenance: At the time of the Event, Hotel must be the same condition or better than it was at the time this Agreement was executed. In addition, Hotel must maintain its current “star” or “diamond” rating. If Hotel’s rating is lowered, or Hotel is sold or changes management contracts prior to the Event, Government may terminate this Agreement upon written notice with no liability of any kind, and Government shall be entitled to a refund of all amounts prepaid to hotel within thirty (30) days of receipt of cancellation notice by hotel.

15. Meeting Space: Any change of meeting space agreed to at contract award requires written permission from the Government.

16. Brand or Ownership Change Clause: Hotel will promptly notify the Government if there is a change in brand management or ownership of the Hotel prior to or during the program. The government shall have the right to cancel this contract without liability upon written notice to the hotel.

17. 306-1c: Invoice and Contract Financing Requests Submission - IPP (May 2018)

(a) Payments shall be rendered in accordance with the identified payment schedule(s), and any other incorporated payment clause(s), specified rates, and/or fixed price amounts.

(b) The Contractor shall submit invoices electronically by means of the web-based system, Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), which can be accessed at https://www.ipp.gov/. All submitted invoices must be accompanied by supporting documentation in accordance with the contract’s terms and conditions. The supporting documentation shall be submitted in the following formats: Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.docx), Pictures (.jpeg), Microsoft Excel (.xlsx), or Microsoft Outlook message (.msg).

(c) Invoice Number Format - The format for the invoice shall be the contract number followed by the invoice number. The invoice number shall have no spaces, dashes, or other special characters. The invoice number cannot exceed 21 characters. An example of an acceptable invoice number format follows:

Contract Number: 91990018C0001 Contractor's Invoice No.: 15897126341

IPP Invoice No.: 91990018C000115897126 (Note that the last three digit ["341"] from the Contractor's invoice number were removed due to the 21-character limitation.

(d) If the Contractor has not already established an IPP account that is active, an IPP account will be automatically created on behalf of the Contractor. The automatically created IPP account will be issued to the Designated Primary Administrator, which will be the individual that has been identified in the "Accounts Receivable POC" section of the Contractor's System for Award Management (SAM) registration located at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/.

(e) Within ten (10) business days of the Contractor entering or updating the Accounts Receivable POC information within the Contractor's SAM registration, the Designated Primary Administrator will receive an email from the IPP Customer Support Team containing the Designated Primary Administrator's IPP username. Within 24 hours of receiving the initial email, the Designated Primary Administrator will receive a second email containing their IPP password. Once both emails have been received, the Designated Primary Administrator must log into IPP and complete the registration process.

https://www.ipp.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

(f) The Contractor's Designated Primary Administrator will be authorized to further designate other administrators under the Contractor's IPP account who may submit invoices on behalf of the Contractor.

(g) The Contractor must ensure that the "Accounts Receivable POC" section of its SAM registration is accurate and up to date.

(h) In the event that an invoice is rejected, the Contractor shall make the necessary corrections and resubmit the invoice by means of IPP. Any questions, concerns, or issues regarding the use of IPP should be directed to the IPP Customer Support Team, as identified at https://www.ipp.gov.

https://www.ipp.gov/