DESE Required Language 10-2025.docx

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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Required Language for all Procurements

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education…

· reserves the right to reject any and all BIDs.

· will award contracts based on the quality of the BIDs and the acceptability of the bids for services / products offered.

· may request a personal interview prior to entering into a contractual agreement.

· may request a bidder to modify specific aspects of their BID prior to being offered a contract.

· may award one Bid to several vendors to ensure availability. Being awarded a contract under a Departmental Master Agreement (MA) does not guarantee services to be used.

· By submitting a response to this bid you are indicating that you understand and will adhere to all specifications for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

· By submitting a response to this bid you are indicating that all materials and/or deliverables developed using Commonwealth funds will become DESE’s property, unless otherwise specifically noted in the contract. This property may be posted on the DESE website and/or used for distribution beyond the duration of the contract. To the extent a response or deliverables under a contract rely on or incorporate intellectual property owned by another entity, the vendor must obtain all permissions or licenses necessary for DESE to use the underlying materials as necessary to fulfill the terms of the contract.

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education complies with all Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ procurement laws and regulations as set forth and overseen by the Commonwealth’s Operational Services Division when awarding contracts as well as all the state’s grant award requirements as mandated and overseen by the Office of the State Comptroller when dispersing these funds. These state requirements are consistent with federal procedures for procurement under 34 CFR Part 74.40-8 and Part 80.36. If this project is funded through Federal sources, the vendor agrees to provide access to its books and records to both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Federal Funding Sources, should such a request occur.

· The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Enterprise Digital Accessibility Policy drives ongoing efforts to make Massachusetts’ Digital Assets, including those delivered by a third-party, accessible and usable by all persons as required by state and federal laws. Where a Deliverable includes a Digital Asset, such Deliverable must meet the Commonwealth’s Digital Accessibility Standards.

· The Commonwealth’s Digital Accessibility Standards include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 level A and AA developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Bidder must comply with the digital accessibility obligations set forth in the Vendor Digital Accessibility Contract Language and Vendor Digital Accessibility Testing Obligations and any subsequent versions or amendments.

· During the bidding process and upon request, Bidder shall cooperate and provide the Commonwealth, or any third-party digital accessibility service provider procured by the Commonwealth, access to test its digital products for accessibility at no additional cost to the Commonwealth. The digital products must be available to the Commonwealth for evaluation prior to purchase and on an ongoing basis.

Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI Requirement)

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (the Department) is authorized by Massachusetts’ Criminal History Systems Board to conduct criminal offender record information (CORI) background checks on vendor staff or subcontractors working for or on behalf of the Department in the Department’s offices or in educational settings, who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children.

The Department shall require otherwise qualified prospective vendors to identify any and all vendor personnel or subcontractors who will be working under this contract with students, or working in an educational setting, or who will be assigned to work at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s offices, for the purpose of assisting the Department in completing required CORI checks. Also, the successful vendor shall: (a) notify the Department before making any staffing changes during the term of the contract, so that the Department may conduct a CORI check, if necessary, prior to any new personnel commencing work under the contract; and (b) notify the Department of any issues that may affect the eligibility of identified vendor personnel or subcontractors to work for or on behalf of the Department under the contract. The Department may need to contact identified vendor personnel or subcontractors directly for the purpose of completing required background checks.

Completion of any and all CORI checks of all identified personnel, if necessary, will be the final step in executing the contract.

All vendor and vendor staff procured under this solicitation may be subject to a CORI check. Other entities (including but not limited to state agencies, Commonwealth cities, towns, districts, counties, authorities and school districts), who are open to utilize this procurement under a separate contract execution, must complete their own vendor CORI check, if applicable.

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