Appendix -- A Bypassed LEAs in VA.docx.doc

United States Department Of Education

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Contracts and Acquisitions Management

Acquisition Plan

Providing Equitable Title I Services to

Eligible Children Attending Private Schools in

14 Bypassed Local Educational Agencies in Virginia Solicitation No. ED-ESE-12-R-0017 Tracking No. esecp120001 (a) Acquisition background and objectives – This planning document is created to support a full and open competition for the procurement entitled “Providing Equitable Title I Services to Eligible Children Attending Private Schools in 14 Bypassed Local Educational Agencies in Virginia” pursuant to FAR 7.105.

(1) Statement of need.

This procurement is a re-compete of a previous contract. The previous contract was awarded as a cost-plus-fixed-fee type contract after a full and open competition. The incumbent contractor is Non-Public Educational Services, Inc. (ED-07-CO-0075) . Non-Public Educational Services, Inc. is a large for-profit business. The purpose of this procurement is to obtain the services of a contractor to complete the following activities:

Task 1: Communication with the Department

Task 2: Develop Program Design Plan

Task 3: Annual Audit

Task 4: Annual Reporting Requirements

Task 5: Monthly Reports The authorization for this procurement is found in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Section 1120(e) and Section 9504 as amended by the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001”, Title I, Part A, “Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies”.

(2) Applicable conditions.

There are no significant conditions affecting this acquisition. There are no requirements for compatibility with existing or future systems or programs and there are no known cost, schedule, capability, or performance constraints for this requirement.

(3) Cost.

The Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) for this requirement is $12,390,467.98 and is broken out as: $2,339,708.09 Base Year; $2,402,403.44 Option Year I; $2,474,475.54 Option Year II; $2,548,709.81 Option Year III; and $2,625,171.10 Option Year IV. The IGCE is based on historical costs for the previous procurement (ED-07-CO-0075 Non-Public Educational Services, Inc. – incumbent contractor), the knowledge and experience of the COR, Nola Cromer, and the amount of funding available. Procurement Request Number EDOESE-12-000016 in the amount of $0 has been submitted by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) to fund the base period. The solicitation will be issued subject to availability of funds.

Evaluation of Options In accordance with FAR 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options, “the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).”

(4) Capability or performance.

The performance standards under this contract require that the children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and State academic assessments. Section 1120 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires that Title I services be provided to eligible private school children, their teachers, and their families for each participating LEA. The services must be equitable to those provided by each LEA to public school children, their teachers, and their families. The required services must be provided to eligible children attending private schools, their teachers, and their families in the 14 bypass LEAs in Virginia.

The Title I services shall be provided to eligible private school participants that are based on effective methods and instructional strategies for improving achievement that are founded on scientifically based research, give primary consideration to providing extended learning time, provide an accelerated, high-quality curriculum, and support instruction in the regular private school classrooms.

At a minimum, the services shall provide private school participants with supplemental education services, such as reading, mathematics, language arts, and other benefits on an equitable basis to those provided to public school students in each bypassed LEA. The services shall use program resources to help private school participants meet challenging content and student academic achievement standards expected for all children. The services shall coordinate with and support the education programs in the regular private school classrooms. Provide instruction by teachers who are employees of the contactor and meet Virginia’s highly qualified teacher requirements. Provide as applicable, private school teachers of participants an equitable opportunity to participate in professional development activities that provide these teachers with knowledge and skills to better meet the needs of their Title I children. Provide strategies to afford parents of participants with meaningful opportunities to support the education of their children at home and at school. Review on an ongoing basis and assess, at least annually, the progress of the Title I program toward meeting established academic goals and use the assessment data to modify the Title I program, as necessary. Provide appropriate professional development activities to the Title I teachers and supervisors employed by the contractor to ensure that they gain the knowledge and skills required to provide quality, meaningful, and appropriate instruction to private school participants.

(5) Delivery or performance-period requirements.

The period of performance will be for one, 12-month base year and four, possible 12-month option years, dependent upon the availability of funding and the contractor’s continued successful performance. The option years will be exercised at the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

(6) Trade-offs

Trade-offs are applicable to this acquisition where technical quality is more important than cost. It may be necessary to pay a higher cost to obtain the services of a contractor who can provide the degree of technical capability that the Department needs.

(7) Risks

(i) Risk #1 is that offerors may not be familiar with Title I, Part A, “Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies” and the Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs (SASA) Office.

The Department attempts to mitigate this risk by providing background information in the PWS on SASA and Title I, Part A. SASA is part of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), which administers the Title I, Part A program to provide Federal financial assistance to LEAs to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and State academic assessments.

(ii) Risk #2 relates to cost uncertainties.

The Department is attempting to mitigate this risk by issuing this solicitation as a performance-based, cost-plus-fixed-fee type requirement. The amount of funding available for this contract is withheld from Virginia’s Title I allocation on July 1 of each year. The amounts that are available for instructional, professional development, and parent involvement cannot be estimated because they are based on actual data which is collected annually. The amount of administrative funds are also unknown because they are based on a percentage of instructional costs for each year which are unknown until the contractor collects the poverty data and performs the necessary calculations. Amount of the Title I allocation changes from year to year so the amount of instruction, professional development, parent involvement, and administrative funds will also change each year.

(8) Acquisition streamlining.

An acquisition-planning meeting was held on February 13, 2012, during which Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM) and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) personnel discussed all the issues that would impact in moving the acquisition along in an efficient manner. The meeting was attended by Nola Cromer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), OESE; Melanie Carter, Small Business Program Specialist, OSDBU; Alice Mihill, Contract Specialist, CAM; and Gabriella McDonald, Contracting Officer, CAM .

A pre-solicitation notice was issued on March 6, 2012 with a response date of March 19, 2012 to obtain information for planning purposes regarding the availability and capability of qualified small business sources to perform the required work.

On June 6, 2012 a webinar was held for this procurement. The webinar gave interested offerors a chance to learn more about the Title I Bypass procurements. The webinar was held as a part of the Department’s vendor communication efforts to encourage competition on the Title I Bypass procurements.

(b) Plan of action –

(1) Sources.

A sources sought notice was posted on March 6, 2012 with a response date of March 19, 2012. The sources sought notice was posted to obtain information, for planning purposes, regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources to perform the work described below; and (2) the size classification of the available and capable sources relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. The Department anticipates using the following NAICS Code: 611710 – Educational Support.

Pursuant to 48 C.F.R. Part 10, the Government conducted market research in order to determine what sources exist that are capable of satisfying the Government’s requirements. To determine the capabilities of potential contractors and the size and status of potential sources. Also to determine the level of competition.

The contractor was required to demonstrate that its staff has expertise in current Title I policy related to Title I equitable services including services for eligible private school children, their teachers, and families. In addition, the contractor was required to demonstrate its staff has expertise in providing Title I.

Two responses were received in response to the pre-solicitation notice. Responses were received from: (1) Catapult Learning, LLC, Camden, NJ 08103; and (2) Reeves & Associates Consulting and Training, Inc., Atlanta, GA 30345.

Catapult Learning, LLC submitted the information requested in the notice; however, Catapult is not a small business. Reeves and Associates Consulting and Training, Inc., is an 8(a) company; however, they did not respond to all of the elements required in the sources sought notice.

In the response from Reeves & Associates Consulting and Training, Inc., it was clear that the business not only did not have the capability to complete the contract work, but they also did not understand what the work described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) entailed. Reeves & Associates is registered as an 8(a) company in ORCA.Gov. In Catapult Learning, LLC’s case, it looked as if they might be able to do some or all of the work, but more information would be required to make a final determination. According to CCR.Gov. Catapult is not a small business. Catapult is not registered in ORCA.gov.

The two businesses that submitted capability statements were either weak or inconclusive in a number of areas that deal with the Title I Bypass in Virginia. Reeves & Associates response made it clear that the business did not understand the Title I bypass requirements. In Catapult’s response, in the area of providing professional development activities to the classroom teachers of participating private school children, Catapult mentioned several topics that are unallowable under Title I requirements, and also mentioned that these activities would be provided for the teachers of eligible students, rather than participating students, as required by Title I regulations. In many other cases, it is unclear as to whether the offerors understand the work that must be accomplished.

See the Market Research Report in the Pre-award File under Section 2 – Acquisition Planning, Tab 2 – Market Research Results/Report. Based on market research it is extremely unlikely that any small business will have all these capabilities. Neither of the capability statements that were submitted demonstrated that the companies have the knowledge or experience to be able to provide these services. The capability statements also did not include a plan for how they would obtain the necessary knowledge or experience to provide these services. The businesses that submitted capability statements were generally weak or inconclusive in the areas of showing their knowledge of consulting with private school officials, collecting data related to the number of private school participants that are compliant as well as effective in raising student achievement, and using data to calculate the amount of Title I funding generated for instruction, professional development, and parent involvement activities for eligible private school children, their teachers, and families.

The following commercial versus non-commercial determinations are made based on the result of the market research results:

(i) The services to be acquired do not meet the definition of commercial items as set forth in FAR 2.101. These services are not customarily used by the general public or by non-governmental entities for purposes other than governmental purposes. These services have not been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public. The services are not of a type offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace based on established catalog or market prices for specific tasks performed or specific outcomes to be achieved and under outcomes to be achieved and under standard commercial terms and conditions.

(ii) There were not two or more small business with the expertise necessary to fulfill the requirements as outlined in the DPWS.

(2) Competition.

Pursuant to FAR Part 15 – Contracting by Negotiation, a full-and-open solicitation will be issued through FedBizOpps.Gov and will include the Request for Proposal, PWS, quality assurance plan, past performance report, Small Business Subcontracting Report, and a Conflict of Interest Certification. Offerors will be given 30 days to submit their cost and technical proposals. The Program Office will then review the cost and technical proposals and submit any cost or technical questions to CAM.

(3) Contract type selection.

The RFP will be issued as a cost-plus-fixed-fee type basis. The decision to issue the RFP on a cost-reimbursement basis was made because the amounts that must be available for instruction, professional development, and parent involvement cannot be estimated. These amounts must be based on actual data which is collected annually. Because the amount of the title I allocation and the number of private school children from low-income families who reside in the Title I participating attendance areas is unknown and will not be known each year until the contractor collects the information and performs the calculation, the Department cannot determine or fix a price on these activities. The only other tasks that the contract will be performing will be administrative in nature. The amount of administrative funds are also unknown because they are based on a percentage of the instructional costs for each year which are also unknown until the contractor collects the poverty data and performs the necessary calculations. The amount of the Title I allocation changes from year to year so instructional, professional development, parent involvement, and administrative funds will also change each year.

(4) Source-selection procedures.

In responding to the solicitation, offerors will be required to submit a proposal composed of three volumes: technical, business, and past performance. The proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the following evaluation criteria:

Soundness of Program Design (70 Points)

Quality of the proposed program of instruction that addresses the tasks listed in the Performance Work Statement with particular emphasis on determining student needs, delivery of services, timely and meaningful consultation, coordination of Title I services with regular classroom instruction, and selection of instructional programs.

Quality of the proposed development and alignment of the academic content and student achievement standards with the Title I program and instruction in the private school classroom, the selection of assessments aligned with the standards and annual progress to measure program effectiveness, and when program revisions will be used to improve student achievement.

Quality of the proposed program of activities and procedures for the involvement of parents of Title I participants in accordance with Section 1118 of the ESEA.

Quality of the proposed professional development activities for the contractor’s Title I teachers.

Quality of the professional development activities and procedures for the private school teachers of the Title I participants.

Qualifications of Key Project Staff (40 Points)

The project director must demonstrate knowledge of and experience in training and administration of education programs, and possess clearly identified qualifications, competencies and experience in managing similar procurements.

Key personnel assigned to this project must demonstrate all of the following as a group and the appropriate experience for tasks for which they are proposed:

Technical knowledge of and experience in curriculum and interpretation of data, effective parental involvement and professional development activities, and general accounting principles.

Ability to write in a well-organized, clear fashion as demonstrated by the proposal.

Evidence of prior, successful experience in accurate recordkeeping.

(iii) Quality of Management Plan (10 Points)

For a successful outcome, this project requires an effective management system that enables the completion of interrelated tasks on schedule and within budget. This system should include sound procedures for:

Coordinating and controlling project personnel and tasks;

Ensuring adherence to planned schedules;

Ensuring high-quality of project deliverables;

Early identification of potential problems;

Maintaining close communication with the Department; and

Control of project expenditures.

(iv) Title I Corporate Performance Record and Corporate Experience (10 Points)

Past Performance record in providing quality and compliant services that address the requirements of this requirement.

(v) Small Business Participation (20 Points)

Quality of small business subcontracting plan that states the work to be performed by small business and the percentage of work proposed to be performed by small business, including the name of the business, type of small business concern, and procedures for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the subcontractor.

TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS: 150 Points.

(5) Acquisition considerations.

Pursuant to source selection procedures outlined in FAR Part 15.101, the Department intends to award one cost-plus-fixed-fee type contract to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to the solicitation, has no deficiencies (as defined in FAR 15.001), and is most advantageous to the Government, cost or price and other factors considered. For this solicitation, although price will be an important factor, technical merit is significantly more important than price. As technical merit becomes more equal, price will become a more significant factor. The Contracting Officer will determine whether any difference in technical merit is worth the difference in price.

Conflict of Interest The Department is attempting to mitigate the risk of a conflict of interest by including the Conflict of Interest Certification provision 3452.209-70 (MAR 2011) in Section K of the solicitation. In the Instructions to Offerors in Section L of the solicitation, the successful offeror will be required to submit a Conflict of Interest Plan which will be incorporated into the resultant contract award. Contract provision 3452.209-71 Conflict of Interest (MAR 2011) will also be included in the solicitation and the contract.

Each Technical Evaluation Panel Member will sign Conflict of Interest forms at the beginning of the orientation meeting for the technical evaluation panel prior to receiving technical proposals. There is no unequal access to information for this procurement.

The successful offeror shall not prepare specifications or work statements. The successful offeror shall not provide evaluation services and shall not receive access to proprietary information.

Small Business Considerations

The Request for Proposal (RFP) will include in Section M – Evaluation Criteria, a technical rating element for Utilization of Small Businesses. Offerors shall be reviewed by the Technical Review Panel, the CO, CAM’s OSDBU Liaison, and the Department’s OSDBU Representative, on the offeror’s proposed utilization of small businesses. The review will be focused on their utilization of small business concerns and the significance of the proposed work to the completion of this project. The CO shall make the final rating determination.

Bundling

This procurement does not consolidate two or more requirements for services, previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts, into a solicitation for a single contract that is likely to be unsuitable for award to a small business concern. This is a non-severable requirement.

Multiyear Contracting

Multiyear contract is not applicable to this procurement because this is not a multiyear requirement.

(6) Budgeting and funding.

This procurement will be funded on an annual basis pending availability of funds.

(7) Product or service descriptions.

The detailed service description(s) used in the PWS reflect the services that CAM will procure for the OESE, SASA Office.

(8) Priorities, allocations, and allotments.

Priorities, allocations, and allotments are not applicable to this procurement.

(9) Contractor versus Government performance.

OMB Circular Number A-76 states that it is the policy of the government to rely generally on commercial sources for supplies and services, to recognize that some requirements of the government are inherently governmental functions, and to give appropriate consideration to cost in the decision between private contractor performance or government performance.

The program office lacks the sufficient number of personnel required to provide these services. The Department is seeking to gain access to a capable contractor possessing the required skills, knowledge, and experience to carry out all tasks outlined in the PWS.

(10) Inherently governmental functions.

This procurement does not include any inherently governmental functions.

(11) Management information requirements.

The contractor’s effort will be monitored in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. The COR will review each deliverable upon submission by the contractor. Deliverables must be submitted by the stated medium, in the required format(s), and at a minimum must contain all required elements described in the respective task which governs the deliverable The contractor’s performance shall be documented and measured through the annual past performance evaluation through the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Performance will be evaluated in the areas of:

Quality of Product or Service

Schedule

Cost Control (if applicable)

Business Relations

Management of Key Personnel

Utilization of Small Business

The following rating elements will be used to evaluate each area:

Dark Blue – Exceptional: Performance meets all contractual requirements and exceeds many to the Government’s benefit. The contractual performance of the element or sub-element being assessed was accomplished with few minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the Contractor were highly effective.

Purple – Very Good: Performance meets contractual requirements and exceeds some of the Government’s benefit. The contractual performance of the element or sub-element being assessed was accomplished with some minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the Contractor were effective.

Green – Satisfactory: Performance meets contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the element or sub-element contains some minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the Contractor appear or were satisfactory.

Yellow – Marginal: Performance does not meet some contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the element or sub-element being assessed reflects a serious problem for which the Contractor has not yet identified corrective actions or the contractor’s proposed actions appear only marginally effective or were not fully implemented.

Red – Unsatisfactory: Performance does not meet most contractual requirements and recovery is not likely in a timely manner. The contractual performance of the element or sub-element contains a serious problem(s) for which the Contractor’s corrective actions appear or were ineffective.

(12) Make or buy.

Make or Buy Programs are not applicable to this procurement.

(13) Test and evaluation.

Test and Evaluation is not applicable to this procurement

(14) Logistics considerations.

The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan outlines the incentives for Acceptable and Unacceptable performance, respectively for the deliverables required in the PWS. Specifically, high ratings on annual performance ratings will serve as an overall incentive.

The disincentive is for the contractor to receive a poor rating on their annual performance review.

While quality assurance is closely tied to the Department’s standards for deliverable content; timeliness and business relations, and customer service are also important considerations in the assessment of a contractor’s performance. Accordingly, the contractor’s overall performance will be evaluated by Department staff (i.e., a performance evaluation prepared by the COR, reviewed by the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer, and approved by the Contracting Officer) at the end of each 12-month performance period. Using monthly progress report information submitted by the contractor, and the deliverable descriptions and standards contained within the PWS, the COR will verify that each deliverable is timely, compliant, and meets the minimum standard(s) for the respective deliverable.

In the event of an excusable delay (as defined in FAR 52.249-14, Excusable Delays and EDAR 3452.242-71, Notice to the Government of Delays), the Department and the contractor shall work together to modify the contract with regard to the due dates of the deliverables. In the event of a dispute between the COR and the contractor regarding unacceptable contractor performance, the Contracting Officer will discuss the matter with both parties, request any documentation which supports each party’s position, and make a final, fair determination of a suitable resolution to the respective issue.

(15) Government-furnished property.

The List of Government-furnished property can be found in Section 1, Tab 15 of the contract file.

(16) Government-furnished information.

There is no Government-furnished information under this contract.

(17) Environmental and energy conservation objectives.

FAR Clause 52.204-7 PRINTED OR COPIES DOUBLE-SIDED ON RECYCLED PAPER (AUG 2000) is applicable to this procurement. FAR Clause 52.223-14 TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASE REPORTING (AUG 2003) is also applicable to this procurement.

(18) Security considerations.

Security considerations are not applicable to this procurement.

(19) Contract administration.

The Contracting Officer (CO) for this procurement will be Gabriella McDonald. The CO will have overall responsibility for overseeing the contractor’s performance. The CO will also have the signatory authority to bind the Government through the issuance of the contract and all modifications to the contract. Alice Mihill will be the Contract Specialist (CS) for this procurement. The CS will be responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of the contractor’s performance and contract administration functions, as directed by the CO.

Nola Cromer will be the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this procurement. The COR will be responsible for the inspection of deliverables and will recommend acceptance of the deliverables. The COR will create receipts for invoices indicating acceptance of the services covered by the invoice.

(20) Other considerations

Food and Beverages:

Food and beverages will not be authorized for this procurement.

Service Contract Coding and Capability Declaration The Service Contract Coding and Capability Declaration can be located under Section 2 – Acquisition Planning, Tab 12 – Individual Acquisition Plan in the Pre-award File.

(21) Milestones for the acquisition cycle.

The CO, CS, and COR met and negotiated a milestone schedule for this procurement. A copy of the milestone schedule is attached to this acquisition plan. Clearances for this procurement were requested at the acquisition planning meeting. The clearances that were requested are: the Labor Impact Determination [03/09/12], the IT Clearance [02/29/12], and the Administrative Test for Characterizing Services as “Personal” or “Non-personal” [04/05/12].

(22) Identification of participants.

Gabriella McDonald, Contracting Officer, 202-245-6188; Alice Mihill, Contract Specialist, 202-245-6207; and Nola Cromer, COR, 202-205-4158; participated in the development of the acquisition plan.

Prepared By:

Alice Mihill, Contract Specialist

Date

Program Contracts Group

Reviewed and Approved:

Gabriella McDonald, Contracting Officer

Janet Scott, Group Manager

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104