Event_00000425_Attachment_A_Solicitation.pdf

ATTACHMENT A

EVENT NO. 00000425

This Solicitation is a Contract Document and is a request for proposal in connection with the Contract awarded by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services as more particularly described below. Any defined term used herein but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed in the General Terms or other Contract Document.

PURPOSE

The Contract is awarded as a statewide contract on behalf of the Information Services Division (ISD) is seeking qualified suppliers for providing online course curriculum and other digital tools to enhance K-12 education. Oklahoma Statute 70-1-111 makes supplemental learning opportunities available to local school district students using online technology in a nontraditional classroom setting.

Contract Term and Renewal Options The initial Contract term, which begins on effective date of Contract, ends 7/31/2027 and there are Four

(4) one-year options to renew the Contract to run consecutive with SW1023.

Scope

To have products listed with the Horizon Consortium, vendors must first be approved as supplier through the Oklahoma Management and Enterprise System (OMES). Potential vendors must respond to this Request for Proposal (RFP) and provide all required documentation according to the deadline listed in the RFP solicitation.

1) Bidders must agree to abide by the following:

a) Oklahoma Online Course Catalog

i) Upon execution of contract, bidder will provide to Horizon all relevant information needed to complete required fields in the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog. Entries must be verified annually.

2) Course review requirements

a) Online Course Providers must supply the following at the time of course review:

i) The name of the institution or organization providing the online content;

ii) Course title and subject code (using appropriate course title and subject code as established by the Oklahoma State Department of Education′s approved Subject Codes for the appropriate academic year);

iii) Number of students who may be admitted to the course per instructor;

iv) Explanation of the alignment between Oklahoma content standards and course content and assignments;

v) Instructor credentials and qualifications;

vi) Course NCAA eligibility status.

3) At the time of the course review, guest access to the course will be required for the reviewers. If substantive changes are made to a course since its last certification, it must be submitted for review regardless of its current status in the review cycle. Substantive changes would include altering the intended course outcomes, significantly changing instructional strategies or assessment protocols used in the course as a whole, or any revision that impacts standards alignment. Only courses certified (or pending review) by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board will be accepted into the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog.

4) Course Providers whose courses have undergone review and approval by a recognized third-party entity must provide the results of those reviews. Depending on the results of the external review, a course may be recommended for state certification with no additional review or with a modified review process (e.g. review only for alignment to state standards).

5) Course Providers of Advanced Placement (AP) courses must provide the results of their College Board AP Course Audit and Authorization. No other course evaluation will be conducted for AP Courses. If a course is authorized by the College Board as an AP course, it is automatically listed as “state-certified” in the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog. Online Providers must provide evidence annually of AP Authorization Renewal.

6) Course review and certification process

7) All approved vendors will have the online courses they submitted published in the Oklahoma

Online Course Catalog and reviewed according to the schedule adopted by HORIZON.

8) Course reviews will be conducted by content experts and pedagogical experts selected by

Horizon. Courses will be evaluated using rubrics to determine alignment with the current academic standards approved by the State of Oklahoma (or nationally/ internationally accepted content standards set for courses whose content is not included in state standards) and national standards for quality in online course design. Course Providers whose courses have undergone review and approval by a recognized third-party entity must provide the results of those reviews. Depending on the results of the external review, a course may be recommended for state certification with no additional review or with a modified review process (e.g. review only for alignment to state standards). Online Course Providers of Advanced Placement (AP) courses must provide the results of the AP Course Audit and Authorization. No other course evaluation will be conducted for AP Courses. Online Providers must provide evidence annually of AP Authorization Renewal.

9) If results of the initial review suggest that a course will not be recommended for certification, the Course Provider will be contacted with the review results and will have fifteen (15) calendar days to revise material or provide additional information pertinent to the review.

These revisions will be examined by the course reviewers and, if appropriate, the rubric scores will be modified. Once the course review is complete, results of the evaluation will be presented to the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (SVCSB). Horizon will consider the evidence and vote whether to certify or not certify the course. The decision will be made on a simple majority vote. If Horizon votes to not certify a course, the course will be removed from the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog and the Course Provider will be notified of the reasons the course was not certified. The Course Provider may revise the course and resubmit for additional Course Review and certification consideration. Resubmitted courses will be reviewed after all submitted courses have undergone an initial review. Courses approved will be certified for a five-year period. After which, Course Providers must apply for renewal.

Certified courses will be identified as such and have their course review ratings published in the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog available on the OSOCP website. Courses pending review will be identified as such in the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog.

10) Certified courses remaining in good standing

11) To remain in good standing and have a course(s) continuously listed in the Oklahoma Online

Course Catalog through the entirety of the approval period, Course Providers agree to:

12) Maintain their vendor status.

13) Notify Horizon of any additions, deletions or changes to certified courses by completing the online form located on the OSOCP website.

14) Serve all enrolled students, regardless of number enrolled in a section so that Receiver

Districts have reliable course options for students.

15) Provide online instructors who are 1) certified in Oklahoma or another state to teach in the content area of the course offered; or 2) a faculty member at an accredited institution of higher education, possessing the specific content expertise necessary to teach the course.

Additionally, the Course Provider shall supply certification or applicable credentialing documentation to Horizon as part of the course review process and within ten (10) working days upon the hire of any new instructors for any certified course. The Course Provider shall be responsible for such obligation regardless of whether instructors are employees of the Course Provider, independent contractors, or employees of a third-party course vendor.

Course Providers shall take all steps necessary to verify the qualifications of non-employee instructors.

16) Notify SVCSB in writing within ten (10) working days if for any reason an online instructor no longer meets the requirements to teach a course offered. The name and credentials of the replacement instructor must also be provided at that time.

17) Refer only to courses currently certified and listed in the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog as “Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved.”

18) Own, secure, and/or maintain licensure and copyright for all courses offered in the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog.

19) Course Providers of Advanced Placement (AP) courses must provide evidence annually of AP Authorization Renewal.

20) Refrain from significantly modifying or changing courses without prior notice and approval from Horizon. Course Providers shall provide written notice of any planned modification in sufficient detail for SVCSB Course Reviewers to determine whether the course continues to satisfy all requirements. Failure to obtain written approval may result in removal of the course from the approved catalog.

21) Ensure that each certified course is maintained throughout the duration that the course is offered and continues to meet the current academic standards approved by the State of Oklahoma; national standards for quality in online course design; and Oklahoma′s Information Technology Accessibility Standards.

22) Employ the appropriate course title and subject code as established by the Oklahoma State Department of Education′s approved Subject Codes for the appropriate academic year for the purpose of data collection.

23) Report aggregate student success data to the SVSCB in the requested format and by the timeline set. Horizon does not collect individual student information. By August 1 of each year, the Course Provider will report the following aggregate student success data to Horizon:

(1) Total number of unique Oklahoma students;

(2) Total number of courses taken by Oklahoma students;

(3) Number of students in each course (both overall number and Oklahoma students);

and

(4) Successful completion rate (number and percent) of each course (i.e. X#/60% of students enrolled in X successfully completed the course). Include both overall rates and Oklahoma-specific rates.

24) Course providers will be notified if a course(s) is found to be noncompliant and will have fifteen (15) business days after notification to bring the course(s) into compliance. If the course(s) is still noncompliant at the end of this period, the course certification will be revoked and the course will be removed from the Oklahoma Online Course Catalog.

25) Process for course certification renewal

26) Courses that remain in good standing are certified for a period of five years. Course

Providers may apply for renewal of their course certification six months prior to the completion of the course approval period.

27) Course Providers will notify Horizon of their intent to apply for renewal by submitting all documents listed in the Course Review Requirements. Course Providers who have maintained their “good standing” status throughout the course approval period will have their courses reviewed and considered for certification following a similar procedure as their initial Course Review and Certification Process. Aggregate student success data will be considered in renewal decisions. Additionally, Horizon may survey districts to collect satisfaction data and those data may also be considered in renewal decisions.

28) Course Providers who have not maintained a “good standing” status must provide documentation explaining the lapse in "good standing" status and the protocols that are in place to prevent such a lapse in the future.