EVT0010124_-_Amendment_One_-__Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Office of Procurement and Contracts 900 SW Jackson St., Room 451 South Topeka, KS 66612

Phone: 785-296-2376 Fax: 785-296-7240 www.admin.ks.gov/offices/procurement-and-contracts

Adam Proffitt, Secretary Laura Kelly, Governor

Amendment Request for Proposal

Questions and Answers

Date: February 12th, 2025

Amendment Number: One (1)

Event Number: EVT0010124

Closing Date: March 5, 2025, 2:00 PM CST

Procurement Officer: Lee Askew Telephone: 785.296.7107 E-Mail Address: lee.askew@ks.gov

Agency: Kansas Department of Education

Item: Evaluation Services - KS (21st CCLC) Grant Program

Conditions: 1) Answers to submitted questions follow on page two (2) of this document.

A signed copy of this Addendum must be submitted with your bid. If your bid response has been returned, submit this Addendum by the closing date indicated above.

I (We) have read and understand this addendum and agree it is a part of my (our) bid response.

NAME OF COMPANY OR FIRM:

SIGNED BY:

TITLE: DATE:

It shall be the vendor's responsibility to monitor this website on a regular basis for any changes/addenda.

http://admin.ks.gov/offices/procurement-contract mailto:lee.askew@ks.gov http://admin.ks.gov/offices/procurement-contract

Event ID: EVT0010124

EVT0010124 – Amendment One

Evaluation Services - KS (21st CCLC) Grant Program

QUESTIONS

Number

Page

RFP Section

Question

Answer

1. 25 Federal, State, and Local Measures of Effectiveness Chart

Please clarify if KSDE will provide high school graduation data as it is not currently an item collected by 21st CCLC external evaluators. (Also referenced in the Statewide Evaluation Plan Logic Model on page 26).

Yes, KSDE will provide this information.

2. 27 4.4.

Deliverables to be provided

Are the required monthly meetings with KSDE staff in person or can they be conducted remotely?

a) Please clarify, only a summary report is due within three months of the contract execution from 2022, 2023, 2024 reports and not a final evaluation report for those years, or is the expectation there will be two final evaluation reports (one due in three months and one at June 30, 2027?

b) Please clarify the components of the final state evaluation report, including disaggregation by district, site, and demographics, for example?

c) Is there an expectation of how many interviews with program directors, staff and consultants will need to be conducted?

d) What is the anticipated award/start date?

The monthly meeting will be conducted remotely unless there is a determined need for an in-person meeting.

a) A summary report will be due within three months of the signed contract.

Only one final report is required and due by June 30, 2027.

b) The final components will be determined by KSDE and the selected vendor.

c) A determination of this information will be determined by KSDE and the selected vendor once the contract is in place.

d) As soon as possible, following selection and final award through the state procurement process.

3. 4.5. State Resources to be Provided

a) What will be the level of access to the Annual Performance Report (21APR)?

b) Please clarify the statement “previous Kansas 21st CCLC Evaluation” – is this the last statewide evaluation report that was completed and available on the website or is this referring to something else?

a) The access level will be that of a state user. State-level data will be provided by KSDE.

b) The previous evaluation is located on the KSDE website.

4. What is Kansas State Department of Education’s budget for this project?

Interested vendors should provide a proposed budget and plan necessary to meet project objectives.

5. 21st CCLCs are federally funded. Does Kansas also supplement the program with state funding?

Federal funds support the entire 21st CCLC program. No supplemental state funds are used.

6. How many grantees are in each cohort? The number of grantees in each cohort varies. Currently, the state funds 92 grants.

7. How complete are the data collected by grantees from previous years?

Data is collected and provided to an external evaluator for annual grantee evaluations.

8. How are grantees collecting data? Grantee data is collected according to the 21st CCLC evaluation template which can be found on the KSDE website.

9. In addition to existing data collection methods, is the KSDE interested in developing new data collection methods for future years?

This will be discussed during the contract period.

10. How will grantees and / or the KSDE provide data to the selected evaluator, specifically FERPA protected data?

What data sharing agreements will be necessary?

KSDE will establish the necessary data agreements to ensure the evaluator has access to required data.

11. KSDE has worked with an evaluator on the previous Kansas 21st CCLC evaluation. What was successful about that evaluation? What would KSDE like to be different?

The previous evaluation provided a general overview of the Kansas 21st CCLC program. The new scope of work requires more specific data to be collected and reported on.

12. When was the last statewide 21st CCLC evaluation completed for the Kansas Department of Education? Can that evaluation report be made available to potential bidders?

The previous evaluation was completed in December 2018. It can be found on the KSDE website.

13. Is the technical assistance provider for the Kansas 21st CCLC program (i.e., Univ Of Kansas Center For Research) permitted to bid on the statewide evaluation of the Kansas 21st CCLC program?

All proposals will be accepted and evaluated according to parameters of the

RFP.

14. Did the department receive assistance from an external evaluator in developing the grant proposal for this program, and if so, is that organization or individual eligible to bid on this RFP?

KSDE did not receive assistance from an external evaluator.

15. Has there been a total budget, or annual not-to-exceed budget levels, established for this evaluation project? If so, what are the budget parameters?

Interested vendors should provide a proposed budget and plan necessary to meet project objectives.

16. Does the Kansas Department of Education have an centralized data collection system (either an internal or contract with a third-party provider) for grantees to enter/submit student-level records related to 21st CCLC program participation and federal, state, and local measures of effectiveness?

a. If so, will the selected external evaluator have access to these student-level records for this contract?

b. Will the selected evaluator establish a data sharing agreement with the department and/or will the agency support the selected external evaluator in establishing necessary data sharing agreements with sites?

No

a) N/A

b) A data sharing agreement will be established. KSDE will assist in any data sharing agreements needed with grantees.

17. If a state-level data collection system is not available for 21st CCLC subgrantees, how do 21st CCLC subgrantees report required data (e.g., academic performance, student behavior, school day attendance, student engagement in learning) to the Kansas Department of Education and the US Department of Education?

Are data reported at the aggregate level (e.g., with numerators and denominators in the calculations)? If aggregate, are the data aggregated at the school/site level or another organizational level?

Data is collected by grantees and external evaluators and reported in the annual evaluation for the state and the 21APR for the US Department of Education.

Data is collected in accordance with the 21st CCLC evaluation template which is available on the KSDE website.

18. For the summary report of grantee evaluations (due within three months of the execution of the contract), how many subgrantees were active in 2022, 2023, and 2024?

a. In what format (e.g. PDFs of local evaluation reports, Excel spreadsheets), will required evaluation data for 2022 – 2024 analysis be provided to the selected vendor for the statewide 21st CCLC evaluation?

Is there a required format for local evaluation reporting and/or uniform guidance for reporting attendance, GPRA-related data, and local outcomes?

Numbers differ between 85-95.

a) Local evaluation reports will be provided in Word and/or PDF formats. The grantees are required to submit evaluations in the same formats.

19. For the annual data analyses:

a. In what format will the teacher and parent survey data be provided in the selected vendor (e.g., individual responses tied to a particular subgrantee and school).

b. In what format will projected vs. actual program activity data be provided?

c. Can you elaborate on what is expected from the population analysis?

d. How many 21st CCLC subgrantees are anticipated in 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27? Will there be new subgrantees added to the project in each year of the evaluation (if so, how many)?

a) The format will be determined by

KSDE and the selected vendor.

b) The format will be determined by

KSDE and the selected vendor.

c) Population analysis will include attendee demographic information.

d) The number of grantees in each new cohort differs. The proposed number of total grantees for the future grant years is between 85-95. There are currently five cohorts. Each year the cohort in Year 5 of the grant is removed and a new cohort added to the five cohorts.

20. Is it acceptable to conduct virtual interviews with project directors, staff (e.g., site coordinators), and consultants (e.g., external vendors, local evaluators) or should these be conducted during in person visits to 21st CCLC program sites?

A balance of onsite and virtual interviews with program directors, staff and consultants will be expected.

21. What scoria criteria will be used to evaluate proposals for this RFP (e.g., qualifications, evaluation approach, cost proposal)?

Each of the listed criteria (qualifications, evaluation approach and cost proposal will be considered.

22. Will there be any coordination of efforts required between the statewide program evaluator and the technical assistance provider for the 21st CCLC program? If so, what coordination will be required?

KSDE anticipates coordination between the technical assistance provider and the statewide program evaluator.

Determination of coordination will be established once the evaluation vendor is selected.

23. Is there a page limit for the technical proposal? There is no page limit, but vendors are asked to keep their technical proposal information on task specified in Section 4 of the bid documents. Only submit what is asked; Nothing more and/or Nothing less.

24. The Vendor Response Checklist on page 3 of the RFP lists “technical literature” as part of this submission materials but does not specify whether such literature is applicable for this proposal. Is technical literature required for this proposal? Can you provide an example of what kind of technical literature is expected?

This section has the words “If applicable.”

In this instance technical literature is not applicable.

25. Regarding Section 4.5 (State Resources to be Provided), will KSDE provide the necessary academic and school data listed in the GPRA Measures of Effectiveness and Statewide Evaluation Plan Logic Model to the Evaluator?

Or will the vendor have to initiate a data sharing agreement with local districts to obtain this data? This question specifically relates to the state assessment, GPA, attendance, high school graduation rate, and suspension data, as well as program schedules and attendance logs referenced in the GPRA Measures of Effectiveness and Logic Model.

GPRA Measures of Effectiveness are reported in annual evaluations from grantees. Those evaluations will be available to the evaluator as well as the Evaluation Plan Logic Model.

KSDE will assist in any needed data sharing agreements.

26. Can we include resumes for key personnel? Yes, it is encouraged.

27. Is there an anticipated start date for the contract? As soon as possible, following selection and final award through the state procurement process.

28. Should anything other than the cost sheet be included in the cost proposal? If so, please specify what the proposer should include

Vendors may elect to include additional information if they believe it is necessary to effectively communicate the proposal, by it is not required.

29. Given that the scope will need to be refined for each project, is providing an hourly rate by position acceptable?

Vendors may elect to include additional information if they believe it is necessary to effectively communicate the proposal, by it is not required. Vendor must include a total, an all-inclusive maximum not to exceed amount to complete all deliverables.

30. Would you expect the consultant(s) to be on-site? If so, what percentage of time?

The selected evaluator will not be onsite at

KSDE.

31. Are there specific challenges KSDE has encountered with past evaluations that should be addressed in this contract?

The previous evaluation provided a general overview of the Kansas 21st CCLC program. The new scope of work requires more specific data to be collected and reported on.

32. What criteria will be used to evaluate and score proposals? The following criteria will be used to score proposals: qualifications, evaluation approach and cost proposal.

33. Does KSDE require bidders to submit a draft evaluation framework as part of the proposal, or will that be developed after award?

No.

34. What level of involvement will KSDE have in designing or revising the annual evaluation plan?

KSDE will provide oversight of the designing of the evaluation plan. The final plan will require the approval of KSDE.

35. Should qualitative methods (e.g., site visits, focus groups, case studies) be incorporated, or is the evaluation expected to be primarily quantitative?

Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be expected.

36. Will KSDE provide direct access to data from school districts, or will the evaluator need to coordinate directly with grantees to obtain data?

KSDE will establish the necessary data agreements to ensure the evaluator has access to required data.

37. Are there existing MOUs or data-sharing agreements with districts and grantees, or will the evaluator be responsible for securing these?

KSDE will establish the necessary data agreements to ensure the evaluator has access to required data.

38. Will KSDE facilitate introductions to school district leadership, grantees, and other key stakeholders, or will the evaluator need to secure these partnerships independently?

KSDE will facilitate introduction to 21st CCLC Program Directors. Further communication will be facilitated between the program directors and the evaluator.

39. How frequently will program performance data be made available to the evaluator for analysis?

Performance data is collected and reported annually by the grantees.

40. Does KSDE have preferred survey instruments, or will the evaluator need to develop new surveys?

The evaluator will be expected to develop instruments for collecting data.

41. How will the evaluator receive program participation and student-level performance data? Will KSDE provide direct access to a data system, or must the evaluator request it from individual grantees?

KSDE will establish the necessary data agreements to ensure the evaluator has access to required data.

42. Are grantees required to collect certain types of data (e.g., program satisfaction surveys, attendance records), or is data collection primarily at the evaluator’s discretion?

21st CCLC grantees collect program data required for the annual evaluation and 21APR. Any additional reporting data will need to be determined by selected evaluator.

43. How does KSDE handle non-compliance by grantees in data reporting, and what role will the evaluator play in addressing missing or inconsistent data?

KSDE will address non-compliance issues.

This will not be the role of the evaluator.

44. Will the evaluator have access to historical data on student performance and program participation, or will baseline data collection begin at the start of the contract?

The evaluator will have access to previous grantee evaluations.

45. Does KSDE have an anticipated budget limit or range for this work?

Interested vendors should provide a proposed budget and plan necessary to meet project objectives.

46. Are there key performance reporting deadlines that must align with federal reporting cycles beyond the June 30, 2027 deadline?

KSDE and the evaluator will develop a timeline for reporting requirements.

47. Should the final state evaluation report include recommendations for future programmatic or policy changes?

This will be determined with the selected vendor.

48. Should evaluation findings be aligned with any specific Kansas education initiatives beyond 21st CCLC (e.g., state literacy programs, SEL frameworks, career-readiness efforts)?

Evaluation results will be limited to the 21st CCLC program.

49. Are electronic signatures on forms acceptable? Yes.

50. The cost sheet in the RFP requests a breakdown of salaries and benefits, supplies and equipment, other general operational costs, and indirect costs (limited to 8%). Our firm uses fully loaded rates, which incorporate both direct and indirect costs into a single rate structure. Would it be acceptable for our firm to present costs using fully loaded rates, or must costs be itemized strictly according to the specified budget categories?

No. Costs must be disaggregated.

51. Would the Kansas Department of Administration be willing to disclose how many applicants were invited to submit proposals in response to the EVT0010124 RFP?

KSDE cannot disclose that information.

The only information the Office of Procurement and contracts can disclose is who submitted bids once the bid has closed. All other information must be requested via Kansas Open Records Act once a contract has been awarded.

52. Does Kansas Department of Administration/Department of Education have a ceiling dollar amount for the statewide evaluation?

Interested vendors should provide a proposed budget and plan necessary to meet project objectives.

53. Would the Kansas Department of Administration be willing to disclose the names of the entities that were invited to submit proposals in response to the

EVT0010124 RFP?

Answered in Question 51

54. As described in the RFP, Section 5. COST SHEET “Salary costs are inclusive of drive time required to perform any contracted service;” can other travel costs in addition to drive time be included as part of the salaries and benefits expenses?

Interested vendors should provide a proposed budget and plan necessary to meet project objectives.

55. Would Kansas Department of Administration/Department of Education be willing to provide access to the 2022, 2023 and 2024 evaluations that will be used to develop the Initial Summary Report described in section 4.4. Deliverables to be Provided

KSDE will provide all necessary data to complete the initial summary report.

56. Were the 2022, 2023 and 2024 evaluations that will be used to develop the Initial Summary Report deliverable and described in section 4.4. conducted by an internal or external evaluator?

All grantee evaluations are completed by external evaluators.

57. The following recommendations were included in the Recommendations for Strengthening the Statewide Evaluation section of the Statewide Program Evaluation Report 2015-2017:

1. CONSISTENT COLLECTION AND

REPORTING OF KEY DATA POINTS - Provide data reporting tools which can be used to compare student data across sites and statewide.

2. TRACKING & REPORTING

PARENTAL/CAREGIVER VOICE/ENGAGEMENT -

Capture parent voice through parent satisfaction surveys and open-ended response questions with some standardization across all sites.

Is information on the current implementation status of these recommendations available?

KSDE has not conducted a statewide evaluation since the previous report.

Statewide data has not been collected. All data collected is at the grantee level.

58. Does the Department have an anticipated budget range for the evaluation?

Interested vendors should provide a proposed budget and plan necessary to meet project objectives.

59. Who is responsible for administering surveys to teachers and parents? (vendor, Department or local evaluators/grantees)?

This will be determined once an evaluator is in place.

60. Are the same surveys (teacher and parents) used by all subgrantees?

All grantees use the teacher survey provided by KSDE.

61. Is there a student survey? No

62. What system does Kansas use to collect data from subgrantees, e.g., CAYEN, EZreports, etc.?

No outside data system is used.

63. How many subgrantees are there currently? Does the department anticipate awarding more?

There are currently 92 grantees. The proposed number of total grantees for future grant years is between 85-95. There are currently five cohorts. Each year the cohort in Year 5 of the grant is removed and a new cohort added to the five cohorts.

64. About how many students participate in 21st CCLC across all subgrantees?

Kansas 21st CCLC programs serve over 5,000.

65. Can you clarify the deadlines for the annual summaries and recommendations?

This will be determined by KSDE and the contracted evaluator.

END OF AMENDMENT ONE– EVT0010124