RFI 1454 Model School Facility Standard Plans.docx

State of Idaho | Division of Purchasing Request For Information RFI 1454 For Model School Facility Standard Plans

Section 1: Overview & Instructions

1.1 Purpose

The State of Idaho Division of Purchasing (“State”) and The Model School Facility Council (“Council”) are seeking to schedule online/virtual strategy discussions with interested, qualified architectural firms and professional design teams. The intent of these discussions is to obtain feedback from Suppliers to assist the State in developing a more accurate Scope of Work and overall approach for a potential upcoming solicitation to provide planning and design services for the development of standardized public school facility models, including: elementary school, middle/junior high school, and high school. These model school designs will serve as statewide templates to support future school construction and modernization efforts across Idaho.

This is not a solicitation for quotations, bids or proposals. No contract award will result from this RFI. The State firmly believes this process will help it to develop a solicitation that is clear and can be administered more efficiently and effectively; however, participation in these discussions is completely optional (they are not mandatory in order to participate in the future solicitation).

1.2 Format of Virtual Discussion

The format of these informal discussions will be performed virtually online via video conferencing tools (i.e., Zoom, Teams, Webex, etc.). The content and topics of the strategy discussions are shown in Section 3. The State is not requesting a formal written response to these questions or topics (as is common in most traditional RFIs). All information will be collected via the conference call/video call, which will be performed on a “1-on-1” basis between each Supplier and the State (not as a group meeting). The State anticipates spending about 1-hour on each call.

The State intends to use information gathered from these discussions to help ensure that the future solicitation is fair and open and provides the information necessary for suppliers to be able to provide accurate proposals. The State plans to schedule discussions with interested suppliers and may limit the number of discussions based on capacity; however, the State will ensure that all input from all participating Suppliers is considered and documented in a consistent manner. The State reserves the right to hold additional discussions in order to capture diverse Supplier perspectives. The State shall not reimburse the Supplier for any expenses incurred responding to this RFI.

The State does not have any requirements of who can attend the meeting, or their role/position. The Supplier can select the best person(s) to attend. The meetings will be led by the Point of Contact identified in Section 1.4. Suppliers will be permitted 5-10 minutes to introduce their company for context. The remainder of the time will be spent discussing the Supplier’s answers to the questions provided in Section 3.

Other than general procurement questions, the state will not answer any questions about the project or upcoming solicitation; however, the state will be taking note of questions to ensure that they are answered proactively in the solicitation document.

Suppliers should not rely on any individual discussion as providing unique or exclusive insight into the State's future procurement approach.

1.3 Key Dates

The RFI timetable is shown below, but the State may adjust/modify this schedule as needed.

1.4 Point of Contact

All questions, inquires, or communications regarding this RFI or the Model School Facility Standard Plans must be directed to the Point of Contact listed below (via email). Suppliers shall not contact any other State employee.

Mack DeYoung Procurement Supervisor State of Idaho – Division of Purchasing Email: Mack.DeYoung@adm.Idaho.gov

Section 2: Background Information

2.1 Background Information

The Council, pursuant to House Bill 521 (§33-917(4), Idaho Code), was established by the Idaho Legislature in 2025 in response to growing concerns regarding school facility affordability, long-term capital planning, rural construction costs, and inequities in access to modern educational environments across the state. Idaho continues to experience rapid population growth in many regions, while simultaneously facing escalating construction costs, supply chain volatility, workforce shortages, and increasing pressure on local school districts to rely on supplemental levies and bonds to meet basic facility needs.

Unlike traditional school construction projects that are designed independently by each district, the Council has been charged with developing a statewide framework for standardized, scalable, and adaptable school facility designs that may be utilized by any Idaho public school district or charter school. The intent of this initiative is to create a set of high-quality “model schools” that reduce design costs, accelerate project timelines, improve cost predictability, and ensure that all Idaho students—regardless of geography—have access to safe, modern, and educationally effective school facilities.

The Council’s work represents a first-of-its-kind statewide effort in Idaho to move from a fully decentralized, project-by-project design model to a shared public infrastructure approach for educational facilities. By investing in reusable facility templates, the State seeks to:

2.2 Unique / Challenging Conditions

Respondents should demonstrate an understanding of how a model school design package can adapt to unique, local differences in site topography, climatic conditions, access to energy utilities (electricity, water, sewer, gas, and internet connectivity), adjacency to highways/roads, all in a way that preserves the efficiencies of a model design program.

2.3 Future Goals & Outcomes

The State is interested in soliciting for professional design teams with demonstrated expertise in K–12 educational facilities, modular and scalable design systems, code compliance, cost modeling, and stakeholder engagement. The selected firm(s) will be responsible for developing three primary model school facility templates:

These templates will serve as base designs that can be adapted by local districts to site-specific conditions, enrollment needs, and community priorities, while maintaining a consistent architectural framework and engineering logic across the state.

Section 3: Script for Strategy Discussions

A written response to these questions is NOT required. The State will conduct virtual discussions with interested Suppliers to address these items. The supplier can prepare a presentation to assist with the discussion if they would like (but they are not required to do so). Responses should avoid proprietary, vendor-specific solutions where possible, as the State intends to develop neutral, broadly applicable requirements.

Information provided through this response form and any associated discussions may be used by the State to inform a future solicitation and may be summarized in a manner that protects proprietary information while ensuring transparency and equal access to information for all potential respondents.

1. To enable your firm to prepare an accurate proposal at the solicitation stage, what is the most critical information for the State to provide about our Current Conditions (what critical things do you need to know about our current environment)?

2. To enable your firm to prepare an accurate proposal at the solicitation stage, what is the most critical information for the State to provide about our Future State Requirements (are there any goals, objectives, or desired items that we haven’t thought of, or should consider)?

3. What budget range should the State anticipate for a project of this type?

4. Are there any other factors/issues/items the State should be considering at this time?

Strategy Discussions for Model School Facility Standard Plans Response Form

Suppliers that would like to participate in the virtual discussions should complete this form to reserve a time slot. Please identify a point of contact that the State can contact to setup the virtual meeting.

Company Name

Point of Contact name

Phone number

Email Address

Please identify the preferred times for the virtual call (as shown in the table below). Due to the number of Suppliers that may RSVP, please identify at least 2-3 times that will work for your team (so we can try to accommodate everyone). Please RSVP as soon as possible, but not later than 5pm (Mountain Time) on Friday, October 9, 2026. Timeslots will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once your timeslot is confirmed, the State will provide a link to the conference-call or video-call.

October 22, 2026

9:00am – 10:00am

10:30am – 11:30pm

1:00pm – 2:00pm

2:30pm – 3:30pm

4:00pm – 5:00pm

Please complete and send this form via email to Mack.DeYoung@adm.idaho.gov

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