RFI 2023-46- Safe Schools-5.17.2023.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

FOR

SAFE SCHOOLS LMS

RFI 2023-46

Florida Department of Education

Bureau of Contracts, Grants & Procurement 325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

Please email submissions to:

Florida Department of Education Attn: Anita Wimberly

Email: anita.wimberly@fldoe.org mailto:anita.wimberly@fldoe.org

SECTION I – INTRODUCTION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

SAFE SCHOOLS LMS

A. INTRODUCTION

The State of Florida, Department of Education, hereinafter referred to as the Department, is issuing this request for information to determine if there are companies in the marketplace that can provide a cloud-hosted Learning Management System (LMS) that is capable of providing training for Department and District personnel as required, provide annual Office of Safe Schools training needs and is capable of and integrating with the Department’s Single Sign On solution (Azure AD) and other City systems.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETIVE BIDS OR A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, AND

NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED IN RESPONSE TO SUBMISSIONS.

If, as a result of the RFI, the Department decides to pursue contract(s) to provide any of the services mentioned, and vendors capable of providing such services are identified, then a competitive procurement package will be developed and issued at a later date.

SECTION II – SCOPE OF SERVICES

A. Program Background

As required by s. 1001.212, Florida Statutes (F.S.), the Department is to establish the Office of Safe Schools (OSS), which is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. In such, the OSS is required to: serve as a central repository for best practices, training standards, and compliance oversight for school safety and security, including prevention, intervention, and emergency preparedness; establish and update as necessary a school security risk assessment tool (s. 1006.07, F.S.); develop and implement a School Safety Specialist Training Program (pursuant to s. 943.082 F.S.); and coordinate with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to provide a centralized integrated data repository and data analytics integrating data from social media, Department of Children and Families, FDLE, Department of Juvenile Justice, and local law enforcement.

B. Program Goals

The primary goal of the Department is to have a single vendor managed LMS solution to be used by all internal and external users accessing the Office of Safe Schools training options. The solution should support current training needs (40,000-60,000 staff members participating in 6-10 trainings annually), must have the flexibility to configure the training changes and additions required yearly, and should be scalable to accommodate potential increases in training participants of up to 100,000 or more.

C. Objective

The objective of this project is to determine the feasibility of developing a comprehensive modern solution that can be scalable per program needs and addresses the following at a high level.

• the ability to create training content per program needs

• be cloud-hosted/managed

• be scalable and configurable per program needs

• the ability to generate required reports

• Integrate with Department’s Single Sign On solution (Azure AD)

• ability to search participant records for compliance

• ability to quiz or test users on content

• ability to print certificates

• ability to display and track duration of training completions (analytics features of solution)

• ability to track and report on participants on a quarterly and an annual basis

• ability to set the user permissions per assigned roles

• ability to administer and monitor internal and external user accounts

• offer in-person, US-based helpdesk, on-line knowledge base, and other support functions for the various audiences

• the ability to integrate with other Department systems if needed

• the ability to maintain high availability, reliability, and responsive customer support

• be a cloud-based system with service level agreement at 99.999%; and

• the ability to export the Department’s data as required.

D. Purpose

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for the purpose of obtaining information regarding solution options, vendor’s availability, and cost analysis to assist in the development of the viable solution to fit the Department’s need.

Responses should provide information that supports the below Response Format section based on the above paragraphs.

E. Process

Department management will review and analyze information received in response to this RFI to determine the feasibility of issuing a competitive solicitation for these products/services. Any request for cost information received will be used solely to gain a perspective of the potential budgetary magnitude.

Responses to this request will be reviewed for informational purposes only and will not result in the award of a contract. Vendors submitting a response to this RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation.

F. Response Format

Respondents are requested to address all of the following in their response:

1) Company literature, such as corporate overview and company structure, financial soundness and stability, and services currently offered;

2) Point of contact information, including representative name and alternative, if available, telephone number(s), and e-mail address(s);

3) Specific information submitted in the following format:

Section 1: Description of corporate history and experience developing an LMS solution based on the requirements in the Objectives portion of this RFI.

• Describe other similar engagements and key points.

• Describe the available solutions(s) and how they can be deployed in phases.

Section 2: Description of the solution consistent with the goals and objectives above.

• Describe how the solution supports external and internal user accounts for registration and secure access.

Section 3: Identify typical costs considered during the development, deployment life cycle, including any configuration, migration, quality assurance and maintenance.

• Specify typical ownership and maintenance costs.

• Specify all development costs.

• Specify all possible migration costs that may be involved.

Section 4: Description of project management strategy.

• Specify project management methodology used in current or recent projects.

• Specify what steps should be taken to implement the requested solution.

• Specify the steps needed to transition from project to operations and maintenance.

Section 5: Identify types of documentation that may be provided for requested solution.

• Specify any requirements validation processes that may be utilized to implement the requested solution.

• Specify any technical documentation that may be provided for the requested solution.

• Specify any possible training plan for the requested solution.

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SECTION III– SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

A. Time Schedule

The following timetable shows the approximate dates for this RFI. All times indicated are Eastern Time (ET).

Request for Information Issued 5/17/2023

Questions Due no later than 5/24/2023 @ 5:00 P.M. EST

Answers to Vendors on or about 5/31/2023

Receipt of e-mailed RFI responses 6/7/2023 @ 5:00 P.M. EST

PLEASE PROVIDE RESPONSES VIA EMAIL

B. Questions And Restrictions

The Department may be contacted via email or fax regarding submission of questions concerning this RFI. Any respondent’s questions must be submitted in writing and received by the Department on or before the specified due date at the following email address or fax:

Please send questions to: Florida Department of Education Attn: Anita Wimberly

325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 332 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400

Email (preferred): anita.wimberly@fldoe.org Fax Number: 850-245-0719

Telephone Number: 850-245-9289

The Department will provide written answers to all questions that respondents submit by the specified due date. Questions and Answers and notice of changes (addenda) will be posted on the Florida Vendor Bid System (VBS) at www.myflorida.com (click on Business & Industry, under Doing Business with the State of Florida click on State Purchasing, click on Everything for Vendors and Customers, then Vendor Bid System and Search Advertisement, select the Department of Education in the Agency window and initiate search), under this RFI number. It is the responsibility of all respondents to monitor this site for any changing information prior to submitting a response.

mailto:McGriff1@fldoe.org http://www.myflorida.com/