RFP # 23-11 Speech-Language Therapy Services.pdf

DEMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

1001 SOUTH DIAMOND

DEMING, NM 88030

VICKI CHAVEZ, SUPERINTENDENT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #23-11

BILINGUAL SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPY SERVICES

Commodity Code: 94886

Proposal Opening Date: June16, 2023, 3:00 pm MST

I. Introduction

The Deming Public Schools intends to acquire Speech Language Services, for the 2023-2024 school year, to provide such services to students with disabilities served in the district’s programs for student receiving Special

Education.

The objective of these services is to provide bilingual speech and language therapy for students who have been identified as eligible for these services.

Anticipated need (see Section IIA-1a below for information regarding availability) for the school year is (Total of 1 therapist):

• One full-time Bilingual (English and Spanish) therapists based on the district’s adopted calendar (ex. 181 days for 23-24 school year, 7hours per day – Number of and length of days subject to change based on district adopted calendar). Workdays are as per school calendar for student attendance.

Actual needs may change. Vendor should indicate the number of therapists to be provided for each category above.

1. If agreed upon services are not provided, the district can without notice contract additional services from other contract sources.

2. Contract person or company will provide district with work history and references of all individuals providing services in the district. District will have veto option for personnel.

3. All contract service providers must have all required licenses provided to the district before initiating any services.

4. Payment will only be made for services rendered. Therapist can only bill for related activities and cannot exceed contracted days or times.

All personnel will be expected to adhere to Deming District Policies and

Procedures. A copy of the “Policy and Procedures” is available in the district’s website (www.demingps.org). Failure to comply with these policies and procedures could result in termination of this agreement. Approval from the Director of Students with Disabilities is required before any staff work beyond the expected workday as per district adopted calendar or outside the contracted day.

It is crucial that the therapist develop a rapport with their assigned school staff and administrators. Issues that cannot be resolved with staff need to begin with the school site administrator, using the proper chain of command.

Failure to follow the proper chain of command can result in termination of contract.

Awarded contractors must have verified providers at least 30 days prior to the start of the contract. Failure to provide the proposed personnel may result in the district’s termination of the award and consideration of other vendors.

Payment will only be made for services rendered and invoiced weekly or monthly. Therapists can only bill for related activities and cannot exceed contracted days or times.

II. Proposal Format

The proposal should be formatted in the following manner including the following sections (Format and ease of reading proposal will be considered):

Two copies must be submitted and 1 electronic copy, if sending in physical submission. One copy if submitting electronically via Bidnet.

A. Specifications

In this section vendors should describe how their proposal meets these requirements as well as include additional information they deem useful for the evaluation team.

1. General Requirements

a. Availability July 1 of each year through June 30 of the following year. Exact dates and number of days will be based on IEP requirements, adopted calendar(s) including

Extended School Year Plan, Compensatory services, and summer programming and district staffing needs.

b. Completion of Medicaid provider application and required reporting forms. Complete all required Medicaid documentation.

c. Comply with background investigation policy, including paying background check expenses.

d. Complete all documentation required by the district.

2. Services

a. Therapy provided for the length of time and for goals specified on the students’ IEPs.

b. Participation in IEP meetings as necessary. Must make arrangements if unable to attend the meeting.

c. Assistance to IEP committee in interpreting speech/language test results and reports, determining eligibility and developing Speech and Language goals.

d. Progress reporting as required by the students’ IEPs and in compliance with District and New Mexico Public

Education Department guidelines.

e. Complete articulation evaluations as required.

f. Consultation with staff and parents as necessary and appropriate.

g. Workdays as per school calendar for student attendance.

Services required to be done in the workday may include:

• Prep time for IEP’s

• Travel time between schools

• Direct therapy

• Child find

• ECOs

• Consultation with staff and parents

• In-service with Director of Students with

Disabilities

• Formal and informal evaluations

• Participation on Eligibility Determination teams

• IEP meetings

• Progress tracking and reporting

• Completion of all required therapy notes and

Medicaid documentation together with any other state and district required paperwork

• Staff meetings or other related duties as required by the Director of Students with Disabilities

• Other duties as assigned

h. Complete IEP draft at least 48 hours prior to scheduled IEP meeting.

i. End of the year summaries on students’ progress to be completed by the last day of the school year.

B. In-Person vs Virtual

1. Virtual therapy may be considered if face-to-face therapists are not available.

2. Identify the number of full days per 5-day week, per FTE awarded in which services will be provided in-person.

3. Non-compliance of the awarded provider’s proposed schedule may result in termination of or non-renewal of contract.

4. Office space, devices and connectivity will only be provided for therapists who work in person.

C. Personnel Requirements

1. Identify by name the specific personnel that will be contracted to provide services (Sample resumes or resumes of staff who will not be filling the position will not be considered and should not be submitted).

2. Include copies of proposed therapists’ current license(s) from

New Mexico Public Education Department, Educator Preparation and Licensure Unit.

3. Include copies of proposed therapists’ current resume.

4. Copies of proposed therapists’ current transcript(s) must be available upon request.

5. Ability to speak, read and write fluently in English and Spanish is required for Bilingual therapists.

6. Changes in personnel during the school year must be approved by the Director of Students with Disabilities and the license and approved background check must be submitted before their first day of work. If therapist is not contracted within 14 days of the

1st day of the contract, the district has the option of considering other vendors to fill this vacancy and terminating the awarded contract.

7. The vendor is responsible provide supervision of ASLs.

D. References

References should be provided for the proposed therapist that highlight the following aspects:

1. Services Quality

2. The therapists’ ability to effectively document services in a timely manner

3. Therapists’ reliability, availability, professionalism, rapport with co-workers and students, and ability to follow procedures.

4. Experience within New Mexico School Districts.

E. Price

1. All cost information must be in this section. Vendor must provide an all-inclusive hourly rate (Any additional costs including but not limited to mileage, cost per pupil, evaluations, progress reports, intake, screening, etc. must be included in the hourly rate).

2. If vendor intends to add gross receipts tax, it must be indicated on the proposal, but not included in the hourly rate.

3. If multiple hourly rates are listed, the highest price will be considered for the proposal. English and Bilingual will be separate in the cost evaluations.

4. If the hourly rate cannot be determined due to changing variables, additions or vague language, the proposal will not be considered.

5. Vendors may only bill 90% of the accepted hourly rate for ASL’s.

Hours for any supervision of ASL’s may not be billed to the district. Priority will be given to vendors with fulltime SLP’s.

6. Flat rate charges, or additional charges per student will not be considered.

F. Forms

1. Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form

Respondents are required to complete and return within its proposal a CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION FORM enclosed within this RFP.

2. An 8% in-state resident or native American resident preference will be given to all resident New Mexico businesses that have been issued certification by the State of New Mexico. A 10% resident veteran or native American resident veteran preference will be given to all resident New Mexico businesses that have been issued certification by the State of New Mexico. To qualify for the preference, the bidder must list a valid resident business certificate number and shall submit a copy of the certificate with the bid. If you have a question regarding a Resident Business (or

Resident Veteran Business or Native American resident/veteran)

Certification, or wish to be given a number, you may contact the

New Mexico State Department of Taxation and Revenue at 505-

827-0951. This number is valuable to have as it allows the

Schools to consider your bid at five to ten percent less than the amount submitted, and could mean a difference in award. Please note that this number is NOT your State CRS Number (i.e.

01-503047-004).

III. Evaluation Process and Timelines

A. Proposals will be evaluated on a 100-point basis. The scoring will be as follows:

1. Specifications – 20 points

2. In-person/Virtual Provider – 15 points

3. Personnel Requirements – 15 points

4. References – 20 points

5. Price – 30 points

B. Timelines

1. Question submittals.

All questions need to be submitted by May 31, 2023 3:00 PM MST.

Answers will be issued by June 5, 2023 4:30 PM MST. Direct all question to: Procurement@demingps.org

2. Proposals must be received by the specified deadline.

Recommendations will be approved by the District Board of Education at the next scheduled Board meeting and vendors will be notified of acceptance of their proposal within 7 days of the board’s decision.

IV. School District Contacts

Sealed proposals, including copies of New Mexico licensure and other appropriate data must be directed to:

Deming Public Schools

Sealed Proposal- RFP # 23-11 Speech Language Therapy Services

1001 South Diamond

Deming, New Mexico 88030

Or

Electronic Submission:

Bidnet Direct https://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-mexico/demingpublicschools

a. Vendor proposals are due no later than June 16, 2023 3:00pm MST.

Faxed or emailed proposals will not be accepted. Late or misdirected proposals will not be considered.

b. Proposals that do not include the Campaign Contribution Form cannot be considered.

https://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-mexico/demingpublicschools

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION DISCLOSURE FORM

Pursuant to the Procurement Code, Sections 13-1-28, et seq., NMSA 1978 and NMSA

1978, § 13-1-191.1 (2006), as amended by Laws of 2007, Chapter 234, any prospective contractor seeking to enter into a contract with any state agency or local public body for professional services, a design and build project delivery system, or the design and installation of measures the primary purpose of which is to conserve natural resources must file this form with that state agency or local public body. This form must be filed even if the contract qualifies as a small purchase or a sole source contract. The prospective contractor must disclose whether they, a family member or a representative of the prospective contractor has made a campaign contribution to an applicable public official of the state or a local public body during the two years prior to the date on which the contractor submits a proposal or, in the case of a sole source or small purchase contract, the two years prior to the date the contractor signs the contract, if the aggregate total of contributions given by the prospective contractor, a family member or a representative of the prospective contractor to the public official exceeds two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) over the two year period.

Furthermore, the state agency or local public body may cancel a solicitation or proposed award for a proposed contract pursuant to Section 13-1-181 NMSA 1978 or a contract that is executed may be ratified or terminated pursuant to Section 13-1-182 NMSA 1978 of the Procurement Code if: 1) a prospective contractor, a family member of the prospective contractor, or a representative of the prospective contractor gives a campaign contribution or other thing of value to an applicable public official or the applicable public official’s employees during the pendency of the procurement process or 2) a prospective contractor fails to submit a fully completed disclosure statement pursuant to the law.

The state agency or local public body that procures the services or items of tangible personal property shall indicate on the form the name or names of every applicable public official, if any, for which disclosure is required by a prospective contractor.

THIS FORM MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND

MUST BE FILED BY ANY PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR WHETHER OR NOT

THEY, THEIR FAMILY MEMBER, OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVE HAS MADE

ANY CONTRIBUTIONS SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE.

The following definitions apply:

“Applicable public official” means a person elected to an office or a person appointed to complete a term of an elected office, who has the authority to award or influence the award of the contract for which the prospective contractor is submitting a competitive sealed proposal or who has the authority to negotiate a sole source or small purchase contract that may be awarded without submission of a sealed competitive proposal

“Campaign Contribution” means a gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or other thing of value, including the estimated value of an in-kind contribution, that is made to or received by an applicable public official or any person authorized to raise, collect or expend contributions on that official’s behalf for the purpose of electing the official to statewide or local office. “Campaign Contribution” includes the payment of a debt incurred in an election campaign, but does not include the value of services provided without compensation or unreimbursed travel or other personal expenses of individuals who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or political committee, nor does it include the administrative or solicitation expenses of a political committee that are paid by an organization that sponsors the committee.

“Family member” means spouse, father, mother, child, father-in-law, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law or son-in-law of (a) a prospective contractor, if the prospective contractor is a natural person; or (b) an owner of a prospective contractor.

“Pendency of the procurement process” means the time period commencing with the public notice of the request for proposals and ending with the award of the contract or the cancellation of the request for proposals.

“Prospective contractor” means a person or business that is subject to the competitive sealed proposal process set forth in the Procurement Code or is not required to submit a competitive sealed proposal because that person or business qualifies for a sole source or a small purchase contract.

“Representative of a prospective contractor” means an officer or director of a corporation, a member or manager of a limited liability corporation, a partner of a partnership or a trustee of a trust of the prospective contractor.

Name(s) of Applicable Public Official(s) if any: ________________________

(Completed by State Agency or Local Public Body)

DISCLOSURE OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR:

Contribution Made By:

Relation to Prospective Contractor: __________________________________

Date Contribution(s) Made:

Amount(s) of Contribution(s)

Nature of Contribution(s)

Purpose of Contribution(s)

(Attach extra pages if necessary)

Signature Date

Title (position)

--OR—

NO CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE AGGREGATE TOTAL OVER TWO HUNDRED

FIFTY DOLLARS ($250) WERE MADE to an applicable public official by me, a family member or representative.

Signature Date

Title (Position)