RFQQ_2025-11_Addendum_01.pdf

This document is posted to capture the questions received, and agency answers provided, during the question and answer period and during the pre-bid conference for RFQQ No. 2025-

11, which occurred on October 8, 2024.

All amendments, addenda, and notifications related to this procurement will be posted on the

OSPI website (if this was an open procurement) and on the Washington Electronic Business

Solution (WEBS) website. Additional questions concerning this procurement must be submitted to contracts@K12.wa.us. Communication directed to other parties will be considered unofficial and non-binding on OSPI, and may result in disqualification of the Consultant.

Pre-Bid Conference Q&A

1. Question: What information do you anticipate that vendors will have to track down if school districts aren’t responsive or timely?

Answer: OSPI will follow-up with school districts that do not timely submit information.

If the school district’s information is not responsive, OSPI has two approaches planned.

First, OSPI will ask that the contract reviewer seek the information from the school district’s website if it is publicly posted (e.g., a policy or procedure, or published handbook). Second, if the information is not publicly posted online, OSPI will ask the contract reviewer to note what is missing and not available online. OSPI will request the school district provide the documentation during the follow-up phase of the review.

2. Question: Will OSPI accept proposal submissions from firms outside Washington State?

Answer: Yes, OSPI will accept proposal submissions from outside Washington, but the bidder must be licensed to do business in Washington. Also, note that one of the desirable qualifications is “Highly advanced understanding of state and federal nondiscrimination laws as they apply to public schools, OSPI’s chapter 392-190 WAC, and OSPI’s civil rights guidelines.

3. Question: Does OSPI anticipate this work will be remote/virtual or in person?

Answer: OSPI anticipates this work will be fully remote/virtual.

4. Question: How will the work be assigned or divided up?

Answer: How work will be assigned or divided up depends on how many individuals are participating in the work. Assignments may also depend on contractor availability. OSPI anticipates it will provide a list of school districts for each contract reviewer to complete during a given week or by a specified date.

Request for Qualifications and Quotations No.

2025-11

Addendum 01 – Q&A https://www.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/contracting-ospi/competitive-procurements https://pr-webs-customer.des.wa.gov/ mailto:contracts@K12.wa.us

OSPI RFP No. 2025-11 | Addendum 01 Page 2 of 3

5. Question: Will there be weekly team meetings?

Answer: OSPI anticipates somewhat regular check-in meetings with contract reviewers on the status of the work, logistics, questions, or specific issues that need to be addressed. However, OSPI has not determined how often these check-in meetings will occur.

6. Question: How will OSPI score the quality of work?

Answer: OSPI will score the quality of work based on the information the bidder provides in the management proposal. For example, OSPI will consider whether the proposal addresses the needs identified in the RFQQ, including minimum and desirable qualifications, as well as the presentation and writing quality of the proposal.

7. Question: Is there a specific format or style for the assessment and recommendation? Has OSPI done this in the past?

Answer: OSPI has never contracted for this service as it is a new legislative requirement.

Format of the assessment will be discussed with the Apparent Successful Bidder during the contracting process.

8. Question: Will there be any administrative support from the state to assist with ongoing data and document collection?

Answer: OSPI is not anticipating it will provide administrative support to contract reviewers. Most of the document collection will occur with school districts providing information to OSPI. The contract reviewer’s role will begin after information has been collected. However, if a school district does not provide responsive information that may be publicly available online, OSPI will ask contract reviewers to attempt to access the information on the district’s website.

9. Question: Can you provide any additional information on what the data transfer process from your tool to the consultant will look like?

Answer: The information will all be available in an online tool. One of the items in the

RFQQ scope of work is to access LEA reports and documentation through the online tool and save records to a shared OneDrive folder for retention. OSPI will set up the shared folder.

General Q&A

10. Question: Is OSPI looking for a larger staffing team for the project? If so, by when do all members of the staffing team for the vendor need to be identified?

Answer: OSPI will consider bids from consultants who can complete some or all of the reviews. However, OSPI anticipates several contract reviewers will be necessary to complete the work within OSPI’s anticipated timeframe. Bidders’ staffing teams must be identified at the time of submission, although OSPI acknowledges there is some possibility that staffing may change over the life of the contract, once awarded. Any such changes would require approval by the OSPI Contract Manager.

OSPI RFP No. 2025-11 | Addendum 01 Page 3 of 3

11. Question: For the Letter of Submittal the description says "include introductory remarks, contact information for the Bidder’s point of contact for the proposal, and applicable certifications must be signed and dated" - are there any specific points you would like addressed in the remarks or is this free text?

Answer: There is no specific requirement; this is just an allowance for introductory remarks if bidders so choose.

12. Question: Is there a description for what you would like addressed/included in the

Management Proposal?

Answer: At minimum, the topics in Section C.4. must be covered.

13. Question: [Our company] provides legal review and analysis but we do not provide legal advice. While we have U.S. barred attorneys on staff most attorneys are barred in the

Philippines (where the legal system is based off of U.S. laws), our company is setup to work alongside our client's in-house/outside counsel which will provide advice based on our legal review and analysis.

Answer: We are not seeking a firm to provide legal advice.

To be eligible for this RFQQ, bidders must meet all of the stated minimum qualifications, including an understanding of administrative monitoring and enforcement roles of government agencies, state and federal nondiscrimination laws, and other applicable laws. Additionally, highly qualified bidders will have advanced understanding of state and federal nondiscrimination laws as they apply to public schools, OSPI’s chapter 392-

190 WAC, and OSPI’s civil rights guidelines.

Bidders are not required to be local, but we are unsure whether access to the Smartsheet tool we’ll use for this project will be available internationally.

If you have not yet already, we recommend that you also review information provided by the Office of Financial Management, Department of Revenue, and the Secretary of

State regarding any Washington laws applicable to doing business within our state.