Solicitation%20Notice%20for%20RFP%2033101-26013FAS5%20School%20Choice%20Program%20Mgt%20%20System.pdf

This is a solicitation notice issued by the State of Tennessee, Department of Education, for a Request for Proposal (RFP #33101-26013FAS5) to develop and implement a comprehensive School Choice Program Management System. The procurement seeks a secure, web-based electronic platform capable of supporting three school choice programs: Education Savings Account (ESA), Individualized Education Account (IEA), and Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS). The system must accommodate up to 700 schools, 70,000 students, and approximately 100 state staff members, with scalability to support 100,000+ users. Key system components include application processing, account holder management, fiscal management and payment functionality, support and training resources, and comprehensive reporting capabilities. The Pre-response Conference is scheduled for November 6, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., with a written questions deadline of November 14, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Proposals are due December 19, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. The State will conduct technical evaluations by January 9, 2026, score cost proposals on January 12, 2026, and issue a Notice of Intent to Award on January 15, 2026. The contract term spans sixty-four months from fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2031, with system implementation required by May 1, 2026.

The estimated maximum contract liability is $9,750,000.00 for the full term, with cost proposals required to include line items for requirements gathering, development, testing, pilot and training, rollout phases, annual system hosting, subscription/license fees, system maintenance, technical support, and change order provisions. The system must meet rigorous technical requirements including SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, 99.95% system uptime, data encryption using FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 standards, and comprehensive security protocols. All data must be housed and processed exclusively in the continental United States with access limited to US-based resources. Contractors must be registered with the Tennessee Department of Revenue, hold all necessary business and professional licenses, and comply with the State's Enterprise Information Security Policies and Artificial Intelligence usage restrictions. Liquidated damages clauses apply for failures in user access, platform errors, data backup, system availability, and disaster recovery objectives. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are mentioned. The contact for this solicitation is Genell Jordan, Sourcing Account Specialist, at the Central Procurement Office, 615-532-7202 or Genell.Jordan@tn.gov.