System Functionality Information.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 26 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- RFI DAAA 2027000003 1
- Issued by
- Denver County, Denver City, Colorado
About this file
This System Functionality Information document outlines the technical requirements and specifications for Colorado's online educator credentialing, preparation, and investigation system. The State of Colorado, through the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), is procuring a comprehensive licensing management platform that will consolidate educator credentialing, preparation program management, and disciplinary investigation functions. The system must support unlimited educator license types, endorsements, and authorizations while enabling applicants to create single online profiles to apply for multiple licenses and endorsements throughout their careers. Key functionality includes analytics and reporting tools, customizable application workflows, real-time data integration with criminal background check databases and external systems like NASDTEC, investigator case management capabilities, and public-facing credential lookup and verification functions. The platform must provide role-based access controls, audit trails for all user actions, and support document management for an estimated 5 million existing files occupying approximately 5 terabytes of storage.
The system must be implemented as a secure, vendor-hosted cloud-based application meeting Colorado's Information Security Policies and Standards, with a minimum 99.999% uptime service level agreement and encryption of all confidential data at rest and in motion. The vendor is responsible for comprehensive data migration from the existing Microsoft SQL database, integration of external digital files from internal networks, and extensive testing to ensure data integrity and completeness. The platform must interface with CORE, Colorado's state-approved accounting system, and comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards for processing application fees through state-approved payment processors. The vendor must provide complete documentation, initial staff training on system features and database administration, and ongoing maintenance of training materials including job aids, how-to guides, and online videos for educators, district HR personnel, and state staff across all organizational levels.
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| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing System RFI.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment A - Response Questions Worksheet.docx | DOCX document |
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Functionality and Features
SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY INFORMATION
| Analytics and Reporting (AR) | Required Function/Feature | |
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| AR1 | Provide an analytics/reporting tool that allows staff to create custom ad hoc and automated reports related to any field in the system including, but not limited to, number of applications received, types of applications, application/transaction fees paid by applicant, answers to application questions, credential statuses, type of preparation program, numbers of cases, etc. | YES |
| Audits and Educator Application Queue (AU) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| AU1 | Allow a CDE administrator to audit staff productivity, including number of applications in queue and completed, on-hold, or discontinued application reviews during a specified timeframe | YES |
| AU2 | Capture time on task information for staff members, including total time active in the system on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis | YES |
| AU3 | Allow CDE administrator to create automated, rules-based work assignments and queues without vendor support using criteria including: type of application submitted, the total number of applications currently in a staff member’s queue, length of time applications have been in an evaluator’s queue, number of applications in the staff member’s queue that are on hold | YES |
| AU4 | The ability to assign applications to individual staff members manually, with the capability to add or remove staff from the application queue as needed | YES |
| AU5 | Automatically capture and report any staff-initiated changes and revisions to submitted applications, including the date of change, reason for change, and staff member making the change | YES |
| AU6 | Allow staff to enter freeform field-level notes within a submitted application to capture decision making rational and reasons for any changes or edits | YES |
| AU7 | Allow staff system administrator to set permissions to prevent staff members from viewing other staff queues | YES |
| AU8 | Filter application queues by criteria including keyword, license type, assigned evaluator, or date | YES |
| AU9 | Audit trail for any system generated actions including notifications, expirations, correspondence, and automations. | YES |
| Customization and Usability (CU) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| CU1 | Provide a user-friendly, responsive interface for internal users and applicants that is compatible with smartphones, tablets, and computers for all users | YES |
| CU2 | Meet or exceed Section 508 compliance. Meet or exceed the WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards and the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability, as established by the Governor's Office of Information Technology pursuant to Section §24-85-103 (2.5), C.R.S. See https://oit.colorado.gov/standards-policies-guides/guide-to-accessible-web-services/accessibility-law-for-colorado-state-0 and https://oit.colorado.gov/standards-policies-guides/guide-to-accessible-web-services/vendor-accessibility-guide | YES |
| CU3 | Allow CDE staff system administrator to add, define, delete, edit and assign default and custom system roles for CDE users | YES |
| CU4 | Search all application data by criteria such as keyword, license, endorsement, or certificate type, status, and date | YES |
| CU5 | Allow CDE staff system administrator to initiate batch updates and edits to applicant data or application text based on admin-specified criteria (i.e., system-wide find/change functionality) | |
| CU6 | Provide context-sensitive help for applicants that can be modified by staff. | |
| For example, question marks or help bubbles or rollovers that provide additional context to applicants should they have a question about how to complete application fields | ||
| CU7 | Provide native live support/chat functionality OR an integrated third-party support/chat to facilitate real-time communication between staff and applicants. | |
| CU8 | Provide embedded communication tools that allow staff supervisors to communicate with team members about new processes or issues; for example, notes that can be associated with a specific application type or team role and displayed when application is accessed for the first time since a communication was posted in the system | |
| CU9 | Provide embedded communication tools that allow team members to communicate among themselves about new processes or issues; for example, notes can be associated with a specific application type or team role and displayed when application is accessed for the first time since a communication was posted in the system | |
| CU10 | Provide role-based access to an interface that allows staff to create dynamic, HTML-based application forms with conditional branching and rules-based data validation; staff system administrator should be able to set form validation by methods including: field type (alpha and numeric), validity (table or data lookup), relational (relationships among fields), and field values (acceptable range) | YES |
| CU11 | Allow role-based staff access to form templates so CDE can make changes to page/application content, formatting, font styles, and other onscreen elements, including drop down menus, text fields, radio buttons, check boxes, and file upload widgets | YES |
| CU12 | Allow role-based staff access to HTML markup, and underlying programming language (for example cascading style sheets) so CDE can make changes to page/application content, formatting, font styles, and other onscreen elements, including drop down menus, text fields, radio buttons, check boxes, and file upload widgets | YES |
| CU13 | Allow for pre-populating application forms and fields based on applicant data already stored in the system | YES |
| CU14 | Spell check freeform text entry fields | |
| CU15 | Allow staff system administrator to re-sequence application items and pages | YES |
| CU16 | Allow staff system administrator to duplicate application items and pages for reuse within other applications | YES |
| CU17 | Provide applicant with dashboard that reports the status of an application including milestones such as: submitted, in queue, assigned to evaluator, in review, request for additional information, and complete | YES |
| CU18 | Allow rich text fields for notes, case management notes, supplements, narratives, etc. | |
| CU19 | Provide a replica and functional sandbox and training platform to allow staff to implement and test modifications to applications and workflows | YES |
| CU20 | Allow applicants to create and modify account details including but not limited to username, password, email, address, mailing address etc. | YES |
| CU21 | Automatically notify applicant of upcoming licensure or certificate expiration based on certification type via mobile app, auto generated email, and upon logging into the system | YES |
| CU22 | Allow applicant to retrieve and change forgotten username or password securely, including a self-service account recovery option for individuals who have forgotten their password and no longer have access to the email used for their account. | YES |
| CU23 | Import existing educator identifier number (EDID) and automatically generate a unique identifier number (EDID) and associate it with an applicant after the completion of the background check; EDID format should be customizable based on CDE needs | YES |
| CU24 | Allow CDE staff to assign impersonation or mirror view permissions to view educator profiles as the educator | YES |
| CDE Evaluator Workflow (EW) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| EW1 | Allow CDE staff system administrator to set internal staff permissions granularly by role (read, update, delete, modify, etc.) | YES |
| EW2 | Allow staff to access and view all documents and attachments associated with an applicant account based on staff permissions | YES |
| EW3 | Allow staff to create and set alerts on accounts or applications based on staff permissions | YES |
| EW4 | Notify assigned staff member when an applicant uploads a document or edits an existing application in the staff member’s queue | YES |
| EW5 | Generate educator credentials and allow for the posting of those credentials in the educator’s online account including a printable PDF certificate | YES |
| EW6 | Generate and email educator notifications and correspondence to include an audit of when the notification was sent and educator's email | YES |
| EW7 | Automatically record staff member name and date any time a staff member updates an application or enters notes associated with an application | YES |
| EW8 | Allow staff to send email correspondence to applicants securely from within the licensing system to include a confirmation it was sent, the email it was sent to, and who sent it. | YES |
| EW9 | Allow applicants to reply to staff correspondence from within the licensing system securely | YES |
| EW10 | Automatically link any email correspondence sent by an applicant from a third party email client to CDE to the applicant’s online account (based on applicant’s email on record) | |
| EW11 | Provide staff with a mechanism to manually attach external files, such as text files, PDFs, images, email correspondence, etc. to an applicant account | YES |
| EW12 | Provide staff with dynamic (updatable) checklists and job aids based on application type and documentation or other information submitted to CDE to help ensure that evaluators complete required processes and procedures | |
| EW13 | Grant certain staff permission to re-characterize an application submitted by an applicant without the need to reenter application data. (E.g., re-characterize a teacher application as a substitute teacher application or re-characterize a five-year substitute teacher application to a three-year substitute application) | |
| EW14 | Provide an “at-a-glance” summary of the status of an application in the staff queue, including a listing of any missing or incomplete information that is preventing an application from being processed | |
| EW15 | Allow CDE staff to set application timelines such as application expiration based on application submission dates and/or notification/correspondence dates | YES |
| Data Transfer and Sharing (DT) | |
| ID | The educator licensure system will: |
| DT1 | Use web services to import data in real time from CBI and FBI databases, adhering to all applicable rules and policies, including the following: |
Colorado state OIT (see: http://oit.state.co.us/ois/policies)
CJIS (see: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/cjis-security-policy-resource-center), and
National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council’s Security and Management Control Outsourcing Standard for Non-Channelers
| (see: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/compact-council-security-and-management-control-outsourcing-standard-for-non-channelers.pdf/view) | YES | ||
| DT2 | Use web services to import data in real time from National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) by matching data to existing applicants | YES | |
| DT3 | Use web services to import and export data in real time from CDE payment processor | YES | |
| DT4 | Use web services to share (import or export) data in real time with other internal and external systems, as needed. The internal systems are but not limited to; the data warehouse, RITS, HR collection, and the external systems are but not limited to; SDDS (CBI's secure document delivery system) and NASDTEC Clearinghouse. | YES | |
| DT5 | Allow staff system administrator to configure data transfers (import or export) with internal and external systems using web services | YES |
| Database Administration (DB) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| DB1 | Allow staff system administrator to add, delete, copy, or edit tables, columns, records, and fields (such as credential numbers, applications number, application/credential dates, document dates, entry dates, etc.) | YES |
| DB2 | Allow staff system administrator to import ad hoc data into the system database | YES |
| DB3 | Allow staff system administrator to automate the import and export of new data sets based on changes to statutes or regulatory requirements | YES |
| DB4 | Allow staff system administrators to merge (or transfer) records, such as applicant accounts, credentials, applications or cases | YES |
| Data Migration (DM) | ||
| ID | Vendor will: | |
| DM1 | After analyzing CDE's data tables, records, and fields in the current educator licensing system, provide a transition plan that ensures an efficient and effective migration of existing data tables and columns in the current Microsoft SQL database. Following that transition plan, successfully migrate all data tables, records, and fields from the existing system to the new system, including any digital files associated with an educator account. | YES |
| DM2 | Integrate existing, external digital files from internal networks including but not limited to; documents, images, audio, and video that are associated with educator accounts with the licensing database (currently estimated over 5M files occupying 5TB of disk space) | YES |
| DM3 | Conduct extensive testing with the newly imported data set to ensure that all existing data was imported successfully and is complete and error-free | YES |
| Investigations and Investigations Audits (IN) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| IN1 | Allow staff to record fingerprint-based criminal history information and document investigations of applicants using an integrated case management and report writing tool | YES |
| IN2 | Allow staff system administrator to customize any investigation review process or workflow included in the system to include approval at different permission levels (such as Director and AG) | YES |
| IN3 | Provide case management and report writing tool that allows for an unlimited character or word count using rich text editor | YES |
| IN4 | Allow CDE staff to pull a printable version of the educator file, case file and select attachments | YES |
| IN5 | Allow supervisor or staff system administrator to send electronic work orders to investigators and automatically attach and store work orders with a specific case | YES |
| IN6 | Allow investigators to send electronic work orders to supervisor or staff system administrator and automatically attach and store work orders with a specific case | YES |
| IN7 | Allow staff system administrator to grant staff and other state agencies full or limited access to investigations data, including permissions to edit or print reports, as well as revoke access to data | YES |
| IN8 | Allow a CDE administrator to audit investigator productivity, including the ability to report the total number of cases in an investigator’s queue, as well as the number of specific case types including: ready for action against educator, referred to state board or attorney general’s office, on-hold, or closed cases during a specified timeframe | YES |
| IN9 | Provide an “at-a-glance” summary of cases in the staff queue, including investigator assigned to a case, case status, and a listing of any missing or incomplete information that is preventing a case from being completed | YES |
| IN10 | Allow staff system administrator or supervisor to assign investigation cases to individual staff members manually, with the capability to add or remove staff from the case queue as needed | YES |
| IN11 | Allow staff system administrator or supervisor to assign individual staff members with work orders or tasks that are associated with a specific case | YES |
| IN12 | Automatically capture and report any user-initiated changes and revisions to case files, including date of change, reason for change, and individual making the change | YES |
| IN13 | Prevent an applicant from editing an application, uploading new documentation, or modifying previously uploaded documentation during an investigation unless initiated by staff | YES |
| IN14 | Allow CDE administrator to set permissions to prevent investigators from viewing other investigator case queues | YES |
| IN15 | Ability to search cases by criteria including keyword, investigation type, assigned investigator, or date | YES |
| IN16 | Allow CDE staff to create incidents for individual educators to include charge type, description, dates, location, disclosure type, etc. in a summary grid that could be linked to subsequent educator applications | YES |
| IN17 | Allow staff to require applicants to submit application amendments for self-disclosure specific questions as needed for investigation cases | YES |
| IN18 | System has ability to create and modify templates for investigation cases such as Letter of Inquiry, requests for information, notifications, etc. | YES |
| IN19 | CDE users have capabilities to create and modify templates for investigation cases such as Letter of Inquiry, requests for information, notifications, etc. | YES |
| External Lookups (EL) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| EL1 | Allow for public posting and look up of educator records, including status and associated documents, such as active, expired, revoked, denied, and suspended credentials | YES |
| EL2 | Allow public lookup and roster to sort educators by endorsement, type of license, active status | YES |
| EL3 | Allow role-based access for school districts, educator preparation programs, etc. to view data on educator’s credentials, background information, exam scores, employment/district locations and any additional electronic documents in the system, as made available by staff based on an SSN search | YES |
| Hosting, Storage, Backup, and Security (HS) | ||
| Note: Please see the State of Colorado Information Security Policies and Standards for detailed information regarding the rules and policies that must be met by the Offeror (http://oit.state.co.us/ois/policies). | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system or vendor will: | |
| HS1 | Implement the licensing system as a secure vendor-hosted, preferably cloud-based application | YES |
| HS2 | Provide a system that is highly available, with a minimum service level agreement (SLA) of 99.999% uptime | YES |
| HS3 | Encrypt confidential data at rest and in motion, in live databases, backups, and any third party or cloud environments | YES |
| HS4 | Manage, secure, store and rotate encryption keys | YES |
| HS5 | Provide multifactor authentication for external users | |
| HS6 | Provide for account lockout upon reaching maximum number of login attempts | YES |
| HS7 | Provide for robust threat detection, including behavioral analytics and anomaly detection policies and functionality | YES |
| HS8 | Prevent the creation of fake applicant accounts by bots and similar methods | YES |
| HS9 | Store all licensing data in vendor’s data center following Colorado OIT policy and industry best practices for data security controls | YES |
| HS10 | Back up all licensing data following Colorado OIT policy and industry best practices | YES |
| HS11 | Provide for disaster recovery (DR) following Colorado OIT policy and industry best practices | YES |
| HS12 | Allocate a minimum of approximately five terabytes of storage for the current licensing data | YES |
| HS13 | Project year-by-year storage needs based on number of incoming documents for ten years and provision additional storage as needed | YES |
| HS14 | Limit the display of PII in the application and applicant account information (such as date of birth and social security number) to the last three or four digits or letters, according to State OIT policy and industry best practice | YES |
| HS15 | For users with Investigations permissions, expire password and require a new password that is different from the last 10 passwords every 90 days | YES |
| Licensure Process (LP) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| LP1 | Support an unlimited number of educator license types, endorsements, authorizations, designations, pathways and supporting applications/forms | YES |
| LP2 | Allow staff system administrator to add, edit, or delete educator license types, endorsements, and authorizations without vendor involvement | YES |
| LP3 | Allow educators to apply for various applications such as, but not limited to, add endorsements to current licenses, inactivate and reactivate their license, receive stipends, reactivation, etc. to include application sections, questions, answer options, kickouts, grids, data mapping, answer types such as select lists, checkboxes, radio buttons, file uploads, etc. | YES |
| LP4 | Allow an applicant to create a single online profile under their SSN/ITIN that he or she can use to apply for multiple licenses or endorsements throughout their career | YES |
| LP5 | Allow an applicant to submit applications, documents, and connect to a payment processor to allow payment of licensing fees through an online account (either via vendor's payment processing system or vendor's subcontractor's payment processing system). | YES |
| LP6 | Allow CDE staff ability to edit verbiage on application, login, registration, and profile pages | YES |
| LP7 | Allow staff or an applicant, upon staff request, to upload additional documents associated with an already-submitted application and allow staff to append new documents to the submitted application | YES |
| LP8 | Allow staff system administrator to modify and create online applications to comply with new or updated statutes and rules without the need for development work from the vendor | YES |
| LP9 | Validate application data and prevent applicants from submitting incomplete applications | |
| LP10 | Prevent applicants from starting or submitting multiple applications when an in-progress or unsubmitted application is already associated with their account | YES |
| LP11 | Output a single document, that CDE staff can edit, that includes all of an applicant’s current licenses and endorsements, including date of initial issuance, and a QR code that links to the public lookup | YES |
| LP12 | Allow staff system administrator to customize content, format, and layout of educator credential output (i.e., listing of licenses and endorsements) | YES |
| Payment Processing (PP) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| PP1 | Interface with CORE, a state-approved accounting system | YES |
| PP2 | Meet or exceed requirements and security assessment standards described in the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard | YES |
| PP3 | Send/receive payment authorization data between the system, state-approved payment processor, payment processor (via either vendor's payment processing system or vendor's subcontractor's payment processing system) to flag that application fees have been paid. | YES |
| PP4 | Allow staff to add custom fees to an applicant’s account | YES |
| PP5 | Track and itemize any outstanding fees associated with the applicant’s account | YES |
| PP6 | Carry over any outstanding or unpaid fees and add them to the applicant’s current total invoice | YES |
| PP7 | Prevent applicant from submitting an application if outstanding or unpaid fees are due | YES |
| Educator Preparation and Development (EPD) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| EPD1 | Allow staff administrator to save forms as templates for reuse | YES |
| EPD2 | Provide landing pages for all state approved providers (educator preparation programs, induction programs, ELPD programs, etc.) that allows for management of enrollees and completers, data reporting, and individual plan information. | YES |
| EPD3 | Allow for tracking program status with initial and renewal dates of state approved educator preparation and development programs. | YES |
| EPD4 | Allow system administrators to track program dates, approved content/endorsement areas, and business rules for program assurances or sign-off as needed. | YES |
| EPD5 | Allow approved provider ability to sign off for individual educator approval once educators complete training/program. | YES |
| EPD6 | Allow system administrators to create and manage individual plans and forms for approved programs to access, complete, and submit for department review/approval. | YES |
| EPD7 | Provide workflow for completed forms and actions to interface with licensing application access and approval process. | YES |
| EP08 | Allow system administrators to create various submission forms to be used by educators for content review submissions, grant/financial assistance, and other support forms | YES |
| EP09 | Captures Statement of Assurance from applicants from program applicants as needed by specific application types. | YES |
| EP10 | Provide and maintain written training materials, getting started guides, job aids, how-to guides, online videos, and other support materials developed specifically for educator preparation program personnel who access the system | YES |
| EP11 | Provide and maintain written materials for educator preparation program personnel, describing the new licensing system, including the rationale for the new system, benefits to the program, and relevant timelines | YES |
| Supported File Types and Viewers (FT) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system will: | |
| FT1 | Allow staff system administrator to set accepted file types for upload by applicants and staff (as they may be different) without vendor involvement | YES |
| FT2 | Scan all file uploads for viruses and malware | YES |
| FT3 | Allow CDE staff to upload documents contained within a single file as defined by the user (similar to a file folder directory) |
| Training, Support, and Documentation (TS) | ||
| ID | The educator licensure system or vendor will: | |
| TS1 | Provide and maintain complete and up-to-date documentation regarding system features, functionality, and configuration, including feature definitions, options, and step-by-step instructions describing how to implement changes to the current configuration | YES |
| TS2 | Provide and maintain state staff with initial training on the system, including general use, reporting, database administration and modification, descriptions/definitions of all database tables and fields (including possible field values), application management and modification, and other key topics to be determined during and after system implementation | YES |
| TS3 | Provide and maintain written training materials, getting started guides, job aids, how-to guides, online videos, and other support materials developed specifically for educators with existing accounts and new applicants | |
| TS4 | Provide and maintain written training materials, getting started guides, job aids, how-to guides, online videos, and other support materials developed specifically for district HR personnel who access the system | |
| TS5 | Provide and maintain state staff with written materials for all levels of the organization, describing the new licensing system, including the rationale, benefits to the individual and organization, rollout plans, and timelines | YES |
| TS6 | Provide and maintain written materials for educators with existing accounts, describing the new licensing system, including the rationale for the new system, benefits to the individual, and relevant timelines | |
| TS7 | Provide and maintain written materials for district HR personnel, describing the new licensing system, including the rationale for the new system, benefits to the district, and relevant timelines |
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