Summary

This is a Sole Source Justification Form (Bulletin Reference 27-684ICCB-ILCOM-B-52418) submitted by the Illinois Community College Board-684 for the procurement of High School Equivalency Hosting services from Turn-Key Solutions International. The form documents the agency's rationale for awarding a non-competitive contract rather than conducting a competitive bidding process. The procurement is classified as a "New Sole Economically Feasible Source" and involves both State Appropriated Funds and Federal Funds.

The contract covers Illinois High School Equivalency Database Hosting, Improvement, and Maintenance services valued at $312,362 for the initial term, running from June 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, with no renewal options. The scope includes database maintenance and redevelopment, system security, data backups, ingestion of HSE provider data (GED and HiSET), reporting functionality, transcript and diploma printing, user access provisioning, and security enhancements. The justification emphasizes that Turn-Key Solutions International has been the authorized vendor for 25 years, possessing unique knowledge of the system's structure and coding essential for continuity of operations. The agency negotiated pricing with no increase to the Hardware & Usage fee since 2017, though Server & Processes Support costs increased due to enhanced security requirements and software expenses. The financial impact of discontinuing this sole source relationship would exceed one million dollars for developing a custom system, and service disruption would prevent Regional Offices of Education from issuing high school equivalency credentials to test takers.