Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source Contracts

The Department of Education Contracts and Acquisition Management has issued a Special Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source Contracts to approximately 50 State Education Agencies (SEAs). The notice, published on December 5, 2024, involves the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) seeking to establish partnership contracts with state-level education agencies. These sole source contracts are specifically targeted at enabling technical assistance and facilitating participation in Department of Education activities and projects. The contract opportunity falls under the Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities NAICS category and focuses on professional support for program evaluation and development. The notice emphasizes the unique qualifications of State Education Agencies that justify direct, non-competitive contracting.

The primary objective of these contracts is to support the implementation of NAEP state assessments and participation in the national cooperative education statistics system. Eligible contractors are specifically the State Education Agencies that can provide full-time NAEP State Coordinators and have exclusive access to local school districts and student information. Contractors interested in challenging the sole source determination must submit their responses by December 20, 2024, directly to Contract Specialist Alyson Allman at alyson.allman@ed.gov. The notice explicitly states that this is not a request for quotes and that the government will not reimburse any costs associated with responding. The firm-fixed-price contracts will enable NCES to work closely with SEAs, leveraging their unique capabilities to advance educational research, assessment, and statistical initiatives. Potential respondents should carefully review the justification for sole source awards and provide compelling arguments if they believe competitive bidding would be more advantageous.