27TALKT4 | Foundational Skills K-3 Curricular Materials Reviews | RFR

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is requesting proposals for a vendor to provide publicly available reviews of K-3 foundational skills curricular materials to establish DESE's Approved List of K-3 Foundational Skills Materials under Chapter 113 of the Acts of 2026, with responses due October 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time through the COMMBUYS platform. Questions are due October 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM. The Supplier Diversity Program requires all bidders to commit a minimum of 1 percent of contract sales to partnerships with certified diverse businesses, non-profit organizations, or service-disabled veteran-owned enterprises.

The vendor must demonstrate that reviewed materials reflect evidence-based literacy instruction grounded in scientific research and explicitly exclude materials relying on three-cueing or MSV (multisensory) methodology. The scope requires evaluation of foundational skills including print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and decoding, automatic word recognition, and fluency. The vendor must currently publish reviews of curricula commonly used nationwide and in Massachusetts, provide a complete list of reviewed materials with ratings for those meeting quality thresholds, materials that did not meet thresholds, materials planned for review with anticipated timelines, and materials reviewed but not published. The vendor must be established and capable of continuing operations for at least five years and maintain availability for periodic DESE communication to make Massachusetts-specific information available on the vendor's website.

The contract runs from the approval date through June 30, 2027, with up to four renewal options extending through June 30, 2031, each not exceeding 12 months. This procurement is awarded at no cost to DESE; the vendor provides services without compensation. Responses are limited to 10 pages maximum, with links and attachments not counting against the page limit. Evaluation criteria assess organizational viability for five years, review process thoroughness and transparency, focus on evidence-based literacy instruction across all research-based reading areas, structured reporting supporting clear approval designations, and capability to maintain current product lists through timely identification and review of new materials. The contract manager is Katherine Tarca, Associate Commissioner of Curriculum and Standards, and DESE reserves the right to award to a single vendor or multiple vendors.