BPS Language Proficiency Testing

Boston Public Schools is requesting bids for computer-based and online language proficiency assessments covering Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, German, Italian, American Sign Language, Latin, and diverse home languages (Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Somali, Cantonese, Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Pashto), with bids due October 27, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time and questions due October 16, 2026. The procurement is subject to the City of Boston's Living Wage Ordinance; vendors with 25 or more full-time equivalent employees company-wide are Covered Vendors and must pay a minimum living wage of $19.36 per hour for all covered employees, with quarterly reporting and First Source Hiring Agreement compliance required.

The assessments must measure proficiency across speaking, listening, reading, and writing domains where available and support three district purposes: Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy eligibility, World Language course credit conferral, and placement in World Language and dual language courses for grades 7–12. Elementary options (K–6) must also be available. BPS estimates testing volumes of approximately 3,300 to 3,550 tests annually for grades 9–12. The vendor must provide package pricing that includes all languages and specified retakes without separate scoring fees, and must clearly identify any language-specific pricing differences. The platform must support Google Workspace SSO, role-based access controls, district and school-level data administration, and export in standard formats such as CSV or XLSX.

The contract runs from November 2026 through August 31, 2029 (three years) with no renewal options. Award will be based on the lowest responsive and responsible bid. The vendor must obtain Technology, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Accessibility, and Implementation approval from BPS prior to production deployment and comply with all federal, state, and local privacy laws. Required insurance includes Commercial General Liability ($1 million per occurrence), Technology Errors & Omissions/Cyber Liability ($1 million), and Professional Liability ($2 million). Vendors must also comply with Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) policy standards, wage theft prevention certification, and the City of Boston Standard Contract General Conditions. The City reserves the right to terminate for cause or convenience with seven days' notice.