I-SEAL 2027 Indiana Special Education Alt LicenseBid Documents

The Indiana Department of Education and Workforce Development (on behalf of the State of Indiana) is requesting proposals to manage the I-SEAL 2027 Indiana Special Education Alternative License program, with proposals due August 3, 2026, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time and a pre-proposal conference on June 24, 2026.

Diversity subcontracting goals are 8% Minority Business Enterprise, 11% Women Business Enterprise, and 3% Indiana Veteran Owned Small Business participation, with respondents meeting or exceeding these goals receiving evaluation points and potential bonus points. The vendor must manage Education Partnerships Programs (EPPs) serving approximately 400 participating educators annually across 42 programs, coordinate tuition scholarship disbursements directly to higher education institutions, and meet monthly with the Indiana Department of Education Office of Special Education to report enrollment, program participation, and contract balance data. The scope encompasses program management, communication and engagement, fiscal management including transaction processing and reporting, and technology services including applicant portal maintenance compliant with FERPA and state technology standards. Vendors must address artificial intelligence utilization in both proposed solutions and development processes, confirm conformance with Indiana's Assistive Technology Standard and state architectural standards, provide incident response documentation, and disclose all AI technologies employed in proposal preparation.

The contract term is three years (2027–2030) with an optional one-year renewal. Annual funds of $3,750,000 are budgeted for direct disbursement to EPPs; vendor pricing must cover all service delivery costs and must not include funds flowing directly to education partners. The evaluation structure applies pass-fail gatekeeping to mandatory requirements, then scores Management Assessment/Quality (50 points) and Cost (30 points) for short-listing, followed by full-point evaluation including Buy Indiana (5 points), MBE (5 points plus 1 bonus), WBE (5 points plus 1 bonus), and IVOSB (5 points plus 1 bonus) for a total of 100 points with up to 3 bonus points available. Written questions are due June 25, 2026, at 3:00 PM; responses will be posted by July 6, 2026. Reference checks must be submitted by August 3, 2026, at 3:00 PM to idoareferences@idoa.in.gov. Oral presentations are targeted for the week of September 14, 2026, with Best and Final Offers the week of September 21, 2026, and Award Recommendation in September 2026. Pricing must remain firm for a minimum of 180 days from award issuance.