KETS Network Products and Services Rebid

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Education, is soliciting proposals to establish up to five Master Agreements for Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS) Network Products and Services serving approximately 175 sites across Kentucky's public school districts, Area Technology Centers, the Kentucky School for the Blind, and the Kentucky School for the Deaf, with proposals due September 28, 2026 at 3:30 PM ET.

Original equipment manufacturers must bid directly — no bids through resellers are permitted. Each OEM may designate up to three authorized resellers or agents post-award, subject to KDE approval. Kentucky resident bidder preferences and preferences for qualified bidders or Department of Corrections vendors apply under KRS 45A.490, 45A.492, and 45A.494.

The scope encompasses enterprise-level network hardware (switches, routers, wireless access points, firewalls, SD-WAN hardware with MIB functionality, cables, and accessories), software licenses and management tools, installation and configuration services, on-site training, and hardware and software maintenance and support. All proposed user-facing interfaces and dashboards must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and WCAG 2.0 at Double-A conformance level or greater. Equipment deliveries must occur within thirty calendar days of purchase order receipt. All warranty coverage must include one year of Primary Service Coverage Timeframe (PSCT) maintenance with four-hour response time and next-business-day onsite resolution; optional extended coverage up to 24/7 is available. Vendors must comply with E-Rate program requirements, NIST 800-53 moderate-level controls, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and state data breach notification procedures within 72 hours.

The contract is effective upon award through September 30, 2029, with four optional two-year renewal periods. It is designed as an E-Rate-eligible purchasing vehicle for purchases beginning July 1, 2027. Technical proposals are evaluated on a maximum 1,000 points; cost proposals on a maximum 1,625 points (1,300 for E-Rate eligible, 325 for non-E-Rate eligible); oral demonstrations for the top five vendors on up to 1,000 points. Proposals scoring below 50 percent of maximum technical points will not advance to cost evaluation. Questions were due September 2 at 9:00 AM ET; a vendor conference was held September 3, 2026 via MS Teams.