Legal Services - Educational Advocacy

The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is seeking qualified attorneys through a Request for Response (RFR) to provide legal services for educational advocacy on behalf of parents, foster parents, guardians, and other education decision makers of transition-aged individuals (ages 18-22) supported by DDS. The services will involve representing these stakeholders in disputes with local school districts regarding residential special educational placements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71B, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Qualified applicants must possess a minimum of five years' experience litigating special education cases at the elementary and secondary level and must submit a persuasive legal memorandum, at least one Board of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) hearing decision, citations to no more than five prior decisions, a current resume, a certificate of good standing from the Board of Bar Overseers, and proof of current malpractice insurance. The RFR is a rolling enrollment procurement with an initial proposal deadline of March 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST for a July 1, 2026 contract start date, followed by rolling acceptance of proposals through December 31, 2030, with quarterly review and scoring by a Procurement Management Team composed of DDS Legal staff. Questions from interested bidders must be submitted by January 29, 2026. The anticipated contract duration is five years through June 30, 2031, with evaluation criteria focusing on best value determination. Multiple contractors will be selected and placed on a Master Agreement List with no guarantee of specific funding levels.

The procurement is available for use by both the Department of Developmental Services and the Department of Children and Families. Massachusetts Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) participants that meet best value evaluation criteria will receive mandatory award preference; only non-SBPP bidders will be evaluated if no SBPP participant meets the best value threshold. To qualify for SBPP status, entities must have their principal place of business in Massachusetts, have been in operation for at least one year, employ 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (or fewer than 26,000 hours combined per quarter), and demonstrate gross revenues of $15 million or less based on a three-year average. All awarded bidders must maintain active MMARS vendor registration, obtain CORI clearance, pass national criminal background checks, comply with privacy and security requirements, and cannot have prior debarment or suspension. Services are provided at a fixed hourly rate of $200.00 per hour with no rate negotiation permitted, with payment made quarterly based on actual time spent rounded to the nearest tenth hour, plus reimbursement for reasonable case-related costs such as postage, copying, and filing fees, excluding travel expenses unless pre-approved by DDS. The estimated total procurement value is $200,000 ($40,000 annually) over the five-year contract period.