Online Education Program

The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) is requesting bids for an online education program to deliver digital curriculum and state-certified virtual teachers to approximately 200 students across DJS facilities, with bids due August 10, 2026, at 12:00 PM under IFB 26-JSEP-EDU-001. Bidders must be approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and registered in good standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation; this is a mandatory eligibility requirement that filters the competitive field to vendors already on the MSDE-approved list with courses aligned to Maryland Content Standards.

The scope includes up to 400 reusable software licenses annually to support the Maryland Virtual Student Learning Opportunity (MVSLO) program serving grades 5–12 with blended learning, live teacher support, credit recovery, and original credit opportunities. The curriculum must align with Maryland State standards, include interactive instructional materials and embedded assessments, and provide comprehensive reporting dashboards. Teachers delivering instruction must be state-certified and content-qualified; JSEP prefers JSEP-certified teachers for instruction and academic support. Integration with PowerSchool is a strong preference. The solution must accommodate a transient student population and avoid per-individual licensing structures; pricing may follow a per-student reusable/refillable model or a site-license structure. The contract term is three years beginning March 1, 2027, through February 28, 2030, with two optional one-year renewal periods.

Performance occurs across eight DJS residential facilities throughout Maryland. The contractor must provide 99.5% system availability under a formal Service Level Agreement with 24/7/365 technical support; disaster recovery with 24-hour Recovery Time Objective and one-hour Recovery Point Objective at a geographically separated site at least 100 miles away; FIPS-validated encryption; daily incremental and weekly full backups; and immediate breach notification (24 hours by phone and email). All State data must remain in the continental United States and never be commingled with non-State data. Required insurance includes $1 million commercial general liability, $1 million professional liability per claim, $5 million cyber security/data breach coverage, and $1 million workers' compensation. An Implementation & Transition Plan is due within 30 calendar days of Notice to Proceed. Award is to the responsive and responsible lowest-price bidder. Questions were due July 20, 2026. Amendment I extended the closing date and clarified that contracts exceeding $200,000 require Electronic Fund Transfer.