Real-Time Live Captioning

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is requesting quotes for real-time live captioning services for meetings, training sessions, conferences, and professional learning events, with sealed bids due June 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM through eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA). Questions are due June 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM.

MSDE encourages responses from small, minority, and veteran-owned businesses. Mandatory qualifications include five years of relevant experience and current certification as a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR), Certified CART Provider (CCP), or Certified Broadcast Captioner (CBC). Preferred qualifications include state government experience, conference and professional learning event captioning experience, and proficiency with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meets, and WebEx.

Services are remote captioning only. Captions must meet a minimum 99% accuracy rate and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Federal Communications Commission requirements, the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA. Post-event deliverables—including cleaned-up captions, detailed transcripts, accessible PDF transcripts, and .SRT or .VTT files—are provided at no additional cost. Vendors must log in 5–10 minutes before each event and are compensated for check-in time (15 minutes minimum). Events range from 30 minutes to multiple days; historical data indicates over 30 events in the past 18 months, typically lasting 1–3 hours.

The contract term runs July 10, 2026 through June 30, 2027, with an estimated 130 hours (7,800 minutes) of work. The total contract value may not exceed $50,000. Award goes to the responsive and responsible bidder submitting the lowest price after meeting all mandatory requirements. Billing is monthly on a net 30 schedule, with one invoice per event. All work must be completed within the United States. Maryland Business Express registration is required before contract award; vendors may submit bids while registration is in progress. Addendum 1 providing Q&A clarifications was posted June 26, 2026.