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Request for Proposal (RFP): Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network

RFP #25-006

Overview

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBEWL) is seeking proposals to operate eight (8) Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN) technical assistance support centers in the State, this includes seven (7) Regional RBERN technical assistance support centers and one (1) Statewide RBERN. The RBERN Network will work collaboratively with OBEWL staff to provide technical assistance and professional development to schools and districts to improve instructional practices and educational outcomes of students who are English Language Learners (ELLs).

Eligible Applicants

Eligible bidders include Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs). Regional RBERN bidders must be located in the RBERN region for which they are bidding. Statewide RBERN bidders may be situated anywhere in New York State (see Attachment A for a list of regions). Each Regional RBERN technical assistance support center will be known as The NYSED (Region) RBERN at (Name of BOCES/IHE). The Statewide RBERN will be known as The NYSED Statewide RBERN at (Name of BOCES/IHE).

Such technical assistance may be in-person or remote, as appropriate. When appropriate, Regional RBERNs may, with OBEWL approval, open satellite offices to serve the needs of larger or significantly dense regions.

Terms of Contract

NYSED will award eight (8) contracts as a result of this RFP. Six (6) of the Regional RBERN contracts will be awarded in the following regions of New York State (see Attachment A): West, Mid-West, Mid-State, Hudson Valley, Capital District, Long Island, and one (1) of the Regional RBERN contracts will be awarded in New York City. NYSED will award one (1) Statewide RBERN contract, which may be located in any region of New York State. Eligible bidders can only bid for one (1) Regional RBERN award but may bid on both a regional award and the Statewide RBERN award but must submit separate proposals. Each contract resulting from this RFP will be for a term anticipated to begin on July 1, 2025, and end on June 30, 2030.

Subcontracting

Subcontracting will be limited to thirty percent (30%) of the total contract budget. NYSED reserves the right to approve all subcontractors. Subcontracting is defined as non-employee direct, personal services and related incidental expenses, including travel.

Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE)

Bidders are required to comply with NYSED’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) participation goals for this RFP through one of three methods. Compliance methods are discussed in detail in the Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Participation Goals section below.

Service Area

Service Area: Regional

Mandatory Requirements

See Mandatory Requirements section of the RFP.

RFP Components

Components contained in RFP #25-006 are as follows:

  1. Description of Services to Be Performed
  2. Submission
  3. Evaluation Criteria and Method of Award
  4. Assurances
  5. Submission Documents (separate document)

Questions

Questions regarding the request must be submitted by email to RBERNRFP25-006@nysed.gov no later than the close of business January 24, 2025. Questions regarding this request should be identified as Program, Fiscal or M/WBE. A Questions and Answers Summary will be posted here no later than February 7, 2025. The following are the designated contacts for this procurement:

Program Matters Fiscal Matters M/WBE Matters

Laura Arpey

Karen Somide

Brian Hackett
RBERNRFP25-006@nysed.gov RBERNRFP25-006@nysed.gov RBERNRFP25-006@nysed.gov

 

Submission Deadline and Instructions

Bidders are requested to submit their bids electronically. The following documents should be submitted by email as detailed in the Submission section of the RFP, and must be received at NYSED no later than February 28, 2025 by 3:00 PM Eastern Time:

  1. Submission Documents labeled [name of bidder] Submission Documents RFP #25-006
  2. Technical Proposal labeled [name of bidder] Technical Proposal RFP #25-006
  3. Cost Proposal labeled [name of bidder] Cost Proposal RFP #25-006
  4. M/WBE Documents labeled [name of bidder] M/WBE Documents RFP #25-006

The email address for all the documentation is cau@nysed.gov.

Instructions for Submitting an Electronic Bid: 

  1. The technical and cost proposal documents should be submitted in Microsoft Office. PDF files that are editable and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) searchable are acceptable. Please do not submit the technical or cost proposal as a scanned PDF. 
  2. Submission documents requiring a signature must be signed using one of the methods listed below and may be submitted as a Microsoft Office, PDF, or JPG document. A scanned PDF is acceptable for these documents.
  3. The following forms of e-signatures are acceptable:

3.1.  handwritten signatures on faxed or scanned documents

3.2  e-signatures that have been authenticated by a third-party digital software, such as DocuSign and Adobe Sign

3.3.  stored copies of the images of signatures that are placed on a document by copying and pasting or otherwise inserting them into the documents. 

  1. Unacceptable forms of e-signatures include:

4.1  a typed name, including a signature created by selecting a script or calligraphy font for the typed name of the person “signing.”

  1. To identify the signer and indicate that the signer understood and intended to agree to the terms of the signed document, the signer will sign beside or provide by email the following attestation: “I agree, and it is my intent, to sign this document by [describe the signature solution used] and by electronically submitting this document to [name of recipient individual or entity]. I understand that my signing and submitting this document is the legal equivalent of having placed my handwritten signature on the submitted document and this attestation. I understand and agree that by electronically signing and submitting this document I am affirming to the truth of the information contained therein.”
     
  2. In order to ensure the timely receipt of your bid, please use the subject line “BID SUBMISSION RFP 25-006” – failure to appropriately label your bid or submitting a bid to any email address other than the one identified above may result in the bid not being received by the deadline or considered for award.
     
  3. Bids must be received by 3:00 pm Eastern Time on the due date.

 

RFP Documents