Consortium Membership and Assessment Licensing

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoWEA) intends to award a sole-source, Firm-Fixed-Price Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (FFP IDIQ) contract to the Regents of the University of California, acting as the fiscal and operational agent for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), for consortium membership and assessment licensing services. This action is justified under 10 U.S.C. § 3204(a) and FAR 6.103(a), as SBAC is the only entity capable of providing proprietary, computer-adaptive assessments in English language arts/literacy and mathematics for grades 3–7, along with the associated psychometric framework, secure item banks, instructional tools, and governance participation rights required by DoWEA. No other vendor possesses the legal authority or technical capability to deliver equivalent services without causing unacceptable delays or incurring substantial duplication of costs. The contract, with a total estimated value of $1,188,945 over five years including four one-year option periods, will provide ongoing access to summative and interim assessments, the Tools for Teachers platform, accessibility frameworks, technical architecture packages in IMS Global/IEdTech format, and active voting representation in consortium governance. The base period is funded with $237,789 in FY26 funds. Contract performance is defined by detailed requirements outlined in the Performance Work Statement, including compliance with the SBAC Memorandum of Understanding, delivery of license keys and electronic downloads, and adherence to federal cybersecurity standards, Section 508 accessibility rules, and Privacy Act protections for personally identifiable information (PII). Contractor staff must complete annual DoD Privacy Act/PII training, and written verification of compliance must be submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative 120 days prior to each option year renewal. Technical support must be available within one business day, and post-award coordination includes a video teleconference five business days after award, annual Technical Advisory Committee meetings, and submission of meeting minutes within two business days. The contractor must ensure all digital content is compatible with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, SCORM-compliant where applicable, and capable of producing OCR-formatted materials upon request. Organizational conflicts of interest must be immediately disclosed in writing to the Contracting Officer, and the Government retains the right to unilaterally update the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan during contract performance. The solicitation was posted on June 29, 2026, with responses due by July