Evaluation of Differentiated Assistance Q & As

The original proposal packet must be received by the California Department of Education (CDE) by 4 p.m. on Friday, November 12, 2021. Additionally, an electronic copy of the proposal packet must be submitted to the CDE at CASystemofSupport@cde.ca.gov also by 4 p.m. on Friday, November 12, 2021.

No. Postmark will not be accepted

No. Due to COVID restrictions, in-person delivery of applications to the CDE is not currently allowed.

All questions and correspondence should be submitted by email through the System of Support Helpdesk at CASystemofSupport@cde.ca.gov using “Solicitation of Proposals” in the subject line.

No. The original printed hard copy application must contain a “wet” signature, using blue ink.

No. Due to the statutory requirement of a January 1, 2022, start date for a contract, no extensions can be considered.

Correct. The CDE will be closed in observance of the Veteran's Day holiday and will not be receiving courier service. The CDE will be open and receiving mail and packages the day before on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, and again on Friday, November 12, 2021, during regular business hours.

The original proposal packet must be received by the California Department of Education (CDE) by 4 p.m. on Friday, November 12, 2021. Additionally, an electronic copy of the proposal packet must be submitted to the CDE at CASystemofSupport@cde.ca.gov also by 4 p.m. on Friday, November 12, 2021.

Yes, an informational webinar will be posted. For information and link to the webinar, see the California Department of Education Request for Proposals web page.

After proposals are processed and screened (November 12–15, 2021), the proposal will be reviewed and scored between November 15–18, 2021.

All applicants with proposals with a passing score need to be available for an interview on November 19, 2021.

The Intent to Award will be posted on the California Department of Education website the week of November 22, 2021.

January 1, 2022, is the contract start date with an end date of June 30, 2023.

This Solicitation of Proposals is for a contract to conduct an independent evaluation of the technical assistance pursuant to Sections 47607.3, 52071, and 52071.5 of the California Education Code provided to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). This technical assistance is commonly referred to as Differentiated Assistance or Level 2 support, which is provided to LEAs that have been identified for individually designed assistance to address performance issues, including significant disparities in performance among student groups based on the California School Dashboard. Differentiated Assistance is focused on building the capacity of LEAs to develop and implement actions and services responsive to student and community needs.

Differentiated Assistance is a key area of support for California’s public school accountability system. Differentiated Assistance is designed to reinforce the expectation that everyone can improve while also ensuring additional support is provided to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that are struggling. It also includes an intentional focus on providing assistance in a manner that builds the capacity of the LEA to receive assistance.

Differentiated Assistance, referred to as technical assistance in the Education Code, is intended to be targeted and customized assistance to LEAs that is consistent with the intent under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) by providing the following:

• Support providers work alongside LEAs and their schools to identify key challenges and opportunities;
• A systemic approach tailored to locally identified needs and strengths; and
• Engaging with local educators and communities as part of decision making.

For more information about Differentiated Assistance (DA) criteria, see LEA Criteria for DA

Section 127 of the Education Omnibus Budget Trailer Bill (Assembly Bill 130, Chapter 44 of the Statues of 2021)) and Section 37 of Assembly Bill 167 (Chapter 252 of the Statues of 2021), signed by the Governor on July 9, 2021, and September 23, 2021, respectfully, provide $400,000 for the California Department of Education for the purposes of a contract for an independent evaluation of Differentiated Assistance. The contract will not exceed this amount.

The proposed term of the contract to be awarded under this Solicitation of Proposals is from January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. The term covers a period over two fiscal years and a total of 18 months. The fiscal years defined in this Solicitation of Proposals are as follows:

• 2021–22: January 1, 2022–June 30, 2022
• 2022–23: July 1, 2022–June 30, 2023

The evaluation conducted shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of the state’s current accountability structures for Differentiated Assistance based on implementation beginning in the 2017–2018 school year, and recommendations regarding improvements in all of the following areas:

1. Delivering support to address needs identified by the Dashboard and other relevant federal, state, and locally collected data.
   
   
2. Improving pupil outcomes, including those measured by state and federal accountability systems.
   
   
3. Improving the linkages between the Dashboard, technical assistance and intervention, and local control and accountability plans.
   
   
4. Aligning state and federal accountability, compliance, and support systems.
   
   
5. Identifying strategies and challenges for funding and supports in the current model and any recommended models.

The evaluation shall include input from a diverse group of stakeholders, including, but not limited to, county, school district, and charter school administrators, school board members, members of governing bodies of charter schools, teachers, non-certificated staff, and parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in public schools.

On or before January 15, 2023, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall provide the evaluation report to the chairs of the relevant policy committees and budget subcommittees of the Legislature, the executive director of the State Board of Education, or their designee, and the Director of Finance.

Per Assembly Bill 130, Section 127, and Section IV. Funding and Scope of the Project, the evaluation conducted shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of the state’s current accountability structures for Differentiated Assistance based on implementation beginning in the 2017–2018 school year, and recommendations regarding improvements in all of the following areas:

1. Delivering support to address needs identified by the Dashboard and other relevant federal, state, and locally collected data.
   
   
2. Improving pupil outcomes, including those measured by state and federal accountability systems.
   
   
3. Improving the linkages between the Dashboard, technical assistance and intervention, and local control and accountability plans.
   
   
4. Aligning state and federal accountability, compliance, and support systems.
   
   
5. Identifying strategies and challenges for funding and supports in the current model and any recommended models.

Applicants submitting proposals must have a minimum of four years of recent (within the last 7 years) full-time experience in conducting evaluation studies within the K–12 education setting. In addition to the minimum experience requirement mentioned above, any potential contractor must be in good standing with the State of California in order to submit a proposal for the purposes of this Solicitation of Proposals.

Proposals need to provide a complete response to the elements listed in Section IX. Proposal Requirements, which include:

• Description of Organization and Experience
• Proposed Project Workplan
• Proposes Budget and Costs
• Conflict of Interest
• References

Additionally, each item listed in Attachment I – Required Proposal Checklist needs to be submitted as part of the application.

Yes, per Errata, Section IX. Proposal Requirements, paragraph 1, sentence 3 is edited to read: Proposals must use Arial point 12 font and should not exceed 15 pages excluding any resumes/curriculum vitae of identified personnel.

The Solicitation of Proposals does not specify the number of references that are required to be listed per Section IX. Proposal Requirements, subsection E. References. However, it should include organizations on the list for whom the applicant has performed similar services.

Yes, the page limit per Section IX. Proposal Requirements only excludes any resumes/curriculum vitae of identified personnel.

As this is a scored component of the application (Proposal Element A. Description of Organization and Experience), how senior members are mentioned and incorporated into the proposal is at the discretion of the applicant.

The types of data provided by the CDE will be determined with the awarded contractor at the time of the contract development process.

Yes, tables and figures are included in the page limit. Per Section IX. Proposal Requirements only exclude any resumes/curriculum vitae of identified personnel.

No, we will only accept "wet" signatures in blue ink for Attachment 1 - Required Proposal Checklist and Attachment 2 - Application Cover Page.

Yes, that is the correct mailing address.

Each proposal will be read and scored by at least two reviewers. Only proposals receiving a Sufficient, Comprehensive, and Outstanding quality designation by two readers will be asked to participate in an interview to be scheduled for November 19, 2021. Note: All applicants need to be available for an interview on this date. If during the review and scoring process two readers do not calibrate on the quality of the proposal, a third reader will be asked to read and score the application to determine the final quality score.

See Section VI. Proposal Review and Evaluation and Attachment 3 – Scoring Rubric for details on ratings and scoring criteria.