Summary
The California Department of Education (CDE) will perform an offsite procurement review a minimum of once every eight years for all school food authorities (SFA) that contract with a food service management company (FSMC), residential child care institutions, private schools, and camps. Additionally, the CDE will perform an offsite procurement review a minimum of once every eight years for all public school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education operating without an FSMC contract.
Note: Administrative Reviews (AR) and Local Agency Procurement Reviews (LAPR) are separate reviews that may or may not occur during the same school year.
Step 1: The CDE Notifies the SFA About the Procurement Review
The CDE will notify SFA's by email that they are scheduled to receive an off-site procurement review. The email will include a list of documents the SFA must submit to the CDE, the due date and links to procurement review resources.
Step 2: The SFA Completes the SFA Procurement Table
The SFA will complete the SFA Procurement Table, which is a fillable spreadsheet where the SFA enters the required procurement information. The SFA will complete a Vendor Paid List (VPL) summary of expenditures from the prior school year to assist with completing the table. SFAs that need assistance with filling out the SFA Procurement Table can access the SFA Procurement Table Guide in Child Nutrition Information Payment System (CNIPS), Download Forms, Form ID PRU 01a. For assistance with what should be included on the VPL can access the Vendor Paid List Instructions in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID PRU 02.
Step 3: The SFA Submits Required Documents to CDE
The SFA submits the required documents to CDE by the due date to the Procurement Resources Unit email address at NSDProcurementReview@cde.ca.gov. The SFA will submit the following required documents to CDE:
- SFA Procurement Table PRU 01
- VPL summary of expenditures from the prior school year
- Child Nutrition Program (CNP) Program operator-only cooperative agreement, Inter-agency agreement, Memorandum of Understanding agreement, Piggyback Contract or Group purchasing agreement, if applicable
- Written Code of Conduct*
- Written Procurement Procedures*
*SFAs that need assistance writing the code of conduct and procurement procedure documents can access the Code of Conduct Sample in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID PRU 08a, and the Procurement Procedures Sample in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID PRU 08b.
Step 4: The CDE Selects Procurements for the Review
After reviewing the contracts listed in the SFA Procurement Table, the CDE will decide which of the procurements (that is, which contracts and supporting documents) they will select for a detailed review. The CDE will select contracts based on a list of established priorities.
These priorities include:
- Only one response received to a solicitation
- Group purchasing, buying, or third-party contracts
- Highest-priced contracts, and
- Procurements that exceed the applicable threshold; for example, instances when the small purchase method was used for a $275,000 procurement, which exceeds the $250,000 small purchase threshold.
Step 5: The CDE Requests Additional Documents from the SFA
The CDE will request contract(s) and supporting documents from the SFA based on the procurements selected for review in Step 4. The SFAs will have 10 business days to submit the requested documents.
The CDE developed the LAPR required documentation to assist SFAs with examples of the types of documentation the CDE may request. SFAs can access the LAPR required documentation in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID PRU 03 LAPR Required Doc.
Step 6: The CDE Conducts the Offsite Review
The CDE will review contract(s) and supporting documents submitted by the SFA using the review questions in the USDA Procurement Review Tool. These questions address general procurement (e.g., code of conduct and procurement procedure documents), micropurchases, small purchases, formal procurements, FSMC contracts, and USDA Foods processing contracts.
Step 7: Request for Technical Assistance Documentation (TAD)
The CDE emails the SFA with a report of the review.
- Executive Summary Email – The executive summary is a high-level overview of the Local Agency Procurement Review conducted.
- FSMC Base Year Review Email (if applicable) – This document provides the agency errors that were found in their FSMC contract during the procurement review.
- FSMC Renewal Year Review Email (if applicable) – This document provides the agency errors that were found in their FSMC contract renewal year during the procurement review.
- Technical assistance (TA) review report – These documents are generated by the Local Agency Procurement Review analyst and provide the agency the errors that were found and the TA given during the procurement review.
- Acknowledgement Form – This form is due within 10 business days of receipt.
Step 8: Closing Review Guidance
Once the CDE has received your signed Acknowledgment form, the review is closed.
For questions, email the Procurement Resources Unit at NSDProcurementReview@cde.ca.gov or visit the CDE Procurement in CNP web page.