Request for Proposal: Substitute Employee Placement Services

Deliver sealed bid by April 13 2:00 P.M.

Attn: Tina Fluehe, Purchasing Director
Provo City School District 280 West 940 North
Provo, Utah 84604

1. Objective

1.1 Services Requested

Provo City School District (District) seeks competitive sealed proposals from qualified Temporary Employment Service Providers(TESP) to act as a third-party administrator (TPA), in accordance with all state and federal laws and District policies to provide Substitute Employee Placement Services (SEPS) on behalf of the District’s Board of Education and its appointed officers and/or committees. This Request for Proposal (RFP) is intended to cover the District’s determination to outsource SEPS to a qualified TPA with the necessary experience and internal infrastructure suitable to meet the needs of the District. See Section I, Paragraph 3 – Scope of Services for more specific detail.

1.2 Employee Position Needs

Substitute employees are typically classroom teachers, but may also include: substitute employees required by the District clerical, instructional assistants, and other.

2. Overview of District

2.1 Schools & Students

The administrative offices of the District are located in Provo, Utah. The District operates 23 schools/programs throughout Utah County, Utah and provides public education services to approximately 13,500 K- 12 grade students. Schools in operation include the following:

13 Elementary Schools
2 Middle Schools
3 Senior High Schools
5 Alternative schools /programs

3. Scope of Services

3.1 Responsibility

The successful TESP/TPA will provide all services, training, resources and personnel necessary to perform the work defined in this RFP. The District will not be responsible for travel/mileage expenses. The successful TESP/TPA shall be a contracted vendor and not an agent or employee of The District. Substitute employees assigned by the TESP/TPA to provide services to the District shall be employees of the TESP/T PA – not District employees. The TESP/TPA shall adhere to all requirements of federal, State of Utah and local laws, rules, regulations, statutes, etc. pertaining to hiring/employment and business operations.

3.2 Major Services Requested

Services prefaced with an asterisk (*) have been designated as Pass/Fail criteria. The TESP/T PA shall:

*Conduct employee background checks in accordance with state and Federal laws
*Recruit, screen and employ substitute employees in compliance with state/federal laws and District standards (i.e., minimum qualifications, dress standards, skill level, etc.).
*Assign consistent support personnel to work with the District to develop and/or manage the system, provide training and ongoing support.
*Place substitute personnel utilizing an automated substitute management system.
*The automated staffing system must track employee absences by type and program. The system must also track the cost-fund code for the substitute employee.
*Provide program training to District staff. Training to be oriented towards the operation and use of the web based application. All training to be conducted at the District’s site.
*Describe the reports available and how you will provide the District with reports and data on substitute utilization or other data requests.
*Describe how you will maintain comprehensive general liability insurance with minimum limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, $3,000,000 general aggregate, against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property with the District named as the additional insured.
*Describe how you will maintain Workers Compensation insurance covering the offeror’s employees while those employees are engaged in performing services under the contract.
*Indemnify and hold the District and its officers, employees and agents harmless from and against any and all liabilities, damages, fines, penalties, demands, forfeitures, claims, suits, causes of action or any other liabilities or losses, including all costs of defense, settlement and prosecution along with attorney, expert and other professional fees, arising out of or related to any negligence, wrongful act or breach of this contract.
*Provide three (3) references including names, addresses and phone numbers where similar systems have been implemented by the offeror comparable with the size and scope of Provo City School District. References must be for systems that are substantially similar to the system currently utilized by the District.
Provide the District with information/documentation regarding compliance with State of Utah requirements.
Provide training to substitutes in position-specific topics prior to placement including Special Education training to meet the needs of the students. (i.e. behavior and other physical needs)
Provide seamless transition/implementation to the successful offeror’s system.
Have a thorough understanding of the types of statutes, policies and procedures school districts must follow.
Provide information pertaining to the TESP/TPA organizational structure, names and credentials of those who will service the District account.
Describe a documented reputation for service.
Describe the process and demonstrate the capacity to invoice the District for services provided.
Provide documented proof that during the course of the contract there will be continuity in the assignment of staff and documented proof that staff assigned will have the appropriate certification/qualifications.
Describe your process to require substitutes to adhere to the District’s policy that prohibits drug/alcohol/tobacco and the use of any other illegal substance or item of any type in District buildings, vehicles or on District grounds.
Be capable of meeting the District’s financial requirements and qualified in providing the services outlined in this document in a cost effective and efficient manner consistent with state and federal laws and regulations.
Explain how Provo City School District users and administrators would be provisioned (created) and given rights to your Application Programming Interface (API).
Explain which browsers are supported by your web based product. (i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, others).
Explain if your product supports SSO (single sign on) with active directory or google.
Describe the service layer that provides integration with other systems.
Explain your licensing model.
Describe your processes and hours of support.
Describe the anticipated response time as concerns or issues arise.
Describe what alerts are available when using product (i.e. Principal or secretary/employee notified when sub position filled).
Explain what apps are available, if any, for smartphones in using the product.
Provide total access to an automated substitute employee staffing system with the capacity to link to District payroll services for auditing and authorization purposes.
Describe your process to restrict a substitute to working only in a secondary or only in an elementary setting.
Describe your process in addressing complaints regarding substitutes as reported by a school or District.
Describe your expectations of employees within your substitute pool (i.e. How often are they required to work? Can they choose to be location specific?)

4. Pass/Fail Criteria

Disposition of Proposals

Proposals not meeting a requirement under this paragraph and any requirement prefaced with an asterisk (*) in paragraph 3 will receive no further consideration. Only proposals meeting the pass/fail criteria will be evaluated.

4.1 Experience and proven track record with large volume clients in placing up to 125+ substitutes per day.
4.2 Documented fill rate no less than 90% per day.
4.3 Ability to verify employment qualifications (i.e., E-verify, background checks).

5. Additional/Alternative Services

5.1 Multiple Offers

The District welcomes any additional related services the offeror wishes to provide. Such services should be clearly identified and the benefits and associated costs described. Alternative services may also be offered for consideration provided they are clearly described and include an explanation of how the alternative services will better meet the District’s needs and objectives. Additional or alternative services that significantly differ from the primary proposal, should be submitted as a separate offer. A separate offer must stand alone on its own merits independent of any other offer submitted and comply with all pass/fail criteria, requirements and documentation as provided in this RFP.

5.2 Right to Negotiate Other Services

The District reserves the right to negotiate to amend any contract(s) awarded as a result of this solicitation to include other related services as deemed to be in the District’s best interests without the need to re-issue a formal Request for Proposal for such services.

6. Period of Agreement

6.1 Contract Term

A contract award shall be effective for a potential three (3) year with a possible extension of an additional of (2) two-year period, beginning approximately July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024, unless terminated early by the breach of either party or by mutual agreement of the parties.

7. Compensation and Payments

7.1 Compensation

Offeror must provide a fixed markup percentage based on the predetermined daily/hourly wage rates specified by the District for the various substitute positions (see Exhibit “B”). The markup percentage(s) offered is/are the offeror’s only means of compensation. The daily/hourly base rates specified by the District are subject to change by the District with little advance warning. Typically, changes affecting the daily/hourly base rates are impacted by changes in:

7.1.1 The local labor market.
7.1.2 The availability of District funding.
7.1.3 The daily/hourly wage rates, or
7.1.4 The educational requirements, etc.

7.2 Price Escalation

The Daily /Hourly Rate Schedule is intended to cover the utilization of substitute personnel, such as: substitute teachers, clerical, or other job titles as may be required by the District. Any proposed fees for services not specifically identified in the scope of services must be listed separately and clearly defined if they are not already included in the markup percentage. A request by the successful offeror for a markup percentage increase to cover business operating expenses only may be considered by the District, but only on an annual basis provided the District is notified in writing at least ninety (90) days prior to each subsequent contract renewal date. The requested increase shall not exceed that published by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the most recent period available.

8. Evaluation Criteria

8.1 General & Sub-Criteria

Only those proposals that meet the Pass/Fail Criteria requirements shall be evaluated using the following criteria. Sub-criteria for each shall be identified by the District and be the means for measuring how well each offeror meets the evaluation criteria:

• 15% Cost

• 20% Systems Support / Responsive Services

• 15% Ability to acquire and maintain a sufficient pool of available substitutes.

• 10%Training Employees

• 40% Fill Rate

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