# SAM #HE125427SIRFI

DoWEA market research for an SI-enabled education solution and licenses for grades 3–8

**Buyer:** DOD Education Activity
**Posted:** October 29, 2026
**Respond By:** November 03, 2026
**Identifier:** HE125427SIRFI
**NAICS:** 513210, 611710, 541720, 511210, 541511, 541512

DoWEA is conducting market research for an enterprise SI-enabled education solution for grades 3–8, serving students and educators across its schools.
- **Government buyer:** Department of War (DoW), Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA), within the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).
- **Opportunity:** Sources Sought market research for a configurable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution; no specific solution OEM or vendor is named.
- **Scale and licensing:** Approximately 30,200 student licenses and 6,000 teacher licenses. The ROM workbook requests pricing for a base year, four option years, and a six-month extension; prices are blank.
- **Solution scope:** Student tutoring and learning support; teacher instructional, assessment, planning, and oversight tools; family and community engagement; implementation, maintenance, and technical support; professional learning; and efficacy evaluation with continuous improvement.
- **Named systems for integration:** Schoology (LMS), Aspen (SIS), and ClassLink (single sign-on). These are identified as integration systems, not as OEMs for the requested solution.
- **Training and related services:** 16 initial one-hour webinars across the Americas, Europe, Pacific, and headquarters; at least one hour of teacher learning quarterly; at least one hour of annual learning for headquarters and region/district staff; and support for up to two DoWEA-sponsored conferences annually.
- **Notable requirements:** Curriculum and standards alignment; age-appropriate safeguards against harmful content and answer generation; teacher control of student access and approval of grade or feedback releases; multilingual support; and WCAG 2.2 Level AA and Section 508 accessibility.
- **Privacy and security:** FedRAMP Level 2 equivalency; FERPA, COPPA, applicable NIST standards, and DoWEA AI 6600.01 compliance; U.S.-based database hosting; TLS and AES-256 encryption; and U.S. citizenship or person status for personnel who may access protected information.
- **Evaluation and support:** Measure learning indicators, engagement, teacher time use, and satisfaction; provide de-identified data for independent evaluation and semiannual improvement reports. Acknowledge support requests within 15 minutes, resolve 90% within one business day and the remainder within five business days, and provide a resolution plan for issues not resolved within one business day.
- **Vendor participation:** DoWEA is especially interested in small businesses, including 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB concerns. Vendors are asked for a capability statement of no more than 10 pages and a non-binding rough-order-of-magnitude estimate.
- **Attachments:** The latest notice includes a draft Performance Work Statement, ROM pricing workbook, and Technical Acceptability Checklist. No specific contract duration beyond the pricing periods is established.

### Description

<p><u><strong>1.Disclaimer&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<p>The Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA) issuing this Sources Sought in accordance&nbsp;with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 to conduct market research. This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This is <strong>not </strong>a solicitation or Request for Proposal (RFP). This notice does not commit the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract. The Government will not pay for any information submitted in response to this notice.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The purpose of this notice is to determine the availability and capability of qualified small business concerns to provide a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Super Intelligence (SI)-enabled educational support solution supporting DoWEA operations in Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) locations.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Please note that vendors are required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at the time an offer/quotation/proposal is due to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements.&nbsp;</strong> Therefore, only businesses with an active SAM registration will be eligible to receive any resultant contract(s) with the Department of War Education Activity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><u><strong>2.Background&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<p>DoWEA requires an enterprise-scale, COTS Super Intelligence (SI)-enabled educational support solution for grades 3-8&mdash;covering approximately 30,200 students and 6,000 educators&mdash;to measurably improve student learning outcomes and engagement while significantly reducing teacher preparation and administrative workloads.&nbsp;</p>

<p><u><strong>3. Scope (Draft)&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<p>The contractor shall provide a highly configurable, standards-aligned SI educational support solution across the following core functional areas:&nbsp;</p>

<p><u><strong>Task 1: Student-Facing SI Learning Assistant (Student Assistant)&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Pedagogical Design: Evidence-based SI tutoring utilizing scaffolded learning supports to guide students toward answers without direct generation of solutions.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Feedback: Adaptive, real-time feedback dynamically linked to individual student mastery criteria.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Overreliance Safeguards: Configurable session limits and system guardrails preventing wholesale answer generation for graded assignments.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Standards Alignment: Real-time, dynamic alignment with DoWEA&#39;s Curriculum Standards.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Safety &amp; Persona Rules: Enforced age-appropriate content controls. The system shall not adopt names, conversational personas, romantic/companion behaviors, or humanlike characteristics.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Accessibility: Full compliance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA and Section 508.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Access Control: Teacher-gated/assignment-gated usage control modes.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><u>Task 2: Teacher-Facing SI Instructional Assistant (Teacher Assistant)&nbsp;</u></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Approval-Gated Feedback: Grade and score releases are strictly restricted to manual, explicit teacher verification (digital signature, click, or toggle).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Oversight Dashboard: Real-time visibility (&le; 5s latency) of student usage patterns, misconceptions, overreliance flags, and student safety alerts.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Instructional &amp; Assessment Drafts: Dynamic generation of editable standards-aligned lesson plans, rubrics, quizzes, and parent newsletters.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Content Library &amp; Uploads: Curated repositories of prompt templates alongside frictionless, active-tab upload functionality.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Interactive Student View: Built-in simulation toggle allowing teachers to model the interface to students.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><u><strong>Task 3: Student, Parent, and Community Engagement Features&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Plain-language transparency notices detailing system strengths, limitations, and the role of human oversight.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Staff- and family-facing privacy protection guides addressing student data storage and explicit prohibitions on the commercial use of student data.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Orientation resources customized for digital citizenship, ethical use, and responsible learning support at home.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><strong><u>Task 4: Professional Learning (PL)&nbsp;</u></strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Delivery of regional role-based training (including four 1-hour synchronous webinars across Americas, Europe, and Pacific within the first 90 days).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Train-the-trainer self-directed and facilitator-led micro-learning libraries (slides, handouts, guides).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Virtual conference support for up to two annual DoWEA-sponsored conferences.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><u><strong>Task 5: Efficacy Evaluation and Continuous Improvement&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Periodic measurements of student learning indicators, engagement, and teacher time savings.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p>Collaboration with independent evaluators, including secure delivery of fully de-identified data extracts.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Submission of Semiannual Improvement Reports (due every January and July).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>4. System Integration &amp; Compliance Constraints&nbsp;</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Security &amp; Cloud Vetting: Solution must satisfy FedRAMP Level 2 standard equivalency.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Data &amp; SSO Integrations: Seamless interoperability with Schoology (LMS), Aspen (SIS), and Single Sign-On via ClassLink using industry standards (OAuth 2.0, SAML, LTI, OneRoster, and RESTful APIs).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Strict Security &amp; Privacy Policies: Full compliance with FERPA, COPPA, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-122, and DoWEA AI 6600.01.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Personnel Citizenship: 100% of personnel (including third-party PEN and security testers) with access or potential access to DoWEA PII or CUI must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Persons.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Encryption Standards: All data secured with TLS encryption in transit and AES-256 at rest. Secure database hosting strictly in United States data centers.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>5. Potential NAICS Code&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>The Government is considering the following NAICS codes:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>513210 &ndash; Software Publishers (formerly 511210)&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>6. Contract Characteristics (Estimated)&nbsp;</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Enterprise-Scale Solution: Globally dispersed user base.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Strict Performance Metrics: High-stakes AQLs (e.g., zero unauthorized grading/feedback releases, zero guardrail bypasses).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Potential Contract Type: TBD (e.g., FFP, hybrid, or task order) evaluated under Best Value Trade-Off factors (Technical, Past Performance, Price).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>7. Small Business Participation&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>The Government is particularly interested in responses from:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Small Business concerns&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>8(a) Small Business&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>HUBZone Small Business&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><u><strong>8. Requested Information&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<p>Interested vendors should submit a capability statement (maximum 10 pages) addressing the following:&nbsp;</p>

<ol>
	<li>
	<p>Company Information: Company name, address, UEI number, CAGE code, and socioeconomic size status.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p>Relevant Experience: Experience deploying enterprise educational or SI software, supporting K-12 school systems, or collaborating with federal agencies (DoWEA).&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p>Technical Capabilities: System functionality overview, integration capability, and hosting/cybersecurity compliance.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p>Staffing and Security: Personnel vetting approach, liaison qualifications, and global time-zone support capabilities.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p>Contract Vehicles: Existing GWACs, GSA schedules, or other IDIQs.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
</ol>

<p><u><strong>9.Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<p>Please submit a non-binding ROM cost estimate based on the draft scope. This estimate is for planning purposes only and will not be considered a formal quote. Please see the RFI-Sources Sought Notice for more details.&nbsp;</p>

<p><u><strong>10.Submission Instructions&nbsp;</strong></u></p>

<p>Submissions and inquiries pertaining to this RFI must be sent electronically to <strong>Jiabao.Peng@dodea.edu&nbsp; and Karin.Werner@dodea.edu</strong> no later than 11:00AM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 03 November 2026. Vendor&rsquo;s email message shall state &ldquo;<strong>HE125427SI</strong>&rdquo; in the subject line. Telephone calls regarding this RFI will not be accepted.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

[View original listing](https://sam.gov/opp/8bce91b388244287ae09b1ec69ae6063/view)