Massachusetts COMMBUYS #BD-27-1026-DOE02-DOE01-135338

K–3 curriculum development, licensing, and professional learning

Massachusetts is seeking vendors to develop and support a free, accessible K–3 curriculum for public school educators. - Government buyer: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Teaching and Learning Unit. - Scopes of work: Vendors may bid on either or both scopes: - Scope A — Reading Foundational Skills: License and adapt an existing K–3 curriculum, provide digital access and hosting coordination, and deliver curriculum-based professional learning. - Scope B — Connected Learning: Customize existing materials and develop curriculum integrating ELA/literacy, science, and social studies, including unit design, digital publishing, professional learning, and maintenance. - Curriculum expectations: Cover kindergarten through grade 3, with 4–10 units per grade and approximately 140–160 instructional days across the curriculum. Align to Massachusetts frameworks and evidence-based literacy practices; Scope B must also address state science and social studies standards. - Professional learning reach: Targets vary by scope and fiscal year, including cohorts of up to 2,000 educators and 350 leaders for Scope A, and up to 1,200 educators and 225 leaders for Scope B. Performance measures also reference participation of at least 750 educators and 150 school and district leaders. - Notable requirements: Materials and digital platforms must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility or better. Work includes Massachusetts-specific branding and hosting, platform migration, educator field testing, curriculum revisions, and coordination between vendors if separate firms are selected. Curriculum access for Massachusetts public school educators must be free. - Licensing and ownership: Scope A requires a 10-year, non-exclusive, irrevocable license. Scope B requires a no-cost, non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual license for vendor materials used in the curriculum; DESE owns newly developed deliverables. The intellectual-property agreement also addresses pre-existing vendor property, third-party rights, confidentiality, and assignment of project developments. - Performance period and funding: The initial period is followed by nine optional annual renewals, with work planned across FY2027–FY2036. The initial maximum obligation is $3 million; funding for later years is undetermined. This is not identified as an annual subscription. - OEMs and vendors: No curriculum OEM, publisher, reseller, or other vendor is named in the procurement materials. No commercial product part numbers or fixed product quantities are specified.

Description

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education seeks one or two vendors to develop curriculum and provide professional learning for a free K-3 curriculum for Massachusetts educators. The two scopes are Reading Foundational Skills (Scope A) and Connected Learning: ELA, Science, and Social Studies (Scope B); bidders may respond to one or both scopes. The procurement includes adapting existing curriculum materials, with Scope B also involving customization and development of additional components. The bid deadline is December 21, 2026, at 12:00 PM.

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