Large Type Materials for the Visually Impaired
November 20, 2009
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item proposes acceptance of proposals for production of large type versions of textbooks to be adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) in November 2009. At the November 2009 meeting, the board will award a production contract based on the recommendations of a review panel of Texas teachers of the visually impaired.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.028.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: At the July 2009 meeting, the board approved the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for production of large type versions of textbooks that are to be adopted by the board in November 2009.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The TEC, §31.028, authorizes the board to purchase special textbooks for the education of public school students who are blind or visually impaired. For a teacher who is blind or visually impaired, the board must provide a teacher’s edition in Braille or large type upon request. The teacher’s editions must be available at the same time the student edition textbooks become available.
The Instructional Materials and Educational Technology Division sent an RFP announcement to 180 vendors listed on the Building and Procurement Commission’s Centralized Master Bidders List as well as to seven large type textbook producers nationwide (Attachment I). An announcement was also placed on the Electronic State Business Daily website to inform other potential bidders of the RFP. Proposals were due on or before September 2, 2009, and were received from four companies.
Bidders were asked to reproduce specific pages of Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 7 Texas Edition (Pearson Education, copyright 2011).
A panel of teachers of the visually impaired (Attachment II) met in Austin on September 17, 2009, and reviewed the proposals and large type textbook samples that were submitted by the proposers.
Using the selection criteria shown in the RFP, the review panel rated the proposals and samples on a scale of 100 points. HOV Services received the highest score of 94.5. DocuData Solutions received a score of 93.25. Large Print Media received a score of 86.75 and Braille Jymico received a score of 81. A summary of the review panel’s evaluation is shown on Attachment III.
A summary of proposers’ bid prices is shown on Attachment IV. HOV Services’ total score (94.50) was 1.25 points greater than the score of their nearest competitor, DocuData, with a score of 93.25 and the score for HOV Services’ large type sample (69.75) was a full 3.5 points greater than the score for DocuData’s large type sample (66.25). Even though HOV Services’ bid price ($499,790.44) is $112,267.39 more than DocuData’s bid price ($387,523.05), the improved quality of the large type textbooks that students would receive from HOV Services is deemed by staff to outweigh the additional cost of $112,267.39 to the state. Agency staff recommends that the contract be awarded to HOV Services.
FISCAL IMPACT: For school year 2010-2011, the cost of acquiring large type textbooks for public school students and teachers with visual impairments is estimated not to exceed $1,000,000. This amount includes the cost of purchasing large type versions of newly adopted and previously adopted textbooks.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Acceptance of proposals for enlargement of newly adopted textbooks at this time will ensure that large type textbooks are available to students and teachers in the public schools.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
COMMISSIONER'S RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the State Board of Education:
Accept the proposal submitted by HOV Services and authorize the commissioner of education to conclude the necessary contract.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education
Staff Members Responsible: Anita Givens, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs
Norma Torres-Martinez, Deputy Associate Commissioner
Standards and Alignment
John Lopez, Managing Director
Instructional Materials and Educational Technology
Charles Mayo, Manager, Distribution and Accessibility
Instructional Materials and Educational Technology
Attachments: I. Large Type Textbook Producers and Printing Companies That Received an Announcement Regarding the Request for Proposals
II. Members of the Large Type Proposal Review Panel
III. Summary of Review Panel’s Evaluation
VI. Proposal Bid Prices