Agenda Item
f. School and Business Record Digitization Services (Not to exceed $6,136,008)
Summary: Presented by: Ms. Monika Davis, Chief Information Officer, Division of Information & Instructional Technology, 678-676-1274
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the purchase of school and business record digitization services to Docufree Corporation in an amount not to exceed $6,136,008.
Why: The purpose of this request is to secure services and software needed to digitize physical records.
Details: The DeKalb County School District currently archives and manages a significant number of physical records, encompassing both student and business documents. These paper-based files pose challenges in terms of accessibility, security, and efficient storage. To address these concerns and improve data governance, the district has initiated the Physical Records Digitization Project.
Implementing a Physical Records Digitization Project offers the DeKalb County School District several key benefits. Data governance will be significantly enhanced through improved accessibility, allowing authorized personnel to access student and staff information quickly and easily from any device. Security will also be strengthened as digital files can be stored securely with access controls, reducing the risk of loss, damage, or unauthorized access compared to physical documents. Finally, streamlined workflows will be achieved through faster document retrieval and sharing, improving efficiency for staff across the entire district.
The project scope encompasses the digitization and archiving of student and business records held within DeKalb County School District. This includes records located at all schools and district facilities. The selected vendor will be responsible for secure scanning, indexing, and secure storage solutions for the digitized files. The project timeline will be determined based on a thorough assessment of the existing physical records.
Evaluation Process
The Division of Information and Instructional Technology conducted a comprehensive competitive review and selection process to identify the best record digitization services provider for our district. We leveraged an e-procurement solution to ensure we reached a broad pool of qualified vendors. A request for quote was published on the Bonfire UNSPSC Commodity Code site on April 26, 2024. Electronic notifications were sent to 112 vendors, and 24 showed initial interest by downloading the requirements. Ultimately, four vendors submitted proposals for evaluation.
Following this rigorous process, Docufree Corporation emerged as the clear winner due to their proposal's alignment with the district's requirements and its potential to deliver significant benefits to the DeKalb County School District.
The attached documents review the requirements and an executive summary of the selection process.
In accordance with Board of Education Purchasing Policy DJE III.D.3.d., the Purchasing Department shall be authorized to make purchases through inter-governmental and educational cooperatives, alliances, and consortiums to achieve cost savings and administrative efficiencies based on economies of scale. Therefore, this purchase will utilize Charlotte Cooperative Purchasing Alliance cooperative purchasing contract #269-2019-090.
Financial impact: $6,136,008
General Fund: 100.2800.530000.00011.7600.9990.0308.070.0000
SLOST 306.2210.530000.90336.7600.9990.8010.070.0000
Contact: Ms. Monika Davis, Chief Information Officer, Division of Information & Instructional Technology, 678-676-1274
Effective: June 2024
Status: Approved by General Counsel
DeKalb County School District
Digitization of School and Business Records
Request for Quote
PART I
SCOPE OF WORK
A. Purpose/Project Overview
DeKalb County School District’s Division of Information and Instructional Technology (DIIT) is
seeking quotes for the Digitization of School and Business Records. This Request for
Quotes (RFQ) documents DCSD’s Digitization of Records objectives and expectations and their
solution, support, and pricing requirements in accordance with the minimum requirements of
this RFQ.
B. General Information about the district
The DeKalb County School District serves over 93,000 students in Pre-Kindergarten through
Grade 12. The breakdown of DCSD sites where records are stored and will be digitized are as
follows:
• 77 Elementary Schools
• 19 Middle Schools
• 22 High Schools
• 12 Specialized Learning Centers
• 6 Administrative Centers
The awarded offeror shall provide equipment and services in accordance with the scope of
work, requirements and terms and conditions stated herein. Services shall include all labor,
materials, tools, specialized equipment, supplies, trained personnel, and all other costs and
charges in accordance with the requirements of this RFQ. There shall be no add-on charges of
any kind.
DCSD, at its discretion, determines the criteria and process whereby proposals are evaluated
and awarded. No damages shall be recoverable by any challenger because of these
determinations or decisions by DCSD.
DCSD reserves the right to add or remove DCSD facilities (schools, centers, and administrative
offices) as needed.
DCSD reserves the right to make multiple awards and will be responsible for administration of
this contract.
C. Project Scope of Work
The scope of this RFQ is to select a vendor to implement a digital process for managing all
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school and business records.
D. Meeting Requirements & Minimum Expectations
This section documents DCSD’s minimum requirements and expectations for a Digitized
Records solution. Please consider and provide detailed responses to all questions,
requirements, and statements in a separate Appendices as indicated.
DCSD requests background information of the offeror’s company to include but not limited to
company’s name, address, headquarters and/or branch office handling this project, as well as
primary contact name, title, related telephone/fax numbers and email address , K12 experience or
experience with companies in comparable size to DCSD, years of experience, at least three
references, and local presence. State the number of years licensed to do business under the
name stated above. Describe firm ownership structure and history, including organizational
chart.
Item APPLICATION MANAGEMENT YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide the name of the application to be
utilized. Enter the name in the Comments column or
1 submit in a separate Appendix-AM #1.
The offeror will provide a description of the application in
the Comments column or submit it in a separate
2 Appendix-AM #2.
The offeror will provide the technology
languages/platforms/stacks/ components to be used with
the application. Provide in the Comments column or
3 submit in a separate Appendix-AM #3.
The application will allow users to attach documents to
4 outgoing emails using Microsoft Office 365.
The application is fully integrated with Microsoft Office
5 365 applications.
The application may be accessed remotely using web
browsers over the internet or through the district LAN or
6 WAN.
The offeror will provide a web browser, desktop client and
7 a mobile browser as standard features.
The offeror has a platform to support thousands of files
8 and documents.
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Item SECURITY MANAGEMENT YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide information on the various types
of solutions: Cloud, Hybrid or On-Premises in a separate
1 Appendix SM #1.
The offeror will describe their Disaster Recovery plan
2 including data backups in a separate Appendix SM #2.
The offeror will provide their security practices on the
3 proposed solution in a separate Appendix SM #3.
The offeror will provide the following documents in a
separate Appendix SM# 4:
1) Testing Information to include platforms on which the
application was tested
2) Most recent application code review or penetration
testing reports
3) Information security policies and procedures
4) Data retention and data destruction policies and
procedures
5) Compliance with LT1.3 environment
4 6) FIPS 140-3 compliance
The offeror will provide a data classification matrix
including data definition, access restrictions and
minimum controls specific to your service in a separate
5 Appendix SM #5.
The offeror will outline the security features that are
6 used for data import in a separate Appendix SM #6.
The offeror will describe how your company encrypts
customer data and passwords (in transit or at rest etc.).
Provide relevant documentation in a separate Appendix
7 SM #7.
The offeror will create unique databases for each
8 department/school access.
The offeror will describe how their solution is consistent
and compliant with current regulations and standards in
9 a separate Appendix SM #9.
The offeror will provide the names of the staff that have
access to confidential data in a separate Appendix SM
10 #10.
The offeror will provide a plan for offsite backups and
11 their security in a separate Appendix SM #11.
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The offeror will provide the application vulnerability
management process and procedures in a separate
12 Appendix SM #12.
The offeror will specify who executes the procedures
and the tools used and the SLAs in a separate Appendix
13 SM #13.
The offeror will describe the systems that are in place to
mitigate web application vulnerabilities in a separate
14 Appendix SM #14.
The offeror will upload their security policy and attach
evidence for positive assertions in a separate Appendix
15 SM #15.
The offeror will confirm that the security and privacy
policies align with industry standards (ISO-27001, NIST
Cyber Security Framework, ISO-22307, CoBIT etc.) in a
16 separate Appendix SM #16.
The offeror will describe their breach detection systems
and anomaly detection with alerting in a separate
17 Appendix SM #17.
The offeror will provide a sanction policy for any
violation of security policies and procedures in a
18 separate Appendix SM #18.
The offeror will require personnel to sign a
Confidentiality Agreement to protect all files accessed
and scanned. Provide the Confidentiality Agreement in a
19 separate Appendix SM #19.
The offeror will provide an Acceptable Use Policy in a
20 separate Appendix SM #20.
The offeror will provide their methodology on the
security of digitization application (Internal, third parties,
21 both) in a separate Appendix SM #21.
The offeror will provide the network vulnerability
22 management process in a separate Appendix SM #22.
The offeror will describe how the solution’s
authentication is secured and describe the use of MFA,
password complexity, password hashing/salting, and SSO
23 in a separate Appendix SM #23.
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Item INFRASTRUCTURE & SECURITY YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide management and storage strategies
(authorized tokens, passwords, API credentials, and
1 certificates) in a separate Appendix IS #1.
The offeror will log all security and access events in
production (authentication events, SSH session commands,
2 privilege elevations).
The offeror shall provide the process on how security
3 events are logged and alerted in a separate Appendix IS #3.
The offeror will provide information on cryptographic keys
(key management system, etc.) that are managed within
4 the solution in a separate Appendix IS #4.
The offeror will describe their organization security
awareness program. Include if it is mandatory, the
frequency, general or target teams in a separate Appendix
5 IS #5.
The offeror will describe the methods used to inform
customers of security vulnerabilities in a separate Appendix
6 IS #6.
The offeror will describe how the users are authenticated,
the complexity of requirements and how the passwords are
7 protected in a separate Appendix IS #7.
The offeror will provide the URL for the Privacy Notice
8 Policy in a separate Appendix IS #8.
The offeror will describe how the application enables
custom granular permissions and roles in a separate
9 Appendix IS #9.
The offeror will describe how the application will allow
DCSD users to access via single sign on (SSO) in a separate
10 Appendix IS #10.
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Item INTERNAL AUDITS YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide the internal audit process for the
service. Describe the scope and remediation process in a
1 separate Appendix IA #1.
The offeror will describe the scope, remediation process
2 and frequency of audits in a separate Appendix IA #2.
The offeror will describe how external audits are
conducted and include the scope and frequency in a
3 separate Appendix IA #3.
The offeror will provide samples of all available audit
4 reports in a separate Appendix IA #4.
The offeror will name the IT security, operational privacy
certification standards/regulations which they follow in a
5 separate Appendix IA #5.
Item DATA MANAGEMENT YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will retain data as required by DCSD Legal
1 specifications.
The application is compliant with OneRoster 1.1 and or
2 1.2.
The offeror will provide the ability for the user to retrieve
documents accidentally deleted by users from a recycle
3 bin.
The offeror will provide your patch release strategy
Including the tools for patch deployment, the process to
regularly evaluate patches and updates for your
4 infrastructure in a separate Appendix DM #4.
The offeror will provide documents by record type with a
5 unique identifier.
The offeror will ensure that all documents are searchable
6 and retrievable.
7 The offeror will provide details on their storage strategy.
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Item PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide a diagram on the digitization
process from start to finish. The offeror will provide
options to include record inventorying, purging, scanning,
converting, cataloging, indexing, management, document
classification, recurring scanning/maintenance for future
records, printing and downloading, and emailing in a
1 separate Appendix PI #1.
The offeror will be responsible for (all) scanning school
and business records/documents district wide.
2 (Site names and addresses will be provided).
The offeror will provide the time frame to complete the
scanning of records for the entire district in a separate
3 Appendix PI #3.
The offeror will provide a weekly/monthly report to
include the number of documents successfully scanned by
site, and photos of any damaged, or illegible documents
4 to the district designee in a separate Appendix PI #5.
Item SUPPORT & SERVICE YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide a service level agreement with
escalation process, technical support hours, contacts, and
1 a customer service number in a separate Appendix SS #1.
The offeror will provide a sample of the weekly/monthly
report to include the number of documents successfully
scanned by site, and photos of any damaged, or illegible
documents to the district designee in a separate Appendix
2 SS #2.
The offeror will retain the original hard copies per the
department need, the DCSD legal requirement and a
3 minimum of 6 weeks.
The offeror will provide a disposition plan to include final
sign offs by the department head or owner of the records
4 in a separate Appendix SS #4.
The offeror will shred all hard copies that have been
5 scanned per the signed agreement.
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The offeror will continue to support and make
modifications to the system on an on-going basis
6 following the 'go live date' as requested.
The DCSD designated staff will have access to retrieve
7 scanned documents 24/7/365.
The offeror will transport hard copies (from DCSD to
Offeror site) to be scanned and digitized within 3 business
8 days.
The offeror will provide costs and procedures for on-going
(monthly, annual, etc.) services and provide the district
with the capability to upload and classify new documents
in the scanned repository. Provide in the “Other Costs” in
9 the Cost Table.
Item ORDERING AND BILLING REQUIREMENTS YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will prepare individual quotes for projects as
required by DCSD to facilitate budgeting and purchasing
1 requirements of DCSD.
All purchase orders will be issued to the awarded offeror.
No third-party purchase orders will be issued.
2
The offeror will send invoices to the DCSD purchase order
“Ship To” address as well as the “Bill To” department. All
invoices must include the DCSD item description and DCSD
purchase order number. Invoices must be submitted
3 without any shipping costs, taxes, or late fees.
The offeror must have a state, federal, or cooperative
contract. Upload a copy of your contract and contract
number in the “Statewide Contract or Cooperative
4 Contract” folder of the Bonfire tool.
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Item SUPPORT PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS YES NO COMMENTS
The offer will provide experienced personnel to perform all
services. DCSD reserves the right to reject any personnel
from working on specified projects. Provide a list of staff
involved in providing the services who will also be assigned
to DCSD including their names, titles, and credentials. Also,
provide an organizational chart showing staff positions
that will be working with DCSD. Outline in a separate
1 Appendix SPR #3
The offeror’s personnel working in DCSD facilities must be
2 bonded and insured by the offeror.
DCSD requires a local Project Manager as the single point
of contact from the awarded offeror to meet with DCSD
weekly or as needed. The primary function of the Project
Manager will be to ensure all deliverables are met. Include
Project Manager credentials with the proposal. Attach and
label Project Management Outline in a separate Appendix
3 SPR #3.
The offeror will assign a dedicated billing liaison capable of
resolving billing issues in a timely manner. This person will
be the offeror’s primary point of contact for billing
4 matters.
TRAINING YES NO COMMENTS
The offeror will provide training to designated DCSD
Administrative staff on trouble shooting, problem solving,
running reports, access to add and delete and any other
1 pertinent training.
The offeror will provide training for other designated staff on
maintaining existing records, retrieving records, resetting
2 passwords and add/delete access.
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PART II
COST TABLE
Complete the cost table below. The number of boxes is an approximation based on survey results
received. Not all schools and departments submitted, but the quantities received are about 80% of the
total population that received the request for information.
Note: Record owners (RO) need to determine the items for purging; ROs would need to
provide samples of records that need to be categorized after the selection of partner is made.
Records need to be categorized.
Description Qty Cost before Purging Cost after Purging
Scanning of Records in Boxes
Standard - 15x12x10 10,574
Large - 18x18x24 4,136
Extra Large - 24x18x24 272
Total Number of Boxes with Records 14,982
Scanning of Records in Non-Boxes 1,667
File Cabinets, Shelves, Drawers, Binders
Scanning of Microfiche 783,000
Additional Scanning per 100,000 records 100,000
Destruction of Hard Copies
Software
Services
Other Costs (attach other costs as needed)
TOTAL
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PART III
RESPONSE REQUIREMENT FORMAT
Please provide a proposal explaining how your company would complete the requested scope
of services. Be sure to provide explanations and costs as requested in the requirements and
cost table, respectively.
• Describe fully your technical support options, including the assistance request process,
escalation process, support hours, response times (for emergency and non -emergency
• support requests), staffing levels, and staff expertise.
• Describe any documentation and support (e.g., user manuals, online help, interactive
demos, web-based seminars, and online knowledge base) that will be available, both
from the technical perspective and the end-user perspective.
• Address any user training and technical training options required by DIIT staff.
Submission Process
• All proposals and supporting documentation must be submitted electronically by 2:00 PM
on Friday, May 10, 2024, via the Bonfire tool by which you have received the link in the
email invitation to respond. Submit all questions up to 9:00 AM on Wednesday, May 8,
2024.
• Proposals should be presented in a PDF format. All attachments must be identified properly for
easy recognition and association and uploaded in the appropriate folder.
• Each page of the response must be numbered.
• Each proposal must contain a detailed Table of Contents and must be organized in the same
order as the requirements are outlined in this RFQ document. Each requirement/criterion must
be addressed individually.
• Responses shall be organized simply and economically. Emphasis must be placed on
completeness and clarity. Proposals that do not include all the required information may be
disqualified.
Important Information to Consider
• DCSD is planning for the selection process to be completed by May 15, 2024, and
presented to the Board of Education for approval by June 10, 2024.
• This district is targeting completion of the first project site by August 30, 2024.
• Renewal of services will require annual review and approval from the Board of Education.
If additional information is required, please submit it as a question in the Bonfire tool.
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