W. Va. Code R. § 126-36-5

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 126-36-5 - Guidelines

5.1. Bids and Bid Deposit - All vendors are requested by the WVBE to submit electronic bids on the subjects set forth for an adoption period as specified in Appendix A of Policy 2445.40 beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30 at the conclusion of the period. Each bidder shall, on or before the closing date for receiving of bids, have deposited with the Coordinator of Instructional Resources, West Virginia Department of Education, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Capitol Building 6, Room 603, Charleston, WV 25305-0330, a signed signature sheet and a certified check in the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) payable to the West Virginia Department of Education (hereinafter WVDE). Such deposit shall be forfeited to the general school fund if such bidder shall fail or refuse to make and execute such contract and bond as is required by law in case of acceptance of all or part of the vendor's bid, and otherwise, reimbursement shall be returned to such bidder after the contract has been made. The bids shall be submitted electronically using the online bid submission form made available on the WVDE website at http://wvde.state.wv.us/materials [File Link Not Available]. The signed signature sheet and the certified check for $1,000.00 made payable to the WVDE shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope on which is designated "Instructional Materials Bid" and be mailed to the WVDE Coordinator of Instructional Resources. The bids are to be in the hands of the State Superintendent on or before 12 noon, on a date in April of the adoption year as set annually by the WVDE Coordinator of Instructional Resources and listed in the bid packet and on the WVDE website at http://wvde.state.wv.us/materials. [File Link Not Available] All bids will be opened in public in a designated room at the WVDE at 10:00 a.m. on a date in April of the adoption year as set annually by the WVDE Coordinator of Instructional Resources and listed in the bid packet and on the WVDE website at http://wvde.state.wv.us/materials. [File Link Not Available]

5.1.a. A list of publishers/vendors who submit bids shall be made public. The details of such bids shall be released upon WVBE approval of the state multiple listing.

5.2. Free and/or Loaned Items - Each vendor shall declare on the bid any/all free and loaned items that will be given to any county or school free of charge upon adoption/purchase. Only teachers' editions identified in Section 5.5 may be both bid and/or given to any county or school free of charge. No changes will be permitted after the vendor hearing date and the declaration shall become part of the contract for the adoption period. Substitutions of revised editions shall not alter the original declaration. (See Sections 2 and 5.) Wholesale prices for all ancillary materials, listed free the first year of adoption, will be set, for subsequent years, as of the day of approval by the WVBE. This applies to all vendors, including those using the waiver process.

5.2.a. All items to be loaned or given free, supplementary or otherwise, shall be provided during the review/hearing period for committee members to observe if requested by the Advisory Committee.

5.2.b. The WVBE reserves the right to limit and/or remove the category of loaned and/or free items for any adoption group.

5.3. Wholesale and Retail/Volume Discount and Standards Prices - All prices on the bid shall be firm and must be bonded for the period of adoption. (See Section 2. for financial benefits to schools and counties and Section 5.10 for Substituting Revised Editions.)

5.3.a. Volume Discount and Standard Prices - Anticipated updates and price changes must be included in the original bid. Bids may include per-student, per-computer or other unit price structures. Bids may include subscription price models, such as for web-delivered materials where the cost may be divided over multiple years and paid annually (as opposed to a single payment).

5.4. Exchange Privilege - Vendors shall arrange for the exchange of items, allowing pupils or boards of education an exchange price as liberal as granted on the same items to any county, school, or state in the United States, like conditions prevailing. The exchange privilege shall extend through one entire school year, either during the initial purchase year of the adopted materials or the year following the end of the adoption period. If the exchange privilege is granted during the initial purchase year, the lowest net wholesale price shall further be reduced by the amount of exchange.

5.5. Teachers' Editions - Publishers/vendors are required to provide teacher's editions/manuals and/or Teachers Resource Binders (hereinafter TRB) which contain the teacher's edition/manual/curriculum, etc. for counties adopting and purchasing instructional materials at the ratio of one per classroom at the early and middle childhood levels and one per teacher with a minimum of 25 student editions purchased at the adolescent level. Counties, schools, and teachers requesting teachers' editions in excess of this requirement should pay the current bid price. Electronic teacher's editions may be supplied, in lieu of print versions, when digital or online versions of learning technologies or other digital or online instructional materials are adopted.

5.5.a. Any/all item(s) submitted for bid shall not be given away during the period of time beginning with the call for instructional materials and ending at the conclusion of the contract period, except for those items defined in Section 7.

5.5.b. Teachers' editions/manuals and/or TRBs which contain the teacher's edition/ manual/curriculum, etc. must be included in the bid for county needs beyond those which are required. The vendor grants each school duplication rights for classroom use only within the limitation(s) of current copyright laws.

5.6. Permission Statements - Successful vendors of student print materials will be required to file permission statements with the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Center (NIMAC), located at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky, within 30 days of adoption by the WVBE. The permission statement shall provide for translating adopted materials into Braille, Large Type Editions, audio-recordings, etc. to enable students with disabilities to have usable instructional materials on the opening day of school. The files shall be provided in the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard format (NIMAS) for all materials produced after August 18, 2006.

5.6.a. Accessibility Statements - Successful vendors of student non-print materials shall meet student accessibility guidelines. All content must adhere to current W3C guidelines and be Section 508 conformant. All web content must follow the current Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

5.6.b. Inter-Ethnic Statements - Successful vendors of instructional materials must recognize the pluralistic nature of American society and the contributions of minority and ethnic groups as an inextricable part of the total growth and development of this nation and perpetuate these contributions as an essential part of the American heritage by basing their instructional program on facts.

5.6.c. Therefore, state and local instructional materials committees and individual educators charged with responsibility for the selection of instructional materials to be used in school programs Pre-K-12 shall select only those materials which accurately portray minority and ethnic group contributions to American growth and culture and which depict and illustrate the intercultural character of our pluralistic society.

5.7. Rejection of Bids and/or Free Items - The WVBE reserves the right to reject any and all bids or any part of a bid or free item and to accept any part of a bid or free item submitted hereunder.

5.8. Direct Shipment - Vendors may ship directly to a county school district, school(s), or dealer appointed by the county, if the county school district or school(s) selects to purchase from a vendor. However, except in the case of learning technologies or other digital content delivered through the Internet, vendors shall make items available to a state approved depository when a county school district or school(s) selects to purchase from a depository. Direct shipment to a county school district, school(s), or county dealers shall require the vendor to bear the costs of shipping, mailing, or transporting, including any other benefit provided to any other county or school in any other state.

5.9. Depository(ies) - County school districts and schools have the option to purchase through a depository at the bid price. Except in the case of learning technologies or other digital content delivered through the Internet, vendors will make their product(s) available for distribution through any WVBE approved depository(ies) that is (are) determined to be qualified to warehouse, manage, and distribute such product(s).

5.9.a. Vendors opting to ship materials through any WVBE approved depository(ies) shall assure that the lowest net wholesale, retail, and exchange prices to county school districts/dealers/schools will not exceed the bid price(s). Shipping costs and/or transportation to county school districts/schools/dealers shall be provided without charge and borne by agreement between the vendor and state approved depository(ies).

5.10. Substituting Revised Editions of Adopted Materials - As stated in Section 5.3, items must be bonded for the period of adoption (not to exceed eight years). Revised editions of previously adopted materials may be substituted at contract prices. Requests must be filed by February 1 or August 1 of each year.

5.11. Contract Price - Beginning the first day of the contract period, the Publisher agrees to supply the public schools of the State of West Virginia with the specific instructional materials at the contract prices hereinafter stated for said instructional materials delivered to the purchaser either directly from the publisher or from the state approved depository. Contractor agrees to:

(a) furnish and make available for sale at all times throughout the terms of this agreement, sufficient quantities of the adopted instructional materials to supply the needs of the districts, and

(b) pay a delay of delivery charge at the rate of one percent (1%) per day of the undelivered portion of the purchase order that includes major tools, teacher's editions, and any ancillary items included in the contract, if the Contractor fails to deliver within 45 days of the date the purchase order was received by either the publisher or the state approved depository. For those ancillary items that do not have an initial purchase price, the liquidated damages will be assessed based on the replacement value for that item.

5.12. Items Not Manufactured On Time - Alternative programs and new programs that were not manufactured by the close of the committee's formal evaluation shall be considered through the waiver process by county school districts and schools desiring to use same and shall be sold at the lowest net wholesale price in the nation on the date of purchase. Any vendor whose programs/materials are being initially considered through the waiver process, have not gone through the adoption process, and are not on the multiple list will have to follow the same bid guidelines and policies as required by those who went through the regular adoption process. All costs associated with a review and adoption of materials submitted through the waiver process will be at the vendors' expense.

5.13. Special Rule to Update Adoptions - In order to acquire the latest materials, galley proofs will be accepted by the WVBE by June 1 of the adoption year to assure the content of the program. This special rule carries the requirements that the items will be manufactured 1) prior to August 1 of the adoption year as well as available to schools by July 1 of the implementation year and 2) according to specifications for the respective item. In the event no manufacturing specification exists for the item, the vendor shall attach a warranty statement to the bid guaranteeing durability for the adoption period.

5.13.a. Vendors are advised that the WVBE reserves the option to readopt or acquire new materials.

5.14. Warranty/Replacement - All instructional resources including print materials, electronic resources and systems, and kit-based instructional materials (excluding abuse and consumables) shall be durable for the adoption period. Replacement will be without cost for year one through three and pro-rated for the remaining period.

5.15. Required Format - Successful vendors shall provide an interactive version of their print instructional materials in electronic format as an option for adoption beginning with the adoption year 2012.

W. Va. Code R. § 126-36-5