Dear District Administrators:
Over the past two weeks, we have received numerous inquiries
on the recent developments regarding the statewide student information system
(SSIS), which is required as part of 2011 Wisconsin Act 32, the 2011-13
biennial budget act. I am writing to provide you background
information on the SSIS as well as an update on the status of the project.
Why does DPI support a SSIS?
As the state moves to new assessment, evaluation, and
accountability systems, the need for timely, accurate student data has never
been greater. That’s why the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has
advocated for the creation of a SSIS, which will significantly improve student
data quality and security, automate burdensome reporting requirements, and
considerably reduce local technology costs. Most
importantly, the SSIS will provide access to information and analytical tools
for parents, pupils, teachers, and administrators in every district to improve
student performance and provide greater public accountability.
At its core, this initiative has been undertaken to reduce
costs, improve efficiency, ensure equity across districts, improve data access and
security, and extend student information system features beyond what many
districts have today.
How did the SSIS become
law?
DPI and the Governor’s office worked with the legislature to
create the SSIS as part of the 2011 Wisconsin Act 32, the biennial budget bill,
which provided $15 million to cover state and district costs, including the
cost of local data migration and staff training. The Legislature’s
Joint Finance Committee further directed that the SSIS must be provided by a
single vendor, a position that both DPI and the Governor supported.
While the SSIS will replace local student information
systems over a five year transition period, districts will continue to select
their own human resource, finance, and other local data systems.
How did the state select a
SSIS vendor?
To implement the legislative
requirement for a SSIS, DPI worked with the Department of Administration (DOA)
to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the new system. State law
requires DOA’s State Bureau of Procurement (SBOP) to administer the procurement
process to ensure vendor selections are fair, unbiased, and free from political
influence. No elected officials or
appointed unclassified staff can participate in this process.
Following state procurement rules and guidelines, a
committee of experts, including school
district staff, DPI technology staff, and DOA SBOP staff, developed the SSIS
RFP, which outlined the technical specifications of the SSIS for potential
vendors. All SSIS vendor proposals subsequently
underwent an exhaustive review and scoring process by a knowledgeable,
experienced evaluation team. The evaluation team unanimously
recommended that the SSIS contract be awarded to the highest scoring
proposer.
On Feb. 1, 2013, DOA issued a letter of intent to award for
the SSIS project to Infinite Campus, which received
both the highest technical score and had the lowest cost bid, resulting in the
highest score. Details can be found in DOA’s
news release.
DOA also retained an independent
third-party reviewer to monitor the procurement, evaluation, and selection
process. The third party observer issued an extensive
report, noting the SSIS procurement process was “open,
fair, impartial, and objective,” that all procurement laws were followed, and
that all vendors had an equal opportunity to compete.
In addition, the evaluator
found that the evaluation committee was not subject to any outside influence in
the selection process. Essentially, all vendors had the same
opportunity to compete for the SSIS project.
What happens now?
Vendors that were not selected
have the opportunity to appeal the procurement
decision, and at least one vendor, Skyward, has filed a notice of intent to appeal. Any protest will
be thoroughly reviewed to ensure strict compliance with procurement procedure.
The DPI sincerely understands the
concern that a Wisconsin vendor was not selected through this process, but long
established state procurement laws prohibit considering a company’s home state when selecting a
vendor.
For more information, the DPI has
developed a more detailed timeline and history of the project, which can be
found along with other background information about the SSIS on our SSIS website.
We hope this information is
helpful to you, and we will continue to keep you apprised as the process moves
forward.
Sincerely,
Mike Thompson, PhD
Deputy State Superintendent
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
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