Section 1110.40  Certification of Education Purchasing Contracts

The State Superintendent of Education shall review each potential education purchasing contract as described in this Section for the purpose of determining whether it was procured in a manner that is comparable in all material respects to the requirements of the Illinois Procurement Code [30 ILCS 500] and Section 10-20.21 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/10-20.21], i.e., in a manner that makes the contract suitable for use by educational entities.

a)         Subject to the provisions of Section 1110.80 of this Part, an education purchasing contract for supplies may be certified if the State Superintendent determines that the contract was awarded by the contract entity:

1)         to the lowest responsible bidder;

2)         considering conformity with specifications, terms of delivery, quality and serviceability; and

3)         after due advertisement.

b)         Subject to the provisions of Section 1110.80 of this Part, an education purchasing contract for services may be certified either on the basis set forth in subsection (a) of this Section or if the State Superintendent determines that the contract was awarded by the contracting entity through a process consisting of all of the following elements:

1)         solicitation of proposals through a request for proposals setting forth evaluation factors and stating the relative importance of price and other evaluation factors;

2)         due advertisement of the solicitation;

3)         separate evaluation and ranking of the price and non-price items of the proposals; and

4)         award to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined to be most advantageous to the contracting entity, taking into consideration price and the other evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals.

c)         No contract shall be certified as an education purchasing contract or a statewide education master contract unless:

1)         the scope of the contract permits participation by governmental entities (including educational entities) beyond the original contracting entity;

2)         the vendor consents; and

3)         the terms of the contract can be extended to other governmental entities without substantially modifying the range of supplies or services offered through the contract.