Specifications include, but are not limited to:Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH) and the Massachusetts Department of Early and Secondary Education (DESE, formerly Department of Education or DOE) collaborates annually to improve the provision of educational and special education services for students in Massachusetts schools who are deaf or hard of hearing. One of the key annual projects is the use of the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI), a nationally recognized instrument to assess a person’s ability to use sign language. It is MCDHH’s intention to continue this project for the duration of DESE’s funding of its collaboration with our agency. MCDHH is seeking to develop a list of pre-qualified individuals, total number up to twelve, to serve as SLPI Interviewer-Raters. To maintain this size roster of pre-qualified individuals, MCDHH will also periodically offer new candidate trainings. The key tasks of SLPI Interviewers/Raters are to: Conduct interviews with candidates (the “Interview” component) Rate the interviews according to the established SLPI criteria and dimensions (the “Rater” component) Meet with the other team members and reach consensus on candidate scores on the established SLPI criteria and dimensions Write final reports on an equable, shared basis Due to recent DESE regulation updates the SLPI has become part of licensure for teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This enhancement has put upward pressure on the number of SLPI assessments the MCDHH Interviewers / Raters are called upon to do each year. Consequently, new and ongoing Interviewers / Raters may be asked to affirm a minimal time availability per month or per quarter. Performance details, contractor qualifications, and application procedure are contained in subsequent sections of this solicitation. MCDHH welcomes applications from individuals (W-9 status “individual”). MCDHH also welcomes applications from single-person businesses (W-9 status “sole proprietor” or equivalent). Because a bidder’s SLPI assessment is a key component of his/her qualification for a contract under this RFR, conventional multi-person businesses are not eligible to apply for this RFR. Bids from third-party bidders such as employment agencies will be discarded. This bid (solicitation or RFR) falls under the Commonwealth’s Small Business Purchasing Program. Details may be found in Section 9 of this document. An Internal Revenue Service SS-8 test was performed and indicates that the individuals providing these services are appropriately characterized as Independent Contractors rather than Contract Employees.
