Chapter 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

In Articles 10 and 11, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Acceptance period” means the period of time specified in the solicitation that a bid or proposal is irrevocable, except as specified in R7-2-1030. 2. “Actual energy production” means the actual amount of energy tha…

A. Articles 10 and 11 apply to every expenditure of public monies, including federal assistance monies and grants, by a school district as specified in A.R.S. § 15-213(A) for the procurement of all construction, materials and services when the total procurement cost exceeds the a…

A. The school district shall not award a contract or incur an obligation on behalf of the school district unless it is reasonable to believe sufficient funds will be available for the procurement. If sufficient funds are not available when a solicitation is issued, the solicitati…

A. Written determinations required by Articles 10 and 11, including for any specified professional services, construction, construction services or materials to an entity selected from a qualified select bidders list or through a school purchasing cooperative, shall specify the r…

Any change order or contract modification that exceeds $100,000 or five percent, whichever is greater, may be executed only if the governing board determines in writing that the change order or contract modification is advantageous to the school district and the price is determin…

A. If a person believes that a bid, proposal, response to a request for information, technical offer, statement of qualifications, specification, or protest contains confidential trade secrets or other proprietary data not to be disclosed as otherwise required by A.R.S. § 39-121,…

A. The governing board may, in a public meeting held in conformity with A.R.S. Title 38, Chapter 3, Article 3.1, delegate procurement authority to a designee. Any delegation shall be accomplished by adopting a governing board policy for this purpose. 1. Delegated procurement auth…

A. The school district may contract with a procurement consultant to assist in drafting specifications, in the development of solicitations, or in the management of the procurement process. A procurement consultant may provide guidance or advice to a procurement evaluation commit…

Historical Note Adopted effective December 17, 1987 (Supp. 87-4). Section repealed by final exempt rulemaking at 21 A.A.R. 1525, effective July 1, 2014 (Supp. 15-3); effective year corrected in Supp. 18-2. PART II. SPECIFICATIONS

A. Officers 1. The elective officers of the State Board of Education (Board) shall be a President and a Vice President. 2. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall serve as the Secretary and as the Executive Officer of the Board. 3. The President shall preside over al…

A. Specifications shall be prepared only by the school district or by contract pursuant to R7-2-1014 and R7-2-1015. Regardless of who prepares the specifications, the governing board retains the authority to disapprove all specifications. B. In an emergency under R7-2-1055, any n…

A. Specification for common or general use items. To the extent practicable, a specification for common or general use item shall be prepared and utilized when: 1. A material, service or construction item is used repeatedly by the school district, and the characteristics of the m…

The school district shall not use specifications in any way proprietary to one supplier unless the specification includes a statement of the reasons why no other specification is practicable, a description of the essential characteristics of the specified product and a statement …

A. If the price of a recycled paper product that conforms to specifications is within five percent of a low bid product that is not recycled and the recycled product bidder is otherwise the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, the award shall be made to the bidder offering t…

A. Procurement of any materials, services, goods, construction or construction services pursuant to Article 10 or Article 11, shall seek to achieve maximum practicable competition. B. All specifications, including those prepared by architects, engineers, consultants and others fo…

A. No person preparing specifications pursuant to R7-2-1014 shall receive any direct or indirect benefit from the utilization of such specifications. B. The governing board may contract for the preparation of specifications with persons, including, but not limited to, consultants…

A. Specifications and any written determination or other document generated or used in the development of a specification shall be available for public inspection pursuant to A.R.S. § 39-121, except to the extent that the withholding of such information is permitted or required b…

PART III. REVERSE AUCTIONS Section

A. Using reverse auctions 1. If a governing board determines in writing that use of reverse auctions is more advantageous to the school district than other procurement methods prescribed by Articles 10 and 11, the school district may use reverse auctions for the purchase of mater…

Historical Note Repealed effective December 4, 1978 (Supp. 78-6).

PART IV. COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING Section

A. Unless otherwise authorized by law, all school district contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding as provided in R7-2-1021 through R7-2-1032, except as provided in R7-2-1018, R7-2-1033 through R7-2-1068, R7-2-1100 through R7-2-1123, and R7-2-1196. B. A school di…

A. Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given as provided in R7-2-1024. Notice also may be given as provided in subsection (B). In the event there are four or fewer prospective bidders on the bidders list, then notice also shall be given as provided in subse…

A. The school district shall compile and maintain a prospective bidders list. Inclusion of the name of a person shall not indicate whether the person is responsible concerning a particular procurement or otherwise capable of successfully performing a school district contract. B. …

A. Invitation for bids shall be issued at least 14 days before the due date and time in the invitation for bids unless a shorter time is deemed necessary for a particular procurement as determined by the school district. If a shorter time is necessary, the school district shall d…

A. The school district may conduct a pre-bid conference to explain the procurement requirements. B. If a pre-bid conference is conducted, it shall be not less than seven days before the bid due date and time, unless the school district makes a written determination that the speci…

A. An amendment to an invitation for bids shall be issued if necessary to: 1. Make changes in the invitation for bids; 2. Correct defects or ambiguities; 3. Furnish to other bidders information given to one bidder if the information will assist the other bidders in submitting bid…

A. A bidder may modify or withdraw a bid in writing at any time before bid opening if the modification or withdrawal is received before the bid due date and time at the location designated in the invitation for bids for receipt of bids. B. All documents concerning a modification …

A. A bid, modification or withdrawal is late if it is received at the location designated in the invitation for bids for receipt of bids after the bid due date and time. B. A late bid, late modification, or late withdrawal shall be rejected, unless the late bid, late modification…

A. A school district shall maintain a record of bids and modifications received for each invitation for bids, shall record the time and date when each bid or modification is received, and shall store each unopened bid or modification in a secure place until the bid due date and t…

Historical Note Repealed effective December 4, 1978 (Supp. 78-6). ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION COMMITTEES

A. If an apparent mistake in a bid, relevant to the award determination, is discovered after opening and before award, a school district shall contact the bidder for written confirmation of the bid. If the bidder fails to act, the bidder is considered nonresponsive and the school…

A. As provided in subsection (C), the contract or contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder or bidders whose bid or bids conform in all material respects to the requirements and evaluation criteria set forth in the invitation for bids. No criteria…

If only one responsive bid is received in response to an invitation for bids, an award may be made to the single bidder if the school district determines in writing that the bidder is responsible, that the price submitted is fair and reasonable, and that either other prospective …

A. The simplified school construction procurement program is applicable to construction projects which do not exceed the maximum amount specified in A.R.S. § 15-213(A)(2). B. To participate in the simplified school construction procurement program: 1. Each county school superinte…

PART V. MULTISTEP SEALED BIDDING Section

A. The multistep sealed bidding method may be used if: 1. Available specifications or purchase descriptions are not sufficiently complete to permit full competition without technical evaluations and discussions to ensure mutual understanding between each bidder and the school dis…

A. Multistep sealed bidding shall be initiated by the issuance of an invitation to submit technical offers. The invitation to submit technical offers shall be issued according to R7-2-1022 and R7-2-1024(A). B. The invitation to submit technical offers shall include the following …

A. Upon completion of phase 1, the school district shall issue an invitation for bids and conduct phase 2 under R7-2-1024 through R7-2-1032 as a competitive sealed bidding procurement, except that the invitation for bids shall be issued only to persons whose technical offers were…

PART VI. COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS Section

A. This Section does not apply to procurement of services of clergy, certified public accountants, physicians, dentists, and legal counsel, construction, construction services, or specified professional services. Services of clergy, certified public accountants, physicians, denti…

A. Competitive sealed proposals shall be solicited through a request for proposals. A request for proposals shall include the following: 1. Instructions to offerors, including: a. Instructions and information to offerors concerning proposal submission requirements, including the …

Pre-proposal conferences may be convened in accordance with R7-2-1025. Historical Note Adopted effective December 17, 1987 (Supp. 87-4).

A. An offeror may modify or withdraw a proposal in writing at any time before proposal opening if the modification or withdrawal is received before the proposal due date and time at the location designated in the request for proposals for receipt of proposals. B. Withdrawal of a …

A. A school district shall maintain a record of proposals and modifications received for each solicitation, shall record the time and date when each proposal or modification is received, and shall store each unopened proposal or modification in a secure place until the proposal d…

A. Evaluation of proposals and best and final offers shall be based on the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. Specific numerical weighting may be used. 1. If only one proposal is received in response to a request for proposals, the school district shall pr…

A. Discussions may be conducted with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to be acceptable for further consideration. Discussions may be conducted to assure full understanding of the proposal in order to obtain the most advantageous contract for the school distric…