There are two blanket contracts that districts can use to engage certified vendor services: the Software as a Service (SaaS) contract and the MA SIF certified vendors contract, 16ITSMS2. These blanket contracts are maintained for district convenience in engaging certified vendors. Not all certified vendors are on the blanket contract and you are not required to engage vendors using the contract if they are. However, districts should engage with vendors that are MA SIF certified and can assist districts in certifying the data collections using SIF.
SchoolBrains is currently the only vendor selected to provide Software as a Service under the MA state blanket contract. The Software as a Service contract is meant to allow MA SIF certified vendors to provide districts with special package pricing for their services. You will need to investigate the specific functionality offered with the vendor as part of your selection process.
The Commonwealth is committed to working with our districts and vendors to obtain quality data. The following vendors are currently MA SIF certified with at least one district in the SIF production environment. Some vendors offer their own A4L (SIF) and MA SIF certified agent for use with their School Information System (SIS); others use another A4L (SIF) and MA SIF certified agent with their SIS. School districts that will keep and maintain their own SIS would select and configure an agent to publish data via SIF.
Some of the MA SIF certified vendors are on the state blanket contract 16ITSMS4 which allows districts to enter into contracts with those vendors without going through the RFP process.
In order to remain fully MA SIF certified, vendors need to be MA SIF compliant as demonstrated with a district in our staging environment, but also must certify districts in each collection.
** Did not have sufficient districts certify in last collection to remain fully compliant, but has passed our certification tests in staging.
*** Partial Certification in some collections, working on complete certification
Last Updated: January 24, 2024
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Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.