ADDENDUM N0. 1 RFP26-0092 LANGUAGE ACCESS TRANSLATION INTERPRETATION SERVICES.

Location:	Louisiana
Posted:	Apr 10, 2026
Due:	Apr 16, 2026
Agency:	New Orleans Public Schools
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Solicitation No:	26-0092
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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NOLA Public School

Procurement Department

2401 Westbend Parkway, Suite 5076,

New Orleans, LA 70114

Paul A. Lucius, Executive Director of Procurement

April 10, 2026

Addendum No. 1

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 26-0092

LANGUAGE ACCESS: TRANSLATION/INTERPRETATION SERVICES

This Addendum and Clarification item forms a part of the RFP Documents and modifies the original

RFP Documents issued March 12, 2026. Acknowledge receipt of this Addendum on the Addendum

Form of the Request for Proposal. Failure to do so may subject proposal to disqualification.

This Addendum consists of 5 Page(s).

CLARIFICATION:

1. Question : Since the RFP includes both translation and interpreting, could you please confirm whether

vendors may submit a proposal for translation services only, or if proposals are expected to cover both

translation and interpreting? Additionally, if submitting for translation services only is permitted,

would this impact the evaluation or overall scoring for award?

Answer : We are requesting proposals to cover both translation and interpretation services

together. Yes, not having an interpretation component would severely impact the overall

scoring of the proposal.

2. Question : Would you be able to share an estimate of the annual spend on translation services

across your organization ?

Answer:. The estimated expenditure on translation services across the organization is $200K to

$350K annually.

3. Question : Are there current or previous providers supporting these services?

Answer: Yes, there are current providers of these services.

4. Question : Are there current or previous providers supporting these services? If possible, could you

share the rates from the previous incumbents or any pricing benchmarks vendors should consider when

preparing the financial proposal?

RFP 26-0092 Language Access: Translation/Interpretation

Addendum No.1

Answer: Rates per service are as follows:

Prescheduled Onsite and Remote Interpreters: Spanish/Portuguese: $115/hr, 2 hr minimum,

Vietnamese: $135/hr., 2 hr. minimum, Mandarin: $135/hr, 2 hr minimum, French: $135/hr, 2

hr minimum, Arabic: $135/hr., 2 hr minimum, ASL: $120/hr, 2 hr minimum, Other: varies

On-Demand Onsite and Remote Interpreters: $1.95 to $3.30 per minute

Interpreting Teams: $1200 to $1400 for up to 4 hours for board meetings

Document Translations: $0.23 to $0.28 per word

Desktop Publishing: $65 per hour

5. Question : Could you provide a list of the languages most frequently requested, and any expected

volume distribution if available?

Answer : The most frequently requested languages are as follows: Spanish (approx. 90%),

Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Urdu, Arabic, Bengali, French, Gujarati, Nepali, and others.

6. Question Does NOLA-PS currently maintain a formal written ‘Language Access Plan,’ ‘language

access protocol,’ or similar governing document? If so, will that document be made available to

prospective proposers by addendum so that proposals may be tailored to the Parish’s actual operational

needs? The scope references “tiers” of language access needs and training on protocols, which

suggests the possible existence of an underlying plan or framework.

Answer : The scope of work covers 25 schools, each of which have a separate language access

plan. It will be the responsibility of the vendor to provide a step by step protocol for how to

access each of the service types (on-demand video or phone, on-site, document translation), the

request timeline for scheduled services, and user accounts for requesting services. Training for

school sites will be specific to federal requirements of providing language access to LEP

families. Training for bilingual staff will be specific to ethics and standards of interpretation

and when in-house interpretation or translation is and is not appropriate.

7. Question : Is NOLA-PS requiring one proposer to directly provide all listed service lines and related

functions under a single contract, including phone interpreting, video interpreting, on-site consecutive

interpreting, on-site simultaneous interpreting, document translation, cloud platform hosting, and in-

person training?

Answer : NOLA PS may consider more than one firm, but the preference is one firm that can

perform the entire scope.

RFP 26-0092 Language Access: Translation/Interpretation

Addendum No.1

8. Question : If a proposer is highly qualified in some, but not all, of the required service categories,

may that proposer submit a proposal limited to specific service lines or modalities without being

deemed non-responsive?

Answer : If the proposer chooses to do so they may submit a proposal limited to specific lines

or modalities without being deemed non-responsive.

9. Question : Will NOLA-PS consider partial awards by service category, modality, or function, rather

than requiring a single vendor to perform the entire scope? We note that the RFP states that selection

may be made of “one or multiple firm(s),” and we seek confirmation as to whether that language

allows awards divided across categories of service.

Answer:. NOLA PS may consider more than one firm, but the preference is one firm that can

perform the entire scope.

10. Question : If no single contractor independently offers all major segments of the language access

industry under one roof, may a proposer respond through a team, partnership, or subcontracting

structure to cover the full scope? If so, please clarify the Parish’s requirements for identifying and

documenting the roles of subcontractors or partners.

Answer: Yes, a contractor may submit a proposal through a team, partnership, or

subcontracting structure to cover the full scope.

11. Question : In the event NOLA-PS expects complete coverage across all listed categories, will the

Parish consider revising or narrowing the scope by addendum to permit more realistic and competitive

proposals from qualified vendors that specialize in certain areas of language access rather than all of

them?

Answer: NOLA-PS is requesting that all proposers submit according to the scope of the work

of RFP.

12. Question : If the Parish will permit limited or category-specific proposals, may pricing be submitted

by service category or modality, rather than only as a bundled annual fee? Clarification on this issue

would assist proposers in preparing pricing that is both accurate and responsive.

Answer: Proposers should include a menu of prices by service within their proposals.

RFP 26-0092 Language Access: Translation/Interpretation

Addendum No.1

13. Question : To allow proposers to prepare a realistic proposal, can NOLA-PS provide any estimated

historical or projected usage data by service type, including telephone minutes, video minutes, on-site

assignments, simultaneous events, translation volume, and principal languages requested?

Answer : Volume varies widely for both school sites and district departments around the

academic and enrollment calendars. In 24-25, contractor provided 603 on demand calls in 13

languages, 199 on-site sessions in 19 languages, and 394,951 words across 4 languages.

14. Question : What is the estimated monthly volume for interpretation (minutes/hours) and

translation (words/pages) by language?

Answer: Volume varies widely for both school sites and district departments around the

academic and enrollment calendars. In 24-25, contractor provided 603 on demand calls in 13

languages, 199 on-site sessions in 19 languages, and 394,951 words across 4 languages.

15. Question : Are there incumbent vendors currently providing these services? If so, what are their

names?

Answer: Yes, Effectiff Traduccionola LLC.

16. Question : For the cloud platform requirements, does NOLA-PS prefer a vendor-provided

platform,

integration

with

existing

District

systems?

Answer: Vendor provided-platform for on-demand and scheduling on-site interpretation and

submitting translation projects.

17. Question : For on-site simultaneous interpretation services (events), what is the typical event

size and frequency?

Answer: Events vary widely from school-based events to larger high school graduations.

18. Question : For training bilingual staff, does NOLA-PS expect the contractor to develop the

training curriculum, or deliver training based on existing District materials?

Answer: It is expected for the contractor to develop their own curriculum for the training of

bilingual staff to become effective and professional interpreters. Contractors will be required to

issue a certificate of completion for the training. NOLA PS will be open to collaboration with

the contractor to ensure the training material aligns with our expectations and matches our

desired outcome.

19. Question : For the 35% DBE goal, can the prime contractor count work performed by DBE

subcontractors, or does the prime need to be DBE-certified itself?

Answer: Yes, a Prime Contractor can count work performed by a DBE Subcontractor towards

RFP 26-0092 Language Access: Translation/Interpretation

Addendum No.1

the DBE goals. No, the Prime Contractor is not required to be a DBE Certified contractor.

20. Question : Is there a list of LAUCP-certified or SLDBE-certified firms that typically provide

language

services

the

New

Orleans

area?

Answer: Certified DBE Firms can be found at the following websites:

LAUCP:

https://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/engineering/lettings/subsdbed/dbhq20260311.aspx#gsc.tab=0

SLDBE: https://neworleans.dbesystem.com/?TN=neworleans

21. Question : How are travel time and mileage handled for on-site interpretation at schools across the

district?

Answer: All indirect costs, including travel time and mileage, must be built into the on-site

rates.

22. Question : With approximately 8% of students (roughly 3,500) having limited English

proficiency, can you provide a breakdown of languages most commonly requested?

Answer : See Answer to Question No.5.

23. Question : Will you be accepting bids from companies that offer written translation services only?

Answer: Yes, but please note the preferred contractor offers interpretation and translation

services.

24. Question : This question pertains to the “Cost Form” (Section 9.0). As the volume and size of projects

that may be assigned to us (if selected as a vendor) are unknown at this stage, we are unable to accurately

estimate a total annual fee for providing written translation services to OPSB. If we are

misunderstanding what the form is requesting, we would appreciate your guidance.

Answer: The potential contractor is able to provide OPSB with a rate per service list. Please

note from the RFP, "the proposals must specify a rate per service inclusive of both direct and

indirect costs where applicable." The service types are listed in the scope of work, section 2.0.

Additional distinctions can be made, for example between Latin and non-Latin scripts. Volume

varies widely for both school sites and district departments around the academic and enrollment

calendars. In 24-25, contractor provided 603 on-demand calls in 13 languages, 199 on-site

sessions in 19 languages, and 394,951 words across 4 languages. Spanish (approx 90%),

Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Urdu, Arabic, Bengali, French, Gujarati, Nepali, and others.

End of Addendum No.1

RFP 26-0092 Language Access: Translation/Interpretation

Addendum No.1

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.