RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution

RFP 2026-02-27
Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
Issue Date: Friday, August 28, 2026
Submission Deadline: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Central Standard Time)
Office at 601-973-8582 for assistance. Questions regarding proposal specifications are to be addressed to the Project
Administrator listed in the proposal.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
I. Invitation
II. Procurement Schedule (Tentative)
III. RFP Coordinator / Point of Contact
IV: Submission
V. Legal and Administrative Requirements
A. Public Records
B. Ethics / Conflict of Interest
C. E-Verify
D. Availability of Funds / Non-Appropriation
E. Insurance
F. Term and Termination
VI. Introduction and Background
A. Scope of Work
B. Minimum Technical Response
C. Performance Specifications
D. Vendor Specifications
E. Proposal Submission Requirements
F. Evaluation Criteria
G. Pricing Requirements
VII. General Information
A. Specifications and Technical Requirements
VII. Proposal Format and Required Contents
Exhibit E 1: Proposal Form and Signature Page
Exhibit E 2: Submission Cover Sheet and Configuration Summary

Exhibit E 3: Assurances and Signature Form


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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
I. Invitation
Jackson Public School District (JPSD) is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors for goods and/or services as
described in this RFP. All products and services must meet the specifications or be approved equivalents.
The selected proposer shall provide the Services described below. Proposals must clearly explain how
the proposer will meet each requirement.
II. Procurement Schedule (Tentative)
The District anticipates the following schedule. The District reserves the right to modify this schedule at
any time.
Bid Issued Friday, August 28, 2026
Prebid Meeting (virtual) -
Deadline for Written Questions Wednesday, September 9, 2026
District Issues Responses/Addenda Monday, September 14, 2026
Proposal Submission Deadline Thursday, September 17, 2026, 10:00 A.M.
Evaluation Period
Optional Presentations/Demos -
Notice of Intent to Award (anticipated)
Board Approval
Contract Start Date (anticipated)
III. Bid Coordinator / Point of Contact
Communications regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing to the designated RFP coordinator
designated below:
* Name: Michele Mays
* Title: Procurement Supervisor
* Email: rfp@jackson.k12.ms.us
* Phone: 601-973-8582
Proposers shall not contact other District employees, Board members, or representatives regarding this
RFP during the procurement process.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
IV. Proposal Instructions and Requirements
Please be advised that Jackson Public Schools will accept electronic proposal submissions only for this
solicitation. Printed, mailed, or hand-delivered proposals will not be accepted or considered.
Proposals must be submitted electronically through Central Bidding at the link below: www.centralbidding.com
Vendors are responsible for ensuring proposals are successfully uploaded and submitted prior to the deadline.
Important Submission Notes
* The Proposal Submission Deadline is Thursday, September 17, at 10:00 a.m. Central time, as stated in
Section II - Procurement Schedule.
* Late proposals will not be opened or considered.
* Faxed or emailed proposals will not be accepted.
* The District is not responsible for technical issues related to electronic submission.
* Vendors are encouraged to submit proposals early to ensure timely reception.
Proposal Format Requirements
* Proposal Cover Page must be the first page
* Proposal must be signed by an authorized official
* Incomplete proposals will not be evaluated
Pricing Requirements (if applicable)
* All prices must be net and include all applicable discounts
* Unit pricing prevails in case of discrepancies
* Prices must be rounded to two (2) decimal places
* Freight and shipping costs must be included, if applicable
Payment Terms (If applicable)
* Payment issued after satisfactory delivery or completion of services
* No partial payments unless specified
* Multi-year and open purchase orders follow contracted schedules
Insurance Requirements
The Contractor shall maintain the following insurance coverage for the duration of the contract:
* Commercial General Liability
Contractors must maintain a minimum of $1,000,000 in General Liability coverage.
Jackson Public Schools (JPS) must be listed as an Additional Insured on this policy. Coverage
shall be primary and non-contributory.
* Workers' Compensation
Any Contractor or subcontractor entering JPS school campuses, administrative buildings, or
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
project sites must maintain Workers' Compensation insurance with a minimum limit of
$1,000,000.
* Certificate Holder Requirement
Jackson Public Schools must be listed as the Certificate Holder on all Certificates of Insurance
(COIs). COIs must be provided to JPS prior to commencing any work or entering District property.
Evaluation and Award
* Award will be made to the responsive and responsible proposer whose proposal is determined to be most
advantageous to the District (best value), considering price and other evaluation factors stated in this RFP.
* Evaluation may include, as applicable: price, compliance with RFP requirements,
responsiveness/completeness, references, and overall value.
* All awards are subject to approval by the Board of Trustees and availability of funds.
* The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive informalities and minor irregularities, and
take any action in the District's best interest consistent with applicable Mississippi law.
* The District may request clarification, verify information, and contact references.
* Optional demonstrations/presentations:
The District may invite the highest-ranked proposers to participate in demonstrations,
o
presentations, or clarification meetings.
Invitation is at the District's discretion and does not guarantee award.
o
Demonstrations must address the proposer's platform, enrollment tools, reporting, and other
o
features relevant to this RFP. Failure to participate when requested may result in disqualification.
* The District may negotiate with one or more proposers, as permitted, to obtain the best value for the
District.
Performance, Default, and Termination
Failure to perform in accordance with the contract may result in termination and the vendor being held
responsible for any excess costs incurred by the District.
Guarantees and Warranties
All goods and services must meet the specifications outlined in this RFP. Non-conforming goods or services must
be replaced at the vendor's expense.
Addenda
Vendors must acknowledge receipt of all addenda issued during the RFP process and submit any
required additional information with their proposal.
Important Notices
* All proposal contents become public records after award/notice of intent, subject to the
Mississippi Public Records Act and applicable exemptions.
* The District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, waive informalities, and negotiate
with the selected proposer in the District's best interest.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
* Proposers are responsible for reviewing the entire RFP and submitting all required forms and
attachments.
All question and answers will be posted on the Google document link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lXNGplxhPDZL-
mJJ9sp9BB85fKeC6xolvZJC5LDJJes/edit?usp=sharing
* Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing to George Slade, Executive Director of
Information Technology Services, by September 09, 2026. Questions and answers material to all bidders
will be distributed to all vendors who have indicated intent to respond, consistent with open and fair
competitive bidding practice.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
Jackson Public School District ("the District") is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit
VI. Introduction and Background
competitive proposals from qualified vendors for an advanced email and collaboration security solution.
The District is the third-largest public school district in Mississippi, serving approximately 17,000
students and employing nearly 3,500 staff across 35 schools.
The District's productivity and communication environment is built on Microsoft 365, which includes
native email filtering capabilities. The District recognizes that phishing remains a leading entry point for
ransomware and other cyberattacks against K-12 institutions nationally, and that native, single-layer
email filtering alone is frequently insufficient against modern, AI-assisted social engineering and account
takeover attempts. The District further recognizes its obligation to protect sensitive student data under
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as that data moves through email, chat, and file-
sharing channels used by staff.
The District intends to procure a solution that supplements its existing Microsoft 365 environment with
an additional, independent layer of threat detection and data protection, without displacing or requiring
removal of its existing Microsoft licensing investment.
This RFP is intended to be vendor-neutral and describes the District's required capabilities in functional
terms. No specific manufacturer, product, or brand is intended to be favored. Any product, feature name,
or specification referenced herein should be read as illustrative of the required capability, and proposals
for equivalent solutions meeting the stated functional requirements will be evaluated on equal footing.
The District seeks proposals for a solution (or combination of licensed products and implementation
A. Purpose and Scope of Work
services from a single responsible vendor) that provides:
* Advanced threat detection for email delivered through the District's Microsoft 365 tenant.
* Extended protection for collaboration and file-sharing applications used by District staff.
* Data loss prevention capabilities covering sensitive student and staff data.
* Reduced administrative and incident-response burden on the District's IT staff.
* Implementation, configuration, administrator training, and ongoing technical support for the life of the contract
term.
The awarded solution must integrate with the District's existing Microsoft 365 environment without
requiring the removal of native Microsoft security tooling and without requiring changes to the District's
mail exchanger (MX) records or core mail-flow routing.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
Proposals must address each requirement below and indicate compliance using the Compliance Matrix
B. Minimum Technical Requirements
in Appendix A. Requirements marked (M) are mandatory; a proposal that does not meet a mandatory
requirement, or does not clearly demonstrate an equivalent capability, may be deemed non-responsive.
3.1.1 The solution must integrate with Microsoft 365 via a supported application programming interface
3.1 Deployment and Architecture
(API) or equivalent method that does not require changing the District's MX records or rerouting mail
flow through a third-party gateway. (M)
3.1.2 The solution must be capable of being deployed and operational within days, not months, of
contract execution. (M)
3.1.3 The solution must operate as a supplemental layer alongside the District's existing Microsoft 365
security tools without requiring their removal. (M)
3.1.4 The solution must support the District's current Microsoft 365 licensing tier(s) without requiring an
upgrade to a higher Microsoft license tier as a precondition of functioning.
3.2.1 The solution must use multiple, independent, AI/machine-learning-based detection engines rather
3.2 Threat Detection and Prevention
than relying solely on static signature or reputation-based filtering. (M)
3.2.2 The solution must continuously re-evaluate messages and links after initial delivery, not only at the
point of arrival, to catch threats that weaponize after delivery (e.g., delayed-detonation phishing
links). (M)
3.2.3 The solution must demonstrate, through independent third-party testing, published performance
data, or verifiable customer references, a phishing detection effectiveness rate of at least 99% and a
malware detection effectiveness rate of at least 99%. (M)
3.2.4 The solution must detect and flag business email compromise (BEC) attempts, including executive
impersonation and vendor/invoice fraud patterns, using behavioral and content analysis rather than
sender-domain blocklists alone.
3.3.1 The solution must scan internal-to-internal email traffic (i.e., messages between District staff
3.3 Internal Threat and Account Takeover Protection
mailboxes), not only inbound/outbound mail crossing the network perimeter, to detect lateral
phishing originating from a compromised internal account. (M)
3.3.2 The solution must include an anomaly-detection capability that monitors account logins and flags
suspicious authentication activity indicative of account takeover.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
3.3.3 The solution must provide a mechanism to automatically or semi-automatically contain a
compromised account (e.g., session revocation, alerting, or quarantine) pending administrator
review.
3.4.1 The solution must provide data loss prevention capabilities that identify and control the
3.4 Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
transmission of sensitive data, including personally identifiable student information subject to
FERPA. (M)
3.4.2 DLP policies must be able to be applied consistently across email and, where applicable,
collaboration/file-sharing channels covered under Section 3.5, rather than being limited to email
alone.
3.4.3 The solution must allow District administrators to define, test, and modify DLP policies without
requiring vendor professional services for routine policy changes.
3.5.1 The solution must extend threat detection, malicious file sandboxing, and data loss prevention
3.5 Collaboration Platform Security
coverage to Microsoft Teams. (M)
3.5.2 The solution must support extension of equivalent protections to SharePoint Online and OneDrive
for Business.
3.5.3 The solution should support extension of equivalent protections to additional collaboration and
file-sharing platforms (e.g., Slack, Google Workspace, or third-party file-sharing services) in the event
the District adopts them during the contract term.
3.5.4 Malicious file detection within collaboration platforms must include automated
sandboxing/detonation of files prior to a user being able to open or download them.
3.6.1 The solution must provide a centralized administrative console with role-based access for District
3.6 Administration, Reporting, and SOC Support
IT staff.
3.6.2 The solution must provide reporting sufficient to demonstrate a measurable reduction in the
volume of malicious or unwanted email reaching end-user inboxes, to support the District's limited IT
staffing capacity.
3.6.3 Vendor must describe available managed detection/response or incident-response support
options, including any incident response service that can be engaged in the event of a confirmed
compromise.
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RFP 2026-02-27 Advanced Email and Collaboration Security Solution
The District will give favorable consideration, but does not require, proposals that also include the
3.7 Optional / Value-Added Capabilities
following at an identified incremental cost:
3.7.1 Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) monitoring and
enforcement assistance.
3.7.2 Ongoing, simulated phishing exercises and security awareness training for District staff.
3.7.3 Monitoring for District staff or student-facing credentials appearing in known data-breach or dark-
web sources.
3.7.4 Email archiving sufficient to support public records requests and litigation hold requirements
applicable to a Mississippi public school district.
3.8.1 Vendor must describe how the proposed solution supports the District's obligations under FERPA
3.8 Compliance and Data Privacy
with respect to student personally identifiable information. (M)
3.8.2 Vendor must describe data encryption practices for data at rest and in transit.
3.8.3 Vendor must disclose where covered data is hosted/processed and describe any subcontractor or
sub-processor relationships involved in service delivery.
3.8.4 Vendor must provide evidence of an independent security attestation (e.g., SOC 2 Type II or
equivalent) covering the proposed service.
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