Intent to Sole Source - Educational Textbooks and Materials - FCC Yazoo City

Description:
The Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Yazoo City, Mississippi intends to award a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract to Paxen Publishing, located at 2194 Highway A1A, Suite 208, Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937.

1. Scope of Requirement

This acquisition is for proprietary inmate literacy, basic educational training, and adult secondary education curriculum systems. The requested products will serve the complex's centralized Education Department and consist of the following authorized items:

• TABE Tutor 11/12 Test Preparation Modules (Student & Teacher Layouts)
• Steck-Vaughn Fundamental Skills Instructional Bundles
• Steck-Vaughn PreGED Test Preparation Sets
• Steck-Vaughn GED Test Preparation Materials (English and Spanish print editions, plus matching digital seat licensing formats)
• Complementary initial in-service instructional implementation services

2. Regulatory Rationale

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), implemented via FAR 6.302-1 ("Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements").

Paxen Publishing has certified that it functions as the exclusive publisher, trademark holder, and distribution point for these specific product families. No external commercial brokers, school supply entities, or secondary instructional warehouses hold wholesale rights or valid distribution agreements for these resources. Using alternative curriculum layouts would force a complete restructuring of the facility’s baseline testing tracking framework and cause unacceptable operational delays in inmate academic processing.

3. Submission of Capabilities Statements

This publication does not constitute a formal Request for Quotation (RFQ) or a Request for Proposal (RFP). No solicitation package will be posted openly. However, interested parties who believe they can legally provide these exact items may submit a detailed capability statement, technical data sheets, and official documentation proving authorized distribution rights.

All capability materials must be submitted electronically via email to C. Tate, Supervisory Contract Specialist, at c3tate@bop.gov no later than August 15, 2026, by 8:00 AM CST. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future.