Summary
The California Department of Education (CDE) will perform an off-site procurement review a minimum of once every eight years for all residential childcare institutions, private schools, camps, public-school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education.
Note: Administrative Reviews (AR) and Local Agency Procurement Reviews (LAPR) are separate reviews that may or may not occur during the same school year.
Phase 1: Prereview
Step 1: The CDE Notifies the School Food Authority (SFA) About the Procurement Review
The CDE will notify SFA's by email that they are scheduled to receive an off-site procurement review. The email will include a list of documents the SFA must submit to the CDE, the due date and links to procurement review resources.
Step 2: The SFA Completes the SFA Procurement Table
The SFA will complete the SFA Procurement Table, which is a fillable spreadsheet where the SFA enters the required procurement information. The SFA will complete a Vendor Paid List (VPL) summary of expenditures from the prior school year to assist with completing the table.
SFAs that need assistance with filling out the SFA Procurement Table and VPL can access the SFA Procurement Table Guide in Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS), Download Forms, Form ID PRU 01a and Vendor Paid List Instructions in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID PRU 02.
Step 3: The SFA Submits Required Documents to CDE
The SFA submits the required documents to CDE by the due date to the Procurement Resources Unit email address at NSDProcurementReview@cde.ca.gov. The SFA will submit the following required documents to CDE:
- Child Nutrition Program (CNP) Program operator-only cooperative agreement, Inter-agency agreement, Memorandum of Understanding agreement, Piggyback Contract or Group purchasing agreement, if applicable
- Written Code of Conduct
- Written Procurement Procedures
- SFA Procurement Table PRU 01
- VPL summary of expenditures from the prior school year
- Initial Documents Checklist
Phase 2: Review
Step 4: The CDE Selects Procurements for the Review
After reviewing the contracts listed in the SFA Procurement Table, the CDE will decide which of the procurements (that is, which contracts and supporting documents) they will select for a detailed review. The CDE will select contracts based on a list of established priorities.
These priorities include:
- Solicitation that received only one response
- Group purchasing, group buying, or third-party contracts
- Highest-priced contracts, and
- Procurements that exceed the applicable threshold; for example, instances when the simplified acquisition method was used for a $275,000 procurement, which exceeds the $250,000 simplified acquisition threshold.
Step 5: The CDE Requests Additional Documents from the SFA
The CDE will request contract(s) and supporting documents from the SFA based on the procurements selected for review in Step 4. The SFAs will have 10 business days to submit the requested documents.
The CDE developed the LAPR Required Documentation web page to assist SFAs with examples of the types of documentation the CDE may request. SFAs can also access the LAPR required documents in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID PRU 03.
Step 6: The CDE Conducts the Off-site Review
The CDE will review contract(s) and supporting documents submitted by the SFA using the review questions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Procurement Review Tool. These questions address general procurement (e.g., code of conduct and procurement procedure documents), micropurchases, simplified acquisitions, formal procurements, Food Service Management Company (FSMC) contracts, and USDA Foods processing contracts.
Phase 3: Closing
Step 7: Request for Technical Assistance Documentation (TAD)
The CDE emails the SFA with a report of the review.
- Executive Summary Email – The executive summary is a high-level overview of the LAPR conducted.
- Technical assistance (TA) review report – These documents are generated by the Procurement Resource analyst and provide the agency with the errors that were found and the TA given during the procurement review.
- Acknowledgement Form – This document holds agencies accountable for future disallowances and is due within 10 business days of receipt.
- FSMC Base Year Review Email (if applicable) – This document provides the agency with the errors that were found and the TA given during the procurement review.
- FSMC Renewal Year Review Email (if applicable) – This document provides the agency errors that were found and the TA given during the procurement review.
Step 8: Closing Review Guidance
Once the CDE has received your signed Acknowledgment form, the review is closed.
For questions, email the Procurement Resources Unit at NSDProcurementReview@cde.ca.gov or visit the CDE Procurement in CNP web page.