Contracts and Purchasing
TEA’s Contracts and Purchasing Division (CPD) is responsible for the procurement of goods and services that support the educational, research, and business initiatives of TEA. CPD is the central purchasing and contracting authority for TEA and is the central repository for all contracts created and monitored by TEA, as well as all contracts to which TEA is a signatory. TEA has delegated purchasing authority from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) for one-time purchases of goods of $50,000 or less and for services valued at $100,000 or less. Purchases above the thresholds are subject to review by the CPA Statewide Procurement Division.
TEA currently has over 400 contracts valued at approximately $1 billion with annual expenditures estimated at $250 million.
Navigate to section:
Vendor Information
Contract Opportunities
The best way to do business with TEA is to search for current procurement opportunities on TEA's Bonfire portal. TEA has partnered with Bonfire Interactive to enhance collaboration for procurement activities within our organization and the vendor community. TEA will continue advertising all upcoming bidding opportunities on the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD), but we require prospective contractors to submit bids electronically via Bonfire.
To view current procurement opportunities, register as a supplier, or submit bids electronically, please visit Bonfire. For additional support and assistance with vendor registration, please follow the instructions available on Bonfire's support website.
Technology Procurement Opportunities
To learn about technology procurement opportunities, visit the Department of Information Resources (DIR) website.
Register as a Vendor with the State of Texas
Visit the Comptroller's Vendor Information Center for information on how to become a vendor for the State of Texas.
TEA encourages vendors and service providers to register on the Centralized Masters Bidders List (CMBL) to receive bidding opportunities based on the products or services they can provide to the state.
Please include the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) codes associated with your produce and/or service offerings.
Sole Source Providers
Our Grants division handles reviewing and approving/denying noncompetitive procurement sole source or non-sole source requests.
School officials must fill out their request at the EDGAR Workapp on SmartSheet and submit it to Grants for review. Please note: The vendor cannot fill out the form for the school.
The form is found on the TEA website, on the Forms for Prior Approval, Disclosure, and Justification page.
Limited Contact Policy
Communication and information shared by industry representatives is a vital resource for public procurement professionals. However, to maintain fair and fully competitive procurement opportunities for all vendors and to avoid any appearance of impropriety, vendor communication with program staff must cease once the development of a competitive solicitation begins. Any communication between a vendor and TEA must be limited to communication with the CPD staff. Potential vendors who fail to comply with the TEA limited contact policy will be disqualified from award consideration.
Current Contracts
Texas Government Code Sections §2054.126(d)(4) and §2261.253 require each state agency to post specific procurement information on its website.
Contracts Between $15,000 and $50,000
To view recently executed contracts between these values, please refer to TEA's list of Current Contracts. TEA will update the list of current contracts each month unless there are no changes since the previous posting.
Contracts Over $50,000
Information regarding contracts valued at over $50,000 may be found on the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) Contracts Database. Members of the public are welcome to review these step-by-step instructions to locate and download copies of TEA contracts uploaded to the LBB database or submit a Public Information Act request.
Reports on Interagency Contracts
TEA has compiled a Report on Interagency Contracts for Fiscal Year 2022 in compliance with General Appropriations Act, Article IX, Section 17.12, 87th Legislature.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about TEA's current contracts, you may email TEAContracts@tea.texas.gov.
Contract Monitoring
Texas Government Code §2261.256 requires TEA to develop purchasing accountability and risk management procedures to assess the risk of fraud, abuse, or waste in the contractor selection process, in contract provisions, and in the payment and reimbursement rates and methods TEA offers vendors for contracted goods and services.
All TEA contracts are monitored for compliance, and contracts meeting specific criteria receive enhanced monitoring. Contract monitoring activities are conducted in a variety of ways, but must be objective and address contract complexity, value, and risk.
As required by Texas Government Code §2261.253, the Contracts and Purchasing Division submits reports on contracts requiring enhanced monitoring to the commissioner of education or his designee.
Preventing Fraud, Abuse, and Waste
Texas Government Code §2261.256 requires all state agencies to adopt policies and procedures to comply with purchasing accountability and risk analysis procedures. TEA has adopted procedures for assessing the risk of fraud, abuse, or waste in the contractor selection process, contract provisions, and the payment and reimbursement rates and methods for the different types of good and services for which TEA contracts.
All TEA contracts are monitored based on established criteria to set clear levels of purchasing accountability. Employee roles and responsibilities are designed to ensure TEA has effective internal controls for the procurement and contracting process.
Additional Information
The TEA Contract Management Handbook provides more specific information regarding contracts and purchasing accountability, risk analysis, monitoring and enhanced monitoring.
Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs)
What is a HUB?
A HUB is a business owned by a woman, minority or service-disabled veteran that is certified by the Comptroller of Public Accounts to increase its participation in state procurement. The HUB program aims to ensure that HUBs receive a fair share of state business. Visit our Historically Underutilized Business Program page for more information.
What does TEA's HUB Office do?
TEA is committed to assisting Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) by providing equal opportunities to compete for all procurement opportunities at the agency.
TEA's HUB Office within the Contracts and Purchasing Division (CPD) leads TEA's efforts to promote procurement opportunities for HUBs in alignment with state law and public policy.
TEA purchases goods and services from HUB vendors whenever possible. Additionally, TEA encourages prime contractors to use HUBs as partners and subcontractors whenever possible by identifying potential subcontracting opportunities within TEA solicitations.
The HUB Office sets annual HUB goals, identifies opportunities for HUBs to bid as prime vendors or subcontractors, monitors compliance with HUB laws, and facilitates the development of mentor-protégé relationships between agency prime vendors and HUB subcontractors.
HUB Office staff also attend events and activities, including pre-bid conferences and other forums to educate the public about HUB goals and compliance.
HUB Contact Information
For more information, please contact the TEA HUB Office @ HUBOffice@tea.texas.gov.
Contracts Public Information Requests
There are two ways to acquire documents from the Contracts & Purchasing Division. To locate specific contracts, please use the directions for the Legislative Budget Board Contract Search below. Otherwise, requestors may submit a Public Information Act request for any available documents.
Legislative Budget Board Contract Search Instructions
- Go to the Legislative Budget Board’s Contract website.
- Click on 'Contracts'.
- Click the 'Contract Database Search' link from the 4 main options.
- Scroll down to ‘Contracts by Agency & Vendor’.
- In the Agency field, type 'Texas Education Agency'.
- Fill in the vendor name or contract number in the appropriate boxes.
- Click on the link for the selected contract ID number. It will open the contract documents list in a new window.
- To view a specific document in the ‘Attachments’ table, click on the corresponding magnifying glass in the left-hand column.
Frequently Asked Questions
TEA purchases a wide variety of goods and services including, but not limited to, the following:
- IT services
- Hearing officers, mediators, and court reporters
- Student assessments
- Educator assessments
- Translation services
- Evaluation services
- Freight transportation (textbooks)
- Electronic and hard copy instructional materials
- Braille, large print, audio, and digitally recorded textbooks
- Office supplies
CPD is also responsible for the purchasing of standard offices supplies, furniture, equipment, meeting rooms, subscriptions, and one-time personal services contracts under $10,000.
All agency procurements over $25,000 are posted electronically to the Electronic State Business Daily (outside source).
School districts in Texas make independent purchasing decisions at a local level or as part of a co-op. For some specific projects, TEA may adopt a preferred vendor list, but there is no general TEA list of vendors for school districts to use.
Grants information can be found on the Grants Administration webpage. Users may also use the TEA Grant Program Search to locate a specific grant.
Additional information for specific programs may be found on the Academics webpage.
As a state agency, we are required to follow open procurement laws and do not invite vendors into the building with contract specialists. Please see the resources listed in the Vendor Information section to identify the best ways to do business with TEA.
The School District Locator map page has the following search features:
- Search capabilities based upon district name, district number, county, or ESC region
- School district and ESC region boundaries
- School type and location
- Ability to zoom to or identify an individual school
- Contact information for district trustees, and staff
- District accountability ratings and enrollment information
- School listings with address, accountability rating, and school type
- Links to TEA school district reports (performance, financial, etc.)
- Links to school district and ESC websites
This map was produced by the Texas Education Agency. It is for informational purposes only—it has not been prepared for, nor is it suitable for, legal or engineering purposes. Positions shown are based on information available at the time the map data was last updated. They are approximations, and are not the product of an on-the-ground survey.
There are Education Service Centers for each region of Texas, and they may be able to provide additional information.
General Inquiries:
512-463-9041
kristy.quigley@tea.texas.gov
Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Office: