Vendors

Vendor Resource Catalog

* Note: The Provisional Vendors category will soon be renamed to Data Reporting Tool.

Vendor Criteria

Thank you for your interest in the Texas Center for Student Supports(TCSS).

TCSS is required by the grant to vet vendors used by the Stronger Connections Grant Awardees. Vendors in the following categories will be vetted: professional development, services, programs, and software that support students and schools in Mental and Behavioral Health and Well-being, Student and Staff Safety, Physical Health and Wellness, Supportive Discipline, and Academic Readiness, as well as, any 6200 budget code items. Please complete the Resource Vendor Request form below.

Not all vendors and expenditures will need to be vetted by TCSS, for example: 6300 budget items supporting SSF and SSTs, materials and supplies, sensory equipment,  etc. 

The following criteria will result in a vendor being excluded from the Resource List:

  • Supplement Not Supplant Concern

  • Integrated Support

  • Case Management Deliverables*

  • Insufficient Match to the SSF

  • Insufficient Score on the TCSS Rubric

It is ultimately the awardee’s responsibility to ensure that products and services purchased with SCG funds 1) adhere to the supplement not supplant provision (i.e. keep an eye on minimum standards) and 2) do not replace a TCSS integrated support (ex. Climate surveys). We recognize that some approved vendors offer certain products and services that are not allowable purchases. The TCSS and TEA are happy to provide support in navigating the nuances of the vendor list. 

  • The term “supplement, not supplant” is a provision common to many federal statutes authorizing education grant programs. There is no single supplement, not supplant provision. Rather, the wording of the provision varies depending on the various statutes. In order to be in compliance with each program’s version of the supplement, not supplant requirements, LEAs must be cognizant of how the provision is applied in each specific program. (Texas Supplement vs. Supplant Handbook).

    Supplant examples that this grant funding can not purchase are: Safety equipment, Internet safety software and systems, Restraint training, etc.

  • Based on the grant, technical assistance and program guidance will be provided by TCSS or the Regional ESC. Therefore, funds should not be spent on replicating services or technical assistance from a vendor.

    integrated Support examples are: SST process and protocols, foundational components in Mental and Behavioral Health and Well-being, Student and Staff Safety, Physical Health and Wellness, and Supportive Discipline, School Culture and Climate evaluation and reform, etc.

  • As described in the grant, the SSF is designed to support students in areas of non-academic needs including: Mental and Behavioral Health and Well-being, Student and Staff Safety, Physical Health and Wellness, Supportive Discipline, and Academic Readiness to impact individual schools and whole school culture and climate.

    The qualifying criteria for the rubric score are multi-faceted and include bridging gaps in non-academic needs, being integrated into the SSF for LEAs, incorporating input from the TCSS Advisory Group, and encompassing foundational components of the grant.

*TCSS will only accept appeals from the Local Education Agency (LEAs) / School Districts.

    1. An LEA, ESC or stakeholder should submit a form with all pertinent information for review. Only one form per vendor needs to be submitted. 

    2. Ensure that the vendor aligns with the grant and SSF and meets the criteria listed below. 

    3. Provide any research evidence of how it has impacted that area in the SSF

    4. Understand this multifaceted review will be multifaceted and may take up to 6 weeks to complete.