The Los Angeles Unified School District has released a request for proposals for a security operations center as a service (SOCaaS). The contract could be worth as much as $6.6 million.
In the RFP (Bidding No. 1602123430), released June 10, the district outlines that it is looking for a vendor to provide various security services, “including but not limited to performance monitoring, performance tuning, optimization and maintenance of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) & Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) technology stacks, troubleshooting, security monitoring, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, application security testing and malware monitoring.”
The anticipated term of the contract is three years, and funding is “contingent on fiscal year availability.”
Security operations as a service have become an increasingly popular option for government and education organizations without the funding or talent needed to implement an in-house cybersecurity center.
As one of the largest districts in the U.S., LAUSD is no stranger to drawing the attention of bad actors. In 2022, the district was targeted in a Labor Day weekend attack that penetrated its network, putting its 16 petabytes of student data at risk.
At the time, CIO Soheil Katal said the largely unsuccessful attack was thwarted by a quick response from district IT personnel and the help of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI.
The district serves some 670,000 students with a technological footprint that includes as many as 250 applications, 1.6 million active directory users and some 130,000 networked devices, Katal said in 2023.
The district is facing what Superintendent Alberto Carvalho described in a budget summary as “significant financial headwinds” in a budget shortfall in the 2025-26 fiscal year to the tune of $94.5 million. The state’s budget predicament has led to the withdrawal of some $5.7 billion in school funding across the state.
An optional pre-proposal conference will be held at 9 a.m. June 17, and final responses are due by 11 a.m. July 9.
The point of contact for this solicitation is contracting officer Richard Lee.
Deep Dive Resources
2025-26 Proposed Budget Book
Budget Services Resources/Home
LAUSD RFP #1602123430
LAUSD Looks to Outsource Cybersecurity With $6.6M SOCaaS RFP
What to Know- LAUSD has issued an RFP for a security operations center-as-a-service (SOCaaS) vendor, worth up to $6.6 million.
- The district is seeking vendors to manage security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) technologies.
- The district is facing "significant financial headwinds" with a $94.5 million deficit for FY2025-26.
