While you should always check with your legal counsel, the short answer is “yes” in almost all cases. Despite that, some people still have a misperception about how cooperative purchasing works, most likely because of the complexity of state and federal laws governing public procurement.

State Laws

Each state has adopted statues to explicitly allow for cooperative purchasing. These laws typically:

• Authorize public entities, including schools, to participate in cooperative purchasing agreements

• Outline the requirements for forming or joining cooperative purchasing organizations

• Specify the conditions under which cooperative contracts can be used

In addition, via the Joint Powers Authority, two or more public entities (e.g. local governments or education entities) are generally permitted to jointly exercise any power common to all of them (even if the entities are not located in the same state).  Joint Power Authorities provide public entities to combine their commercial efforts to achieve greater economies of scale or market power.

For example, many states have adopted legislation similar to the American Bar Association’s Model Procurement Code, which includes provisions for cooperative purchasing.

Federal Laws

Nationally, cooperative education purchasing is not just legal—it’s encouraged. The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) explicitly permit educational institutions to use cooperative purchasing agreements that comply with procurement standards.

Public vs Private Schools

There are some key differences between public and private schools. Public schools are subject to state and federal procurement laws and may need to demonstrate that cooperative contracts meet their procurement requirements.

Private schools generally have more flexibility, as they are not typically bound by the same procurement restrictions as public institutions. This can simplify the process.

Competitive Solicitation and Bidding Requirements

In many cases, cooperative purchasing organizations meet or even exceed competitive solicitation and bidding requirements. For example, TruPointe Partners negotiates cooperative contracts after a rigorous competitive solicitation process that complies with most state and federal regulations. This includes public solicitation and a mandatory submission period of no less than 30 days to provide ample time for suppliers to respond to RFPs. Multiple bids are evaluated and negotiated on behalf of member institutions, which have the option to opt-in to cooperative contracts.

Schools can typically satisfy their own sourcing requirements while benefiting from volume discounts offered by cooperative education purchasing contracts.