Lawmakers press DOE on FAST implementation, vendor ownership, duplicate local tests and teacher capacity

Committee members raised implementation questions about FAST and broader district practices during a May 20 Student Academic Success Subcommittee hearing, focusing on vendor procurement, duplicate local tools, teacher capacity and data access.

Procurement and ownership: Deputy Commissioner Juan Copa told legislators that the department competitively procured the statewide FAST platform and identified the vendor as Cambium Assessment Incorporated (CAI). Copa said the state “does own the items” because the department develops test items; he did not provide contract dollar figures at the hearing and agreed to follow up with procurement and cost information.

Local district tools and duplicative testing: Several members said some districts continue to use local progress‑monitoring products (for example, iReady in Miami‑Dade) alongside FAST. Copa and Chancellor Paul Burns said districts are permitted to use local tools in addition to the statewide system but urged districts to weigh duplication and efficiency. Burns said the statewide tool covers the full breadth of state standards and can identify students who need further drilldowns; local vendors can be useful for targeted practice but district leaders should be strategic about testing burdens.

Testing burden and screen time: Representatives told the committee they hear concerns from teachers and parents about student and teacher stress and screen time. Chair McFarland defended the FAST design as intended to reduce end‑of‑year stakes by providing interim checkups, noting that PM1 and PM2 are “freebies” without statewide stakes, and that the point is to give teachers actionable data during the year rather than waiting until summer.

Data access, parent reporting and languages: Copa pointed to the public portal (knowyourschoolsfl.org) for state, district and school report cards. Committee members asked whether parent reports are available in home languages; department officials confirmed parent reports are available in Spanish and Haitian Creole and said additional home‑based resources would be available to families. The department also said it is developing a math resource portal and recorded professional‑learning videos for teachers; the portal was expected to go live by the end of summer 2025.

Mobile, private‑school and military students: Members asked how returning and highly mobile students are handled. Copa said about 4 percent of Florida public‑school students are returning from another school setting in a given year; school‑grade calculations count only full‑year enrolled students defined by presence at the October and February surveys. The department said military families’ students are treated the same operationally and that the department would provide additional data on military‑connected students on request. The committee also discussed NAEP sampling and private‑school exclusion from NAEP samples, which Copa said is a federal design limitation.

Teacher capacity and coaching: Legislators repeatedly raised whether teachers have time or coaching to implement Tier 2/Tier 3 interventions. Burns described supports the department provides (regional literacy directors, summer and regional professional learning, and plans to scale training videos and lesson exemplars) and said districts must be strategic when building schedules and staffing coaching roles. Several members suggested recruiting experienced or retired teachers into mentoring/coach roles; Burns said the department is pursuing multiple pathways, including “resiliency coaches,” and the state’s professional learning network.

Follow‑ups requested: committee members asked the department to supply (1) procurement details and contract costs for the FAST vendor, (2) district counts of students identified with substantial deficiencies, (3) district examples of individualized progress‑monitoring plans, and (4) analytics on public portal usage and language availability.

Ending: The committee did not vote on policy changes at the session; members were advised that the department will return with requested materials and that legislators could consider statutory amendments in this session’s bill cycle if they identify gaps.