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FastBridge officials tell Committee on Education screening helps spot students early, but funding and alignment questions remain
Summary
Renaissance officials told the Committee on Education that FastBridge screening and progress monitoring have been used statewide for four years to identify academic risk and guide interventions; lawmakers pressed for data alignment with the state test, clarity on parental reporting and how the program will be funded once ESSER dollars end.
Chris Wilson, vice president of government affairs at Renaissance, and T. I. Smith, senior national academic advisor at Renaissance, told the Committee on Education that FastBridge is being used widely in Kansas classrooms to identify students who need early intervention.
"The FastBridge program is in its fourth year here in Kansas," Wilson said, and Smith added that the tool "provides time saving, valid, and reliable assessment system that not only identifies whether a student demonstrates academic risk in reading or math, but also pinpoints the specific skill areas that need attention." The presenters said the system supports universal screening and progress monitoring and can flag dyslexia characteristics with minimal classroom disruption.
Committee members pressed presenters on several operational and policy questions. Members were told that around "230 districts, representing about, 80% of the state," currently use FastBridge and that data from the last fall window covered "over 300 students, tested with FastBridge this last fall window 2025," a figure the presenters offered during testimony. Committee staff noted the numeric statement in testimony appears inconsistent with the statewide reach claimed and asked Renaissance to provide clarified enrollment counts and the raw data behind the handout.
Representative Goetz asked for a formal linking study between FastBridge scores and the state assessment. Chris Wilson said Renaissance has performed alignments for other states and offered to provide an alignment study showing how FastBridge risk levels map to state-test performance; the committee asked that the study be provided to staff (Michelle) and uploaded to the S drive.
Lawmakers also discussed family-facing reporting and support materials. Smith said FastBridge offers parent reports and help files in English and Spanish, plus videos and built-in guidance for teachers to explain scores in ways that can be shared with guardians. On professional development and preservice training, presenters said the full FastBridge package includes training materials, and Renaissance representatives said they have discussed but do not yet have a formal "sandbox" account under contract for Kansas universities.
On funding, the panel confirmed that the State Department of Education used ESSER funds to cover part of the FastBridge cost and that under current arrangements "the state pays for half and the district pays for half" of the remaining cost. Committee members raised the coming ESSER drawdown deadline and whether new federal block-grant proposals could replace ESSER support; Dr. Harwood (responding on federal funding) said recent appropriations activity made wholesale block grants unlikely and indicated that formula funding will likely continue as the main federal channel.
The presenters and staff agreed to follow up with clarified data breakdowns (early math vs. A-Math, early reading vs. A-Reading), the requested alignment study, and documentation for parent resources. The committee closed the FastBridge portion of the hearing and moved on to other agenda items.
