Raven's Guide to
Special Education
Extended school year services
Extended school year (ESY) is not mentioned in the IDEA statute, but is in
the IDEA regulations, which state that ESY services must be made available to
individual students who require such services in order to receive a free
appropriate public education (FAPE). This requirement recognizes that some
students with disabilities will not receive an appropriate education unless they
have special education or related services during the summer months. ESY
services were mandated to assist these students in maintaining or generalizing
IEP objectives related to self-sufficiency, behavior, socialization,
communication and academics.
Federal regulations define "ESY services" as special education and related
services that are provided to a child with a disability, are beyond the normal
school year of the school, are in accordance with the child’s IEP, are
provided at no cost to the child's parents, and meet the standards of the
state educational agency. These services must be provided only if a student’s IEP
team determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the
provision of FAPE to the child. Schools may not limit ESY
services to particular categories of disability, and may not limit the type,
amount, or duration of those services.
For many severely impaired students, it is impossible to maintain the student in the least restrictive environment without ESY services. This is because the student's skill level or behavior deteriorates so much over the summer break that an excessive amount of time must be spent teaching the student those skills or behaviors again. This relearning process significantly reduces the time available for teaching such a student new skills. ESY services help overcome this problem.
Although eligibility for ESY services must be based on a variety of information, that provided by the student's special education teacher or therapist is usually the most accurate. Two commonly used methods are as follows:
Since most students experience some regression over extended breaks in instruction, there must be a significant increase in the recovery period for a student to need ESY services. Each school district is responsible for developing procedures to decide what are reasonable regression and recovery rates for its students.
Children with severe disabilities are most likely to have difficulty maintaining and generalizing skills after breaks in instruction. Eligibility, however, must be determined for each special education student regardless of the student's special education classification or the severity of the student's impairment.
Evidence of a regression/recoupment problem. Many children regress
to a lower level of functioning over vacation periods, but both non-disabled
and special education children usually recover (recoup) skills to the level
achieved previously in a short period of time. A regression/recoupment
analysis considers the amount of regression a child experiences as a result
of a break from school with the amount of time required to regain the prior
level of skill, and whether the child loses crucial self-sufficiency
objectives during the break, with little possibility of a reasonable
recoupment period.
Critical learning stages that occur when a student
has developed a concept, skill, or behavior and needs continued help maintaining or
generalizing what has been learned to other situations.
Least restrictive environment. Some students with disabilities cannot be maintained in the least restrictive environment without ESY because without the service, the student's skill level or behavior would deteriorate significantly over the summer break.
Parental skills and abilities. The IEP team must consider the ability of
parents to maintain a child’s level of skill during the summer break because of
the complexity of the instructional program, their lack of expertise or other
relevant reasons. (ESY might include parent training in specific areas to help
prevent child regression.)
Information from teachers, parents, and agencies, including the following:
Regular observations of the student that are data-based and that document the student's progress.
The student's previous history, including evidence of past regression and previous ESY services.
