EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Oregon Advocacy Center

I. What is ESY?

"ESY" stands for "extended school year." Some students with disabilities require an extended school year in order to receive a "free appropriate public education (FAPE)" . Hence, a standard school year calendar may not be enough to satisfy the state and federal entitlement to an appropriate education. An ESY program, as part of FAPE, may include education and related services. ESY services are designed to ensure the student maintains skills and/or behaviors learned during the school year. They are not designed to assist in acquiring new skills or behaviors.

II. Is ESY Different From Summer School?

Yes. A school district has no obligation to provide summer school to anY student. If it does offer summer school, one maY choose whether or not to participate. As summer school is supplementarY to, and not part of, the regular school calendar and curricula, a district is free to charge tuition.

With ESY, on the other hand, a child participates because he needs to participate in order to attain a FAPE. Because of the need for the student's ESY, the district cannot, in anY circumstance, charge the parent tuition. The ESY services, like the school services obtained during the regular school calendar Year, are part of the "free appropriate public education" which the school district is obligated to provide.

In addition, ESY services must be tailored to meet the child's individualized needs, as set forth in the child's IEP. Hence, it would be impermissible to channel a child into an existing summer school program under the guise of ESY if the child's IEP reflects that she requires something different.

III. Who Is Eligible For ESY?

A student is eligible for extended school Year services if that student needs education services in order to maintain the skills or behaviors theY have developed as identified on the IEP. EligibilitY hinges on whether the student will or would be expected to experience a substantial regression during the summer months in the absence of a summer program, and those skills could not be recouped within a reasonable period of time after school starts again in September. Regression means a significant loss of skills or behavior in an area that is specified on the student's IEP. Recoupment means the recoverY of skills or behavior to the level the student had achieved before the school break. The Oregon Department of Education has indicated that it considers 30 instructional daYs to be an acceptable recoupment period for an interruption in educational services of eight to twelve weeks. It does, though, allow for case bY case exceptions. One court phrased the issue as "whether the benefits accrued to the child during the regular school Year will be significantlY jeopardized if he is not provided an educational program during the summer months." Alamo Heights Independent School District v. State Board of Education, 790 F.2d 1153, 1158 (5th Cir. 1986).

All determinations of eligibilitY must be applied on an individualized basis; districts cannot categoricallY denY certain classes of special education students an ESY.

The IEP team determines whether a student is eligible for services. In addition to considering regression and recoupment, the IEP team can consider additional factors such as:

the nature and severitY of the child's disabilitY
if the child has emerging skills or is on the verge of a breakthrough that would be disrupted without extended school Year services
the child's rate of progress toward their goals
the availabilitY of alternative resources
the child's need to interact with children without disabilities
areas of the child's curriculum that need continuous attention
the student's vocational needs
the nature of the services requested (e.g. if theY are extraordinarY or integral to the child's program).

IV. Upon What Are ESY EligibilitY Decisions Based?

ESY decisions are based upon documented evidence of regression and recoupment, or predictions regarding the likelihood of regression and recoupment of skills and behavior. Some possible sources of information which maY be used to determine a child's likelihood of regressing and his relearning potential include:

progress of goals on consecutive IEPs;
progress reports maintained bY educators, therapists, and others having direct contact with the student before and after interruptions in the education program;
reports bY parents of negative changes in adaptive behaviors over break periods;
medical and other agencY reports indicating degenerative-tYpe difficulties which become exacerbated during breaks in educational services;
observations bY educators and others;
results of criterion referenced tests.

For some children, there will be no data available to show the presence or absence of regression or the length of time for recoupment of skills. In such cases, the team can still determine the need for ESY services bY making predictions of regression and recoupment according to their professional judgment.

V. If I Think MY Child Should Be Receiving ESY, How Do I Go About Getting It For Her?

Planning for extended school Year services must begin at least several months before the vacation period starts. Parents should begin documenting anY regression theY observe during breaks from school, and collecting notes and reports from teachers, specialists and others after extended breaks describing differences in skills or behaviors. Parents maY also request that teachers assess and document the student's skill level before and after breaks.

Parents should request an IEP meeting to decide if their child is eligible for ESY. Often the meeting to decide ESY is held in the spring. Because the ESY decision is made bY the IEP team, all Your IEP meeting rights applY. If ESY services are going to be provided to the student, the services must be written into the IEP. If the school district refuses to give Your child ESY services, the denial of services must be provided to You in writing.

VI. What Services Will Be Offered through ESY?

Services should be individuallY tailored to meet the student's needs. The team should develop a program that will assist the student in maintaining skills and behaviors in each area theY have determined there is likelY to be regression. Districts maY not unilaterallY limit the tYpe, amount or duration of ESY services.

The school district does not have to provide a full range of placement options for ESY programs, however. The placements must be appropriate to carrY out those portions of the student's IEP where problems with regression and recoupment have been identified. An ESY placement, for example, might be a summer camp, a park and recreation program or other non-classroom activitY, if the child's primarY need for ESY relates to social skills. For student's who require maintenance of phYsical therapY goals, the placement maY be the student's home.

VI. What Can I Do If I Disagree With The IEP Team's Decision, Or With The TYpe Of ESY Services Offered?

If You disagree with the school district's refusal to provide Your child ESY services or with the specifics of an ESY program, You maY assert Your rights under the IDEA, and possiblY under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. As with other disputes over the provision of a FAPE, You maY request mediation, write a letter of complaint to the Department of Education or request a due process hearing before an impartial hearing officer and obtain written findings. If You request a due process hearing and the hearing officer's decision is adverse to Your child, You maY litigate the matter in state or federal court.