• Extended School Year Services

     

    What’s Required

    Extended School Year (ESY) services are Special Education and related services that () are provided to a child with a disability (), beyond the “normal” school year of the public agency () per the child's Individualized Education Program (IEP) () at no cost to the child ().


    The provision of ESY services is limited to the educational needs of the child and must not supplant or limit the responsibility of other public agencies to continue to provide care and treatment services according to policy or practice, even when those services are similar to, or the same as, the services addressed in the child's IEP ().


    No child will be denied ESY services because the child receives care and treatment services under the auspices of other agencies ().


    In determining the need for and in providing ESY services, the Local Educational Agency (LEA) may not ( and ) limit ESY services to particular categories of disability ( and ) or unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of ESY services ( and ).


    The need for ESY services must be determined on an individual basis by the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee ().  Each LEA must ensure that ESY services are available as necessary to provide Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) () and ESY services must be provided only if a child's ARD Committee determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE (). If the LEA does not propose ESY services for discussion at the annual review of a child's IEP, the parent may request that the ARD Committee discuss ESY services ().


    The ARD Committee must determine the need for ESY from formal and/or informal evaluations provided by the district or the parents (). For a child enrolling in the LEA during the school year, information obtained from the prior LEA as well as information collected during the current year may be used to determine the need for ESY services ().


    The ARD Committee must identify the critical areas addressed in the current IEP objectives, if any, in which the child has exhibited, or reasonably may be expected to exhibit, severe or substantial regression that cannot be recouped within a reasonable period ().

    Skill is critical when the loss of that skill results, or is reasonably expected to result, in any of the following occurrences during the first eight weeks of the next regular school year ():

    Placement in a more restrictive instructional arrangement ();

    • Significant loss of acquired skills necessary for the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum ();
    • Significant loss of self-sufficiency in self-help skill areas as evidenced by an increase in the number of direct service staff and/or amount of time required to provide special education or related services ();
    • Loss of access to community-based independent living skills instruction or an independent living environment provided by non-educational sources as a result of regression in skills (); or loss of access to on-the-job training or productive employment as a result of regression in skills ().
    • Severe or substantial regression is defined as the child has been, or will be, unable to maintain one or more acquired critical skills in the absence of ESY services ().

     

    What We Do

    Extended School Year (ESY) services are considered for all students with disabilities. The need for ESY must be determined on an individual student basis by the ARD Committee.

    Components of ESY Services:

    • The student qualifies for ESY services if, in one or more critical areas addressed in the student's current IEP, that he or she has exhibited, or reasonably may be expected to exhibit, severe or substantial regression that cannot be regained within a reasonable period.
    • Severe or substantial regression is defined as the child has been, or will be, unable to maintain one or more acquired critical skills in the absence of ESY services ().

    Skill is critical when the loss of that skill results, or is reasonably expected to result, in any of the following occurrences to the student during the six weeks of the next regular school year:

    • placement in a more restrictive instructional arrangement;
    • A significant loss of skills needed to progress in the general curriculum;
    • A significant loss of self-help skills, and therefore requires more direct services and support;
    • Loss of access to non-educational community-based independent living skill instruction or an independent living environment as a result of losing skills; or
    • Loss of access to on-the-job training or productive employment due to losing skills.

    If the loss of acquired critical skills would be particularly severe or substantial, or if such loss results may be expected to result in immediate physical harm to the student or others, ESY services may be justified without consideration of the period for regaining such skills.

    If the ARD/IEP Committee determines that the student needs ESY services, then the IEP must include goals and objectives for ESY services from the student's current IEP in the ARD/IEP Extended School Year Supplement.

    For students who qualify under Autism Spectrum Disorders, ESY is included as one of the possible services offered through the Autism Supplement that is reviewed by the ARD Committee.

    Note: If an ARD Committee believes that a situation warrants an exception to these guidelines, guidance should be sought from the appropriate Special Education Coordinator and/or the Director for Special Education.