Questions and Answers About Extended School Year
By Judith Saltzman

Q: My son is on an IEP and I have heard about something called Extended School Year. What is that?

A: Extended School Year (ESY) refers to summer services necessary to ensure that children who are on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Extended School Year is a continuation of special education services under an IEP and, like all IEP services, is provided at school district expense. Examples of ESY include speech, occupational or physical therapy, tutoring, summer school, and camps intended to improve social, academic or functional skills. Summer recreational experiences that are not necessary to achieving IEP goals would not qualify as ESY.

Q. What is the purpose of ESY?

A: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) recognizes that some children with disabilities cannot make sufficient progress during the nine-month school year. Like pre-school eligibility and the right to remain in school until the age of 22, ESY gives children with disabilities extra instruction necessary to achieve their goals.

Q. How do I get ESY for my son?

A. Ask for it at an IEP team meeting. In considering the request, the IEP team should first consider whether your child has met his IEP goals. If not, this suggests that the normal school year has not been sufficient time and that summer services are necessary to ensure that he receives “FAPE.” Under the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ 2004 decision, Deal v. Hamilton Board of Education, IEPs must be sufficient to enable a disabled child to achieve “meaningful educational benefit” in relation to his or her potential. Where IEP goals have not been met, or where there is just some minimal progress, it is not likely that the child has received meaningful educational benefit and parents are justified in arguing that it is necessary for the school district to provide ESY in order to ensure that the child receives FAPE.

Q. My child met his IEP goals, but I am worried that over the summer months he will forget what he’s learned. Can he receive ESY?

A. Even if a child has received meaningful educational benefit under his IEP, ESY should be provided where it is needed to prevent significant regression of skills or knowledge that cannot be recouped within a reasonable period of time. If it is likely to take such a long time for your child to regain his skills after the summer months that his educational progress would be seriously delayed, ESY should be provided.

Q. Do I have to allow my child to regress to prove to the school district that he needs ESY?

A. No. In its 1990 decision in the case, Cordrey v. Euckert, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit made clear that parents need not allow their child to regress over one summer in order to prove that ESY is necessary the following summer. If there is objective data to show regression, it should, of course, be given to the IEP team, but the court was clear that the need for ESY may be proven by expert opinion, based upon a professional individual assessment. Apart from school district employees, the experts in the best position to know whether ESY is necessary for a child are the private professionals who serve that child. Parents seeking ESY should provide letters of support from these professionals that address the likelihood of harmful regression in the absence of ESY, as well as any other reason why ESY is necessary.

Q. Is there any other way my child can be eligible for ESY?

A. Yes, depending upon the circumstances. In the Cordrey case, the court stated that ESY should not be given based on any one standard, but should be open to developments in special education law as well as expert opinion that ESY is needed. For example, educational research suggests that early intervention is essential in addressing certain disabilities, which may mean that ESY is necessary before a “window of opportunity” closes. Again, need may be proven by professional assessment and opinion.