IEP Services · ESY

Extended School Year Services: What They Are and How to Get Them

Extended school year (ESY) services are special education and related services provided beyond the regular school year, typically over the summer. They’re not summer school. They’re not optional enrichment. For children who qualify, they’re required by law.

What Are Extended School Year Services?

Extended school year (ESY) services are special education services provided outside the regular school calendar, most commonly over the summer, but potentially during spring break, winter break, or other school vacation periods depending on the child’s needs. ESY is not:

• Regular summer school (available to all students)
• Remediation for academic failure
• Childcare or supervision
• An optional add-on that schools can offer or withhold based on budget

ESY is an individualized entitlement under IDEA for students whose IEP team determines that a break in services would result in significant regression, and that the student would be unlikely to recover lost ground within a reasonable time after the school year resumes.

The Legal Standard for ESY Eligibility

Schools cannot limit ESY eligibility to specific categories of students (e.g., “we only offer ESY to students with autism”) or base eligibility solely on the type or severity of disability. The determination must be individualized and based on the child’s specific circumstances.

The primary question is: will the child experience significant regression in skills or behavior during an extended break, and will recovery of those skills take an unreasonably long time after school resumes?

Courts and regulatory guidance have identified several factors that IEP teams should consider:

• Regression during previous school breaks and the pace of recoupment
• The degree of progress made during the school year toward IEP goals
• Whether the disability affects the child’s ability to benefit from education in a seasonally variable way
• The nature and severity of the disability
• Any special circumstances, including a child in an emerging skill period

Common School Responses, and How to Counter Them

Schools frequently push back on ESY requests. Here are the most common responses and what the law actually says:

How to Build the Case for ESY

The strongest ESY cases are built on data. Before the IEP meeting where ESY is decided:

• Ask the school for data comparing your child’s skill levels at the end of the prior school year with their levels at the start of the next school year, this documents regression
• Request data from teachers on how long it took your child to “warm up” after school breaks
• Document observations from home during school vacations, changes in behavior, skill use, or academic functioning
• Submit a written statement describing regression you’ve observed during breaks
• Bring private therapist documentation if your child receives outside services that have tracked regression

What ESY Services Look Like

ESY services must be individualized to the child, they should address the specific skills at greatest risk of regression, not be a generic program. For many students, this means:

• Continued speech-language therapy over the summer
• Continued occupational or physical therapy
• Behavioral support services for students with behavior-related IEP components
• Academic instruction in critical skill areas

ESY services don’t have to replicate the full school program, they address the areas where regression is most likely and most harmful. The IEP team decides which goals and services are included in ESY.