Extended School Year (ESY)

  • Guiding Principles

    Breaks in the school year can lead to some loss in learning for all students. The purpose of extended school year services is the maintenance of a child's learning skills if that child has shown greater than average issues with skills regression or recoupment of skills after breaks.
     
    Extended School Year (ESY) services are available to all students for whom the IEP team has determined that such services are necessary to provide FAPE. Consideration for ESY services is not limited by disability type. ESY services are provided in addition to the IEP services provided during the school year and are provided at no cost to the parent. 
     
    ESY focuses on the maintenance of current skills rather than the teaching of new skills or behavior. ESY is provided to maintain a student's learning skills in specific areas of specially designed instruction where the team has data showing significant regression and recoupment over school breaks.
     
    Though summer school programs would likely be beneficial to all students, the criteria for ESY is related to the documented evidence of regression and recoupment on specific IEP goals.  
     
     
     
    Procedural Guidance

    Data should be taken on the same skills in the same manner before and after a school breaks to provide an apples to apples comparison

    Regression means significant loss of skills or behaviors in any area of specified SDI on the IEP as a result of an interruption of educational services (such as summer or winter break)

    • WLWV does not have guidelines for determining significant loss. This decision is left to the IEP team, but should follow the principle that this loss should be significantly more loss than other students would experience over the same time period.

     

    Recoupment means the recovery of skills or behaviors in area of specified SDI on the IEP to a level demonstrated before the interruption of educational services.
    • WLWV uses the length of recoupment eligibility guidelines below for interpreting ESY data:
      • If summer vacation is 10 weeks long and recoupment takes more than 6 weeks of instruction, this meets the eligibility guideline
      • If winter vacation is 2 weeks and recoupment takes more than 2 weeks of instruction, this meets the eligibility guideline
      • We should gather data before/after summer or winter break, and spring break

    ESY data must be collected for students in the following circumstances:

    • Those who received ESY services the previous year
    • If an IEP team member, including the parent, may have reason to believe the student may qualify for ESY (In this case, "to be considered" is selected on the IEP)

     

    Documentation & Timelines:

    • Use the ESY checklist for documentation in ePEP on the IEP tab.
    • Data must be taken until a team decision can be reached on regression and recoupment.
    • Data only needs to be collected for skills or behaviors where the IEP team is recommending or considering ESY. Data is not necessarily needed across all areas on the IEP. Data needs to be entered in ePEP.
    • Casemanager should plan to meet with Student Services Instructional Coordinator to help interpret data before meeting with the IEP team.
    • If the student has "To Be Considered" selected on the IEP, a team meeting must be held to determine if the student does or does not qualify for ESY. The deadline to meet is April 15th. 
    • All documentation is due to the Student Services office by the end of April
     
    How to Determine ESY Recommendations
    • ESY services are provided related to the specific area with data showing a student's mastery of the skill followed by regression and lengthy recoupment after a period of non-instruction.
    • Transportation is available. Please make a decision with the parent in April and document transportation for ESY as a related service, if needed (must already be a related service on the student's current IEP)
    • Time: The IEP team will determine the amount of time needed for the student to maintain their skills over the summer break via ESY services. Please contact your SpEd IC for guidance on this process. 
    • Type: Include team’s suggestions about skill/sub-skill, grouping & delivery method.
    • Date range: Check with Student Services office for specific dates that ESY is available each summer.
    • Location: The school or community location of a student's ESY services is determined by the district. It is often held at a single school building rather than at the student's neighborhood school.
    • Parents are informed at the end of the school year, by letter from the ESY coordinator with the details. Case managers will be given a copy.

    The district may maintain general guidelines for the amount, type and duration of ESY services, but will make decisions on an individual basis. 

     
    ESY Can be Delivered:
    • At home with the parent teaching and staff consulting
    • School-based
    • School-based with community activities
    • Related services alone or in tandem with the above
    • Educational software at home with check-in
    • Other creative ways
     
    Case Manager Roles:
    • Complete documentation within the time frames.
    • Make ESY decision consistent with District practices and guidelines.
    • Provide the curriculum/materials and communicate with the ESY provider for each student.
     
     
    Resources: 
    • The data tracking form for ESY decisions is in ePEP under the IEP tab
    • Contact Stephanie Clawson at the DO for more information
     
     
     
    Extended School Year FAQs 
    Are ESY services only available for students with significant disabilities? 
    Any student who is eligible for special education may be eligible for ESY. A student's need for ESY is determined by the IEP team, including the parent. The decision is based solely on the individual needs of the student if Extended School Year services are necessary to provide FAPE. Data on progress towards goals (including regression and recoupment) should be recorded before and after summer break to help determine need.
     
     
     
    Board Policy IGBAF