Extended School Year Service
vs. Summer School
There are
different options for summer programs offered by public schools. One of which
is Extended School Year services (ESY), a special education program that is put
in place by a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. Summer
school is an option for all students to continue their learning in the months
school is not in session.
Extended School Year
Extended
School Year is set forth as a part of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) which requires that ESY services “…must be provided only
if a child’s IEP Team determines, on an individual basis, that the services are
necessary for the provision of Fair Appropriate Public Education [FAPE] to the
child.” The common criteria used by IEP teams to determine whether a child
is in need of Extended School Year services go beyond solely regression and
recoupment of skills learned during the regular school year. They include: the
child’s degree of progress toward IEP goals, whether the child will lose key
skills due to the lengthy summer break, the nature and severity of the
disability, or any subject the IEP team deems necessary to continue teaching
outside of normal school hours in order to reach IEP goals.
For example, in the state of
Maryland Extended School Year services are taken into consideration using the
following codes:
· Whether the student’s IEP
includes annual goals related to critical life skills and how close the student
is to reaching them
· The likelihood of
substantial regression of critical life skills caused by the normal school
break and a possible failure to recoup those lost skills in a reasonable time
· The proximity of the child
mastering the goals established in his or her IEP
· Interfering behaviors
· The presence of emerging
skills or breakthrough opportunities
· The nature and severity of
the disability(s)
· Other special circumstances
If the child qualifies for ESY services by the IEP team, then the
services will be provided at no cost to the parents. A main difference between
Summer School and ESY services is that ESY is individualized based on
the child’s agreed upon IEP. Each state has a different set of regulations and
statutes regarding ESY services, and should be reviewed before requesting
Extended School Year services at an IEP meeting. These files may be obtained
from your State Department of Education. An aggregated page of their contact
information can be found here. ESY services are not
provided to advance a student with special needs past his or her peers, but are
only agreed upon in order to keep the student up with his or her prescribed
coursework as per their IEP and school standards.
Summer School
Summer
school is a program that is not individualized and is often offered for many
students who have failed courses and are in need of remediation. ESY services
are only provided to students with special needs whereas summer school is
provided to every student that wants to participate or must in order to receive
class credit and graduate. Summer school may also be offered to students who
want to advance past their current pace and take classes in addition to their
normal school year course load. Some students may do this in order to take an
interesting class, skip a grade, or earn college credits. Summer school classes
are oftentimes taken to boost one’s GPA, and are sometimes used to replace a
poor grade earned during the school year, depending on the rules of the school
or service offering the summer school course.
ESY services and summer school should be treated as completely different courses of action for parents. ESY services are individualized to address specific concerns about the child’s possible regression of critical skills and is not meant for the child to advance past their required skillsets. Conversely, summer school is not individualized and is available for a student in order to remediate certain skills or classes or to advance past their current education track. In order to have ESY services included in an IEP, the rules for developing this plan for a child must be taken into consideration before discussion in an IEP meeting. Rules for qualification of ESY services are different in each state, and a copy of your state’s Department of Education regulations should be deliberated on before deciding to seek Extended School Year services for your child. Every child has different educational needs, and Extended School Year services can be a great way to address them if you feel your child is near a breakthrough in their IEP goals or may lose critical life skills over the summer break. Summer school is also a great opportunity for retaining knowledge, but it’s non-individualized teaching style may not be the best decision for your child.
If you have questions about this post, please contact me at ashley@lawforparents.com to schedule a consultation.
Disclaimer: This blog is made available by Law for Parents, LLC for educational purposes only as well as to provide general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site, you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the publisher. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.
