When discussing ESY services, keep these things in mind:
• ESY determination is not based on whether a student would “benefit” from summer instruction. It must be determined as a necessary service based on data.
• ESY is not summer school. ESY services are not offered simply because parents want it – parents cannot “sign their kids up for it”. The team determines ESY is necessary for the provision of FAPE, just as any special education service, related service, accommodation or modification.
• If a student is determined eligible for ESY one year it does not automatically make them eligible year after year. Eligibility is determined annually and parents MUST be informed thusly.
• Even if you are certain that a student will not attend ESY, you must still address ESY in the IEP and complete the amendment as appropriate. Parents can opt not to attend, but the IEP must address eligibility.
Criteria – Current federal and state law does not have set criteria for determining eligibility for ESY. Past criteria and good guidelines require evidence in at least one of the following areas: Emerging Skill, Regression / Recoupment, or Self – Sufficiency.
Emerging Skill
When few, if any, gains are made during the regular school year and a critical skill is in the process of emerging, and it is believed that with ESY services the child could make reasonable gains, then ESY services must be considered. Collect documentation to assist the IEP team in determining the following:
A. Does progress toward the goals and objectives or benchmarks over an extended period show few, if any, gains?
B. Is a skill emerging?
C. Does documentation support that ESY services are needed to avoid irreparable loss of the learning opportunity?
Regression / Recoupment
When the child would regress to such an extent and the amount of time required to relearn skills or behaviors becomes so significant that he or she would be unable to benefit from his or her special education program, then ESY services must be considered. Collect documentation to assist the IEP team in determining the following:
A. Do progress reports and data show that the child demonstrates periodic regression, which is related to breaks in instruction throughout the school year?
B. Do progress reports and data show that the child regresses and cannot relearn the skills in a reasonable amount of time following the breaks?
C. Does documentation support that without ESY services the child would regress to such an extent and have such limited recoupment ability that he or she would be unable to benefit from his / her special education program?
- Data – In order to meet the criteria of regression / recoupment, you must have data to support it. When considering regression / recoupment, it is important to consider collecting evidence of regression that may occur during winter and spring breaks, and then determining the recoupment rate afterward.
Self – Sufficiency
When the acquisition of critical life skills that aid in the child’s ability to function as independently as possible, thereby reducing the child’s reliance on caretakers or other institutionalized care, would be threatened by an interruption in services, ESY services must be considered. The IEP team should collect documentation to assist in determining the following:
A. Does documentation identify critical life skills that are needed for independence?
B. Will failure to maintain acquired critical life skills cause major or permanent loss of the skills and create a dependence on caregivers?
C. Without ESY services, would the child fail to maintain these critical life skills?
ESY Objectives – Keep the eligibility in mind when selecting the ESY objectives. The objectives should match the student need as indicated in the criteria. Don’t automatically check all the objectives. Keep in mind that ESY teachers can’t work on all objectives for all their ESY students in the timeframe allotted in the summer.
Case managers must provide materials for students they send to ESY because ESY teachers must be able to work on the objectives as written.
IEP amendments for changes to ESY will be due at least 60 days prior to the end of the school year to determine students eligible for ESY for the upcoming summer. IEPs should be updated to reflect ESY, whether through an amendment or the annual IEP during the months of January, February and March. Specific due dates are sent out each year by the ESY Program Coordinator.