May 2026:

The MLO Minute: “Extended School Year (ESY): What Parents Need to Know Before Summer Arrives” —

By Rachel Rosenberg, Esq., Attorney in the Special Education Department —

As we head into summer, in addition to stocking up on sunscreen and sunglasses, it is important to understand whether your child is entitled to Extended School Year (“ESY”) services and if they are, what those services should entail.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (“IDEA”), ESY services must be provided to a student with special education needs when the Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) team determines it is necessary for that student receiving a free and appropriate public education (“FAPE”). When determining eligibility for ESY, the IEP team, which can include the student, teachers, parents, therapists, and/or school administrators, considers the following factors:

Regression (whether a student is likely to lose important skills during school breaks);
Recoupment (how long it takes a student to regain skills that are lost during breaks);
Whether a student’s difficulties with regression and recoupment impact the student’s ability to maintain skills related to IEP goals and objectives;
The extent to which interruption of services would impact potentially mastered skills;
The extent to which services are crucial for achieving self-sufficiency and independence;
The extent to which interruption of services would lead to a withdrawal from academics; and
The severity of a student’s disability.

If an IEP team finds that a student is indeed eligible for ESY, it is important to understand that ESY is not the same thing as summer school – while summer school is often available to all students for enrichment or credit recovery, ESY is individualized and based on a student’s unique educational needs, just like a student’s IEP throughout the regular school year. As such, a student’s ESY services, including the type of services provided (whether it is academic, social/emotional, and/or functional), how many hours/days per week they are provided, and the location in which they are provided (whether that is school, a job site, or another non-academic appropriate setting), should vary based on a student’s individual needs.

If you believe your child was either inappropriately denied ESY or is not being provided with ESY services that are sufficiently tailored to meet their needs, please feel free to reach out to our office for a free consultation. Click here to contact us today!