The ARD Committee must ensure extended school year (“ESY”) services are available as necessary to provide a FAPE to students with disabilities.
ESY services are special education and related services provided to a student with a disability beyond the normal school year of the District in accordance with the student’s IEP and at no cost to the parents of the student that meets the standards set forth by TEA. During the annual ARD Committee meeting, the ARD Committee must consider whether ESY services are necessary for the provision of FAPE. The ARD Committee must determine the need for ESY services from formal and/or informal evaluations provided by the District or the parents. For a student enrolling in the District during the school year, information obtained from student’s previous district, as well as information collected during the current year, may be used to determine the need for ESY services.
If the student for whom ESY services were considered but rejected loses critical skills because of the decision not to provide ESY services, and if those skills are not regained after the reasonable period of time for recoupment, the ARD Committee must reconsider the current IEP if the student’s loss of critical skills interferes with the implementation of the student’s IEP.
The District may not limit ESY services to particular categories of disability or unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of ESY services.
ESY services are limited to the educational needs of the student and must not supplant or limit the responsibility of other public agencies to continue to provide care and treatment services pursuant to policy or practice, even if those services are similar to, or the same as, the services in the students’ IEP. The student should not be denied ESY services simply because the student is receiving care and treatment services from other agencies.
A student qualifies for ESY services if, in one or more critical areas addressed in the student’s current IEP (“critical skill”), the student has exhibited, or reasonably may be expected to exhibit, severe or substantial regression that cannot be regained within a reasonable period of time.
The reasonable period of time for recoupment of acquired skills must be determined on the basis of needs identified in the student’s IEP. If the loss of acquired skills would be particularly severe or substantial, or if such loss results, or reasonably may be expected to result, in immediate physical harm to the student or to others, ESY services may be justified without consideration of the period of time of recoupment of such skills. The period of time of recoupment must not exceed eight weeks.
If the ARD Committee determines the student needs ESY services, the IEP must identify which goals and objectives in the IEP will be addressed during ESY services.
“Severe or substantial regression” means that the student has been, or will be, unable to maintain one or more acquired critical skills in the absence of ESY services.
“Critical Skills” – A skill is critical when the loss of that skill results, or is reasonably expected to result, in any of the following during the first eight weeks of the next regular school year: placement in a more restrictive instructional arrangement; significant loss of acquired skills necessary for the student to appropriately progress in the general curriculum; significant loss of self-sufficiency in self-help skill areas as evidenced by an increase in the number of direct service staff and/or amount of time required to provide special education or related services; loss of access to community-based independent living skills instruction or an independent living environment provided by noneducational sources as a result of regression in skills; or loss of access to on-the-job training or product employment as a result of regression in skills.
District and Campus Special Education Personnel are responsible for collecting regression and recoupment data to support the determination of the need for ESY services throughout the year. The ARD Committee must determine the need for ESY services for all students with disabilities on an individual student basis. The ARD Committee should make recommendations for ESY services based on documentation, including formal and/or informal evaluations provided by the Assessment Personnel, Campus Special Education Personnel, Campus General Education Personnel, and/or the parents, that in one or more critical areas addressed in the current IEP objectives the student has exhibited (or reasonably may be expected to exhibit) severe or substantial regression of an acquired critical skill that cannot be recouped within a reasonable length of time.
ESY should be specifically requested and/or recommended at the annual ARD Committee meeting when deemed appropriate based on student data. The request may be made by District Special Education Personnel involved in the student’s program or the parent.
If the annual ARD is held in the fall semester, the ARD Committee must consider whether to delay the decision about ESY services until later in the school year if limited documentation is available. If this is the case, then another ARD must be held in the Spring to revisit the issue.
If the student qualifies for ESY services, ESY services should be documented in the IEP in a supplement or separate section. The ARD Committee must decide on the appropriate IEP goals and objectives the student will work on during the period of time that ESY services are provided and documented in the student’s IEP. Goals for students recommended for ESY services will be identified from the student’s current IEP. These goals should be identified as being critical to the student’s academic, behavioral, or functional development. And, that without ESY services, the student would suffer regression in that critical skill area that cannot be recouped within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 8 weeks.
District and Campus Special Education Personnel will be trained at least once annually on the process for determining the need for ESY services.
Following the completion of an FIIE, if the 30th calendar day required to hold the initial ARD Committee meeting falls during the summer when school is not in session, the ARD Committee must still convene as soon as possible and prior to ESY if the FIIE determines that the student would benefit from ESY during the summer.
The ARD Committee will consider the following components during the ARD meeting held to consider ESY services:
ESY Supplement/Section – the ESY ARD Supplement/Section must be completed in its entirety during the ARD and be included in the IEP
ESY IEP Goals & Objectives – if student meets the ESY recommendation requirements, the ARD Committee must identify current goals that will addressed during the period of time ESY services will be provided. The ARD Committee documentation must state the time and duration for ESY services.
Transportation Supplement/Section – transportation, as a related service, will be considered and offered to students with disabilities who need this service to benefit from ESY services. If a parent has declined specialized transportation during the regular school year, but the ARD Committee determines that there will be a need for this service during ESY services, an ARD must be held to add this service. The ARD documentation must indicate that this service will only be for the duration of ESY. In addition, a Transportation Supplement/Section must be completed and submitted along with the other ESY documentation.
It is not unusual for the teacher or service providers working with a student during ESY to be different than the teacher or service provider(s) during the regular school year. It is imperative that those who are most familiar with the student, the student’s needs and the student’s IEP goals to share relevant information with the teacher and service provider who will be providing ESY services. This information should include the critical skills or emerging skills that will be addressed during ESY services, specifics about the BIP if the student has one, specifics about accommodations and any other pertinent information. Additionally, the teacher and service providers providing ESY services must communicate the levels of performance the student attained on goals back to the student’s campus so the student’s teacher will have a good baseline for what was accomplished during ESY. All documentation related to the student’s academic and behavioral performance during ESY should be shared with the student’s teacher and other service providers.
The District will maintain documentation requirements of compliance associated with Texas Student Data System (TSDS), Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), and State Performance Plan (SPP). District staff will provide training, with follow up, to ensure the documentation required is in place and compliant.
Formal/Informal Evaluations by Assessment Team/SPED staff
ARD/IEP
ESY Supplement/Section
Transportation Supplement
Documentation Collected During ESY
Documentation for the state in TSDS, PEIMS, and SPP
Parent's Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process - Texas Education Agency
OSEP Letter to Kleczka (Sept. 29, 1998) - U.S. Department of Education
What Are Extended School Year Services? - Partners Resource Network
Board Policy EHBA; Board Policy EHBAA; Board Policy EHBAB; Board Policy EHBAF; 34 CFR 300.106; 19 TAC 89.1055; 89.1065