IHBB - Extended School Year (ESY)

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Policy IHBB

Adopted: October 5, 2017
Amended: N/A

ESY refers to special education and related services beyond the normal academic year for students with disabilities. Eligibility for ESY is determined by the individual student’s IEP Team and based upon consideration of two global criteria: regression/recoupment and non-regression. These criteria should be considered for every student using the following factors:

1. The student is likely to lose critical skills or fail to recover these skills within a reasonable time as compared to typical students. (regression/recoupment)

2. The nature of severity of the student's disability. (non-regression)

3. The student’s rate of progress including student’s progress in the areas of learning crucial to attaining self-sufficiency and independence from caretakers. (non-regression)

4. The student's stereotypic, ritualistic, aggressive or self-injurious interfering behaviors, prevent the student from receiving some educational benefits from his/her program during the school year. (non-regression)

5. Other special circumstances identified by the IEP Team such as: the areas of the student's curriculum that need continuous attention; the student’s vocational and transition needs; and/or the availability of alternative resources; the parents’ ability to provide structure at home; the student’s ability to interact with non-disabled children (non-regression).

ESY is generally discussed and determined at each student’s annual IEP meeting.  School staff will collect data to help make individual recommendations.  Throughout the school year school staff are asked for ESY projections.  Projections are used only for planning, are not definitive and do not replace the need for individual student IEP Team decisions.

Early in the school year, a Team may not be able to make a determination for ESY services if the student is new to the staff.  In that event, the Team may wish to delay this decision until later in the year.  ESY determination should be made no later than early April in most circumstances. In the circumstances of the “non-regression” criteria, ESY decisions should be made no matter how early in the school year an annual review meeting is held.  

The principles of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) apply to the provision of ESY services.