5504 Extended School Year/Special Education Services
Extended School Year (ESY) services may be defined as special education and/or related services which are provided to eligible children (aged 3-21) with disabilities beyond the traditional school year, to maintain academic or functional progress as necessary for a free appropriate public education (FAPE), in accordance with state standards and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended by Public Law 105-17.
GUIDELINES
A. ESY shall be developed and documented through the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process.
B. Students qualifying for ESY services shall be provided an appropriate program at no cost to the parents.
C. Eligibility for ESY shall be made on an individual basis, not a student’s categorical label.
D. All special education students are eligible for consideration for ESY.
ELIGIBILITY FACTORS
A. Degree of disability;
B. Degree of regression suffered;
C. Recovery time from this regression;
D. Ability of parents to provide educational structure at home;
E. Child’s rate of progress;
F. Child’s behavioral problems;
G. Child’s physical problems;
H. Availability of alternative resources;
I. Ability of the child to interact with non-disabled children;
J. Area(s) in curriculum which need continuous attention;
K. Child’s vocational needs;
L. Whether the requested service is extraordinary for the child’s disability, as opposed to an integral part of a program for those with the child’s disability;
M. Other relevant factors as determined by the IEP team.
PROCEDURES
A. When the IEP team undertakes a determination of eligibility for ESY services, it shall collect and analyze all pertinent data regarding the student’s physical and/or mental impairment, educational history and present educational functioning.
B. Eligibility for ESY services shall be determined on an individual basis by the IEP team.
C. When an IEP team determines that a special education student qualifies for ESY services in order to receive FAPE, the IEP team shall specify the instructional goals and services to be provided through ESY services. Parents shall receive prior written notice of ESY eligibility and services.
D. Parents of a special education student who disagree with ESY eligibility and/or services may request mediation, as defined in Parents Rights in Special Education: Notice of Procedural Safeguards.
Revised 6/10/96
Revised 12/14/98
Revised 1/13/03
Revised 12/9/19