Extended School Year ESY San Diego Unified School District Special Education Division

Federal/State Definition of ESY  Extended school year (ESY) services are services provided beyond the regular school year that are required for a student to make educational progress during the school year.  Services must be individually designed to meet specific objectives included in a student's individualized education program (IEP) and are part of what constitutes a FAPE for the student who receives them.  ESY services are not simply an extension of time in school, an automatic summer school placement, or a summer enrichment program.

Federal/State Definition of ESY cont. Title 5 of the California Code of Regs, section 3043 states:  Extended school year services shall be provided for each individual with exceptional needs who has unique needs and requires special education and related services in excess of the regular academic year. Such individuals shall have handicaps which are likely to continue indefinitely or for a prolonged period, and interruption of the pupil's educational programming may cause regression, when coupled with limited recoupment capacity, rendering it impossible or unlikely that the pupil will attain the level of self-sufficiency and independence that would otherwise be expected in view of his or her handicapping condition. The lack of clear evidence of such factors may not be used to deny an individual an extended school year program if the individualized education program team determines the need for such a program and includes extended school year in the individualized education program pursuant to subsection (f).

SUMMER SCHOOL OR ESY?  Summer School is a General Education opportunity to support any student at risk of retention and for credit recovery for high school; determined by district policy.  The purpose is to remediate academic skills.  ESY is a Special Education service designed to extend the school year for a student with a disability based on specific criteria; determined by the IEP team.  The purpose is to address critical life skills.  The purpose is to maintain existing skills.

Factors to Consider Before Checking YES to ESY  Regression and the data to support  Recoupment and the data to support  Critical stage of skill development  Special Circumstances  Methodology as a year-round treatment such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)  Severity and nature of disability  Interfering behaviors  Progress Report on IEP Goals and supporting data  General Education report cards/progress reports  Parent and Staff input

Data to Consider  IEP goal data and progress reports  Classroom based assessment methods, benchmarks level tests, chapter tests  Running records or therapy notes  Criterion referenced tests  Anecdotal data collection  Behavior plan implementation and data  Systematic observations in various settings  Standardized tests  Statewide assessments

Regression Whether the student reverts to a lower level of functioning as evidenced by a measurable decrease in skills or behaviors which occurs as a result of interruption in educational programming. Regression must be evidenced by current data.  Is there documentation that without ESY services, the child is likely to lose critical life skills?

Recoupment Whether the student has the capacity to recover the skills or behavior patterns in which regression occurred to a level demonstrated prior to the interruption of educational programming within a reasonable period of time. Recoupment must be evidenced by current data.  Is there documentation that without ESY services, the child is likely to fail to recover critical life skills within a reasonable period of time?

Reasonable recoupment time periods  instructional days for a six-eight week break  5-7 instructional days for a three week break  3-5 instructional days for a two week break  2-3 instructional days for a one week break  (Source: Portland Public Schools, Dept of Special Education, Sept, 2003)

Critical stage of skill development The extent to which the student has mastered and consolidated an important skill or behavior at the point when educational programming would be interrupted as evidenced by current data.  Without ESY services, will a lengthy school break cause significant problems for the student in generalizing a critical skill in the subsequent school year?

Special Circumstances  Methodology- student requires consistent year-round treatment such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to maintain educational benefit.  Severity of disability- whether the student’s disability is severe, such as autism/PDD, serious emotional disturbance, severe mental retardation, degenerative impairments with mental involvement and severe multiple disabilities.  Without ESY services, are there any special circumstances that significantly impact the student’s ability to benefit from his educational program during the subsequent school year?

Special Circumstances continued  Interfering Behaviors –The extent to which successive interruptions in educational programming result in a student’s withdrawal from the learning process as evidenced by current data.  Without ESY services, will the interruption of programming which addresses interfering behaviors targeted by IEP objectives be likely to prevent the student from receiving educational benefit during the subsequent school year?

Summary of Decision Points  Is there documentation that without ESY services, the child is likely to lose critical life skills?  Is there documentation that without ESY services, the child is likely to fail to recover critical life skills within a reasonable period of time?  Without ESY services, will a lengthy school break cause significant problems for the student in generalizing a critical skill in the subsequent school year?  Without ESY services, are there any special circumstances that significantly impact the student’s ability to benefit from his educational program during the subsequent school year?  Without ESY services, will the interruption of programming which addresses interfering behaviors targeted by IEP objectives be likely to prevent the student from receiving educational benefit during the subsequent school year?

Documenting ESY on an IEP  If the IEP Team makes a recommendation for ESY services, the team:  identifies the critical IEP goals to be addressed during ESY and how they will be measured.  determines related services needed and the level of each service that is required to address goals during ESY.

Next steps:  Case manager follows the steps listed in the ESY Procedures Memo to ensure the student’s successful transition.