IDEA Extended School Year Determinations: More Than a Box to Check

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires an individualized education program (IEP) team to consider and document in the IEP whether a student with a disability qualifies for extended school year (ESY) services.

ESY is specialized instruction and related services provided beyond the normal school year, such as during summer vacation or other school breaks. ESY’s purpose is to maintain skills – not to work on obtaining new skills. A student qualifies for ESY if the student’s IEP Team determines, based on data collected throughout the year, that ESY is necessary to provide the student with a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

The Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education clarify that if the student’s annual goals address one or more skills that require ESY services, then ESY is necessary for FAPE. For any goal identified, the IEP Team must consider whether the data indicates any of the following:

• Without ESY, the student will regress on an annual goal beyond a reasonable period of recoupment;
• The severity or nature of the student’s disability indicates a need to provide services for the identified goal during scheduled breaks in the school year; or
• The student is at a critical stage, or in a critical area of learning, with respect to an identified annual goal where failure to provide a service beyond the normal school year will severely limit the student’s capacity to acquire essential skills.

In May 2024, MDE published guidance with a worksheet to help IEP Teams determine whether a student is entitled to ESY. The guidance states: “The critical question for the IEP Team is not whether the student can benefit from ESY, but rather whether ESY is essential for providing FAPE.” The guidance provides a sample timeline for planning for ESY services that IEP Teams may find useful.

If a student qualifies for ESY, the duration, type, and amount of services must be tailored to that student’s specific needs. An IEP Team, for instance, cannot merely tell a parent that ESY will be four hours per week for three weeks in July. An IEP Team must, instead, discuss the goal area and reason the student qualifies for ESY and then determine what services are necessary to address the relevant goal area to ensure the student receives meaningful educational benefit.

IEP Teams must document the discussion and determination of ESY in the IEP or the prior written notice explaining the offer of FAPE. Properly documenting the discussion supports the position that the IEP Team made a legally compliant ESY decision rather than just “checking a box” to indicate it was not needed.