{{About, special needs students, extended school years for the general school population, Year-round school in the United States
In the United States, Extended School Year (ESY) services are designed to support a student with a
disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
as documented under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA wa ...
(IDEA) to maintain the academic, social/behavioral, communication, or other skills that they have learned as part of their
Individualized Education Program
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document under United States law that is developed for each public school child in the U.S. who needs special education. It is created through a team of the child's parent(s) and district pers ...
(IEP) or Section 504 accommodation plan. In order for a student to receive ESY services, the student must have evidenced substantial regression and recoupment issues during the previous IEP year and/or there is evidence of emerging skills which are often referred to as "breakthrough" skills. The focus of the services provided to the student as part of an ESY program are generally not upon learning new skills or "catching up" to grade level, but rather to provide practice to maintain previously acquired or learned skills. In some cases ESY is focused on continuing education for students whose rate of progress is insufficient to enable effective progress during the regular school year. If a student has received ESY services in previous years the student may not be eligible in future years as determinations for eligibility of ESY services are made annually by the IEP or 504 plan (which includes the parent and student of age 16 or older. NOTE: The mandatory age at which a student must be included varies by State but the Federal law states no later than age 16.)
;(a) General.
# Under the re-authorization of IDEA, effective July 1, 2005, each public agency must ensure that extended school year services are available as necessary to provide
Free Appropriate Public Education The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is an educational entitlement of all students in the United States who are identified as having a disability, guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities ...
(FAPE), consistent with paragraph (a)(2).
# Extended school year services must be provided only if a child's IEP Team determines, on an individual basis, in accordance with Sec. Sec. 300.320 through 300.324, that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE to the child.
# In implementing the requirements of this section, a public agency may not—
## Limit extended school year services to particular categories of disability; or
## Unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of those services.
;(b) Definition.
As used in this section, the term extended school year services means special education and related services that--
# Are provided to a child with a disability—
## Beyond the normal school year of the public agency;
## In accordance with the child's IEP; and
## At no cost to the parents of the child; and
# Meet the standards of the
State education agency
A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...