My Student Completed ESY, Now What?

Extended School Year (ESY) is offered to special education students who qualify for additional supports over the summer to maintain their progress or address severe deficits. See Attorney Suter's presentation for more clarity on ESY. If your student participated in one of these programs, what should you expect now that it is over and the new school year is about to start?

1. Progress Monitoring: Just like during the regular school year, Districts are required to provide progress monitoring data to show how your student progressed throughout the summer. There will be progress reports for each ESY goal that was addressed throughout the program. This is usually provided immediately after the ESY program or very quickly after the school year starts. It should be quantifiable data to help you understand your student's performance in the program.

   
   

2. Did it work? The goal of ESY is to maintain progress and proceed with targets that are integral to your student's progress. If your student showed no improvement or regressed over the summer, the team needs to consider this as we build the program for the fall and consider the following year ESY program.

   
   

   Things to consider:

   
   

   *Are the ESY goals and the school year goals the same? If so, how will implementation be different during the school year to ensure progress or address the regression over the summer?

   *Does your student require additional supports to ensure progress?

   *What factors inhibited your student's progress? This would include any behavioral issues or lack of attendance in the program due to your availability.

3.     New School Year: Review your child’s progress monitoring data after the first quarter of the new school year to determine if your student maintained his or her skills. If your student did not show progress throughout the summer and did not maintain his or her skills after the first quarter, be sure to address this when you have the ESY conversation for next summer in February. Ask the District how the services will be different from the previous summer and discuss other potential supports your student requires to be successful. Be prepared to ask about alternative ESY options for future summers.

Remember: The purpose of ESY is to keep your child from regressing and minimize the need for recoupment. ESY should allow your student to start the school year as close as possible to where they ended the school year so they can continue progressing in their educational program.

If you have questions on your child's ESY program or the new school year, Extraordinary Law is available for a FREE initial consultation to discuss how we can become part of your team!

412-438-3186 or info@extraordinarylaw.com