Every parent knows summer slide. For some children with disabilities, it's steeper: skills that took months to build fade over a long break, and fall semester starts with weeks of re-teaching. Federal law has an answer most families never get told about: Extended School Year (ESY) services — special education and related services provided beyond the normal school year, at no cost, when a child needs them to receive FAPE (34 CFR § 300.106).
ESY isn't automatic, and it isn't summer school — it's an IEP team decision, made child by child. The most common consideration (standards vary by state) is regression and recoupment: does the child lose significant skills over breaks, and how long does it take to get them back? Teams look for evidence. Which is where parents hold more power than they realize.
Document what regressed over this break, while it's fresh: "Could count to 50 independently in May; in August needs prompting past 20." "Used the communication device spontaneously in June; by late July only with prompting." Dates, specifics, even short videos. Note how many weeks skills took to return once school started. That contemporaneous record — collected now — is exactly what wins ESY at next spring's IEP meeting, when memories have faded and the team asks for data.
Since ESY criteria differ by state, check your state's rules and your free parent training center on our state pages, and bring your documentation to the annual review with a written request for ESY consideration.
No. Summer school is general instruction; ESY is individualized special education written into the IEP and provided at no cost when needed for FAPE (34 CFR § 300.106).
The IEP team, including you, based on your child’s individual needs — commonly weighing regression over breaks and how long recoupment takes. States apply varying standards.
Put it in writing before the annual review, and bring your regression documentation. Decisions made in spring rely on the evidence you collected the previous summer and fall.
Ask Know Your Rights any IEP question in plain language, free. And before the school year starts, run the free Fall IEP Audit — it grades last spring's IEP so you know exactly what to push on.
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