EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES ESY PARENT TRAINING GUIDE

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EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES (ESY)PARENT
TRAINING GUIDE
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What are Extended School Year Services? (ESY)

• Individualized instructional programs provided
  beyond the regular school year for students with
  disabilities
• May be over any break from school, including
  summer, winter, spring or holiday breaks.
• Eligibility is determined for each child with a
  disability and is not limited to specific types
  of disabilities.
• ESY services must be
• Individualized to the unique needs of each
  student (not one size fits all)
• Inclusive of instructional and related services
  (therapies, transportation, transition services,
  etc.)
• Provided in the least restrictive environment.

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Who is eligible for ESY services?

• Students receiving exceptional student education
  (ESE) under Part B of IDEA (ages 3-21)
• In any placement, including regular schools,
  special schools and hospital- or home-bound
• Students eligible for gifted services only are
  not eligible.
• Students changing from Part C (birth to 3) to
  Part B (3-21) programs whose 3rd birthday is
  during the summer months
• Students placed in private schools by their
  parents, but who are dually enrolled in the
  public school
• Students eligible for services under Section 504
  of the Rehabilitation Act.

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ESY is individualized to the unique needs of each
student

• Not all students will require ESY.
• The IEP/FSP team considers the individual
  students needs
• ESY is dependent on the students needs and goals
  as defined in the IEP/FSP
• The types of services, number of weeks, days per
  week and hours per day are based on each
  students unique needs.
• The school districts may not force the student
  into a fixed-length or one size fits all
  program
• The district cannot place its own limits on the
  type, duration or amount of ESY services.
• All services are dependent on the childs unique
  needs.

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Extended School Year Services (ESY)

• Services must be provided if need is demonstrated
  in
• Academic skills (or, for pre-K students,
  developmentally appropriate preacademic skills)
• Communication
• Independent functioning and self-sufficiency
• Social/emotional or behavioral skills, as they
  relate to critical life functions.
• (Florida Department of Education Technical
  Assistance Paper TAP FY2002-5)
• If an IEP team determines that a student needs an
  extended school year (or any other special
  education or related services), an administrator
  cannot override the teams decision.
• The amount and type of services must be
  appropriate to meeting IEP goals.

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ESY Settings

• ESY may be provided in a variety of settings,
  including
• General education summer school
• Hospitals
• In home
• Community recreational and educational programs
• Private schools.
• ESY services must be provided in the Least
  Restrictive Environment (LRE.) However, schools
  are not required to create new programs for
  nondisabled students, simply so that disabled
  students have an opportunity for integrated
  services.
• Regardless of the setting or the services
  provided, ESY services must be provided free of
  cost to the student.

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When during the year should ESY be considered?

• The IEP/FSP team decision to provide ESY services
  may be made at any point during the year
• ESY must be considered at least at one IEP/FSP
  meeting every year
• If a childs IEP/FSP has already taken place,
  parents may request another meeting to consider
  ESY.
• A determination of ESY needs must be made early
  enough to allow parents to appeal a denial of ESY
  services before the break in services occurs.

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Documentation of ESY

• A new or different IEP/FSP does not have to be
  developed for ESY
• Goals for ESY services should be specific to the
  needs of the student during the period(s) in
  which services are provided
• Typically, goals, including benchmarks and
  short-term objectives will be an extension of
  those on the current plan.
• New goals may be necessary in some instances.

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Extended School Year Services (ESY)Eligibility
Criteria

• No single criteria can be used to determine
  eligibility
• Each individual child has unique needs
• Seven separate criteria that must be considered
  each year (if a student satisfies any of these
  criteria, he/she is eligible for ESY)
• Regression/recoupment (if past regression is
  documented or future regression predicted)
• Critical point of instruction
• Emerging skills
• Interfering behaviors
• Nature or severity of disability
• Rate of progress
• Special circumstances.

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What ESY criteria is inappropriate?(Florida
Department of Education Technical Assistance
Paper FY 2002-5)

• ESY is not
• Child care
• Respite care
• Intended to maximize educational opportunity or
  potential growth
• Based on the specific area of disability, level
  of service, or type of classroom placement
• One size fits all
• A longer school day.

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Questions for determining need(Florida
Department of Education Technical Assistance
Paper FY 2002-5 and Extended School year
Services for Students with Disabilities A Guide
for IEP and FSP Teams)

• Does the student demonstrate a severe disability
  in one or more areas?
• Is the nature or severity of the students
  disability such that the student would be
  unlikely to benefit from his or her education
  without the provision of ESY services? This may
  be reflected in the students rate of progress.
• Does the student experience significant
  regression, more pronounced than that experienced
  by nondisabled peers, in social or adaptive
  behaviors or learned skills over regularly
  scheduled school breaks during the year?
• Do the data indicate the likelihood that
  significant regression will occur in critical
  life skills related to the following areas and
  that those skills cannot be recouped within a
  reasonable amount of time without ESY services?
• Academics, or, for pre-K students,
  developmentally appropriate preacademic skills
• Communication
• Independent functioning and self-sufficiency
• Social/emotional development or behavior.
• Is a significant amount of time and effort,
  beyond that required by nondisabled peers, needed
  to assist the student in regaining previously
  learned behaviors and skills?
• If there is no documented history of
  regression/recoupment problems from prior breaks
  in instruction, does predictive data based on the
  opinion of professionals indicate that a serious
  potential for regression exists?

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Questions for determining need(Florida
Department of Education Technical Assistance
Paper FY 2002-5 and Extended School year
Services for Students with Disabilities A Guide
for IEP and FSP Teams)

• Is the student failing to achieve instructional
  goals and benchmarks or short-term objectives on
  the IEP/FSP due to the interruption of
  instruction between school years?
• Do the data indicate the likelihood that the
  student is at a crucial stage in the development
  of a critical life skill and that a lapse in
  service would substantially jeopardize the
  students chance of learning that skill? This
  may include emerging skills as well as critical
  points of instruction on existing skills.
• Does the targeted skill represent a barrier to
  continuous progress or self-sufficiency?
• Would the benefits derived from ESY outweigh the
  positive benefits of a summer break?
• Have other options that would meet the needs of
  the student been considered and determined to be
  of less benefit than ESY?
• Is continuous or year-round treatment an integral
  part of the methodology deemed necessary for the
  student?
• Are there unusual circumstances that create a
  need for ESY?
• Without ESY services in the identified critical
  life skills, will the student be unable to
  receive some reasonable level of benefit from
  his/her educational services during the regular
  school year?

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ESY Eligibility CriteriaExamples from Florida
and across the country

• Two years ago, an IEP goal for the student was
  mastery of addition to 20 and the student
  mastered the goal. This years IEP lists mastery
  of addition to 20 as a new IEP goal. ESY is
  indicated because of regression.
• Over the course of the year, an 11-year-old
  student has mastered the sounds of the letters
  and the past three months have been spent
  teaching him to blend sounds. He has just begun
  blending sounds. Because of the critical nature
  of this emerging skill, the slow progress and
  the high probability of regression, ESY is
  indicated.
• A speech-impaired child with a degenerative
  muscle disease is losing oral muscle tone and
  needs continuous oral muscular exercises to
  maintain her ability to articulate she has begun
  learning sign language to compensate for the
  eventual loss of articulation. She was found to
  need ESY for speech therapy and sign language.
• A student has recently obtained paid supported
  employment and requires the services of a job
  coach in order to be successful.
• A student requires ESY in order to remain in his
  existing least restrictive environment (LRE) and
  prevent movement to a more restrictive setting.
• A 4-year-old child with developmental delays is
  just learning toilet training with prompts at
  school and summer regression may be so
  significant that the student will lose the skills
  she has and require extensive retraining.
• A students frequent health-related absences have
  significantly impeded progress on goals related
  to critical life skills.
• A student with a specific learning disability and
  speech/language disabilities was found to need
  ESY because it was clear he would regress without
  the services.
• A student with a language-based learning
  disability and attention deficit hyperactivity
  disorder (ADHD) was found to require ESY to make
  up work missed during the regular school year and
  improve speech and language skills.

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ESY Eligibility Criteria Examples from Florida
and across the country

• An autistic child required consistency in her
  educational environment and was therefore found
  to require ESY.
• A student with autism is meeting an IEP goal
  designed to decrease self-injurious behavior.
  Hes likely to resume the behavior without a
  consistent environment and monitoring.
• A student has begun training with an augmentative
  communications device. Progress is slow and the
  child is in danger of losing the few skills
  acquired in mastery of a critical skill.
• An emotionally handicapped student was being
  considered for placement in a less restrictive
  setting and required ESY to maintain behavioral
  skills required for the new placement.
• An autistic student with a possible mentally
  handicapped was found to need an ESY, behavior
  management residential program in order to
  receive academic benefit.
• A student with a learning disability and
  Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) was found to
  need an ESY reading program to make up for the
  reading program the student missed during the
  regular school year because of the schools
  change in programming and a delay in instituting
  the new program.
• Parents appealed the denial of ESY to a student
  with cerebral palsy. ESY was denied ESY because
  the student had shown great progress during the
  regular school year and hadnt shown signs of
  regression. The student was found to be
  eligible for ESY because the actual experience of
  regression with significant recoupment time is
  not necessary to establish a students need for
  ESY.
• A districts six-week ESY program was found to be
  insufficient for a 9-year-old student with
  multiple disabilities. The students
  disabilities were so severe and the danger of
  irreversible regression so great, that year round
  programming was required to meet her needs.
• An emotionally handicapped student was initially
  denied ESY academic services. The state review
  officer ordered reimbursement for the costs of
  placement in a summer program, because the
  district and hearing officer had improperly
  failed to consider academic needs and based
  eligibility solely on the social and emotional
  services in the students program.

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Parent Strategy Making the Case for ESYPrepare
for the Annual IEP/FSP

• Review your childs cumulative folder annually
• Request a copy so that you have time to review it
  fully.
• Talk to your childs teachers, therapists, aides
  and outside experts
• What are their evaluations of needs and progress
  in each area?
• Review the Matrix of Service form (youll find it
  in the cumulative file)
• What areas has the school district identified as
  your childs greatest needs?
• Evaluate your childs progress and needs
• Write a summary of your concerns and your childs
  needs and goals.
• Document your childs needs
• Do you have independent evaluations or reports?
• Tie the needs to specific goals.

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Parent Strategy Making the Case for ESYThe
IEP/FSP Meeting

• Leave your ego and emotions at home
• Dont go to the meeting alone
• Tape-record the IEP/FSP meeting
• Be an active participant, present your report and
  evaluation of your childs progress and needs
• Provide a written report, if it helps keep you
  organized.
• Listen attentively and ask questions
• Make your request for ESY services calmly
• Provide any documentation you may have

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Parent Strategy Making the Case for ESYIf you
disagree with the team decision

• Remain calm and objective
• Get a written explanation for the denial before
  you leave the IEP meeting
• Put your concerns in writing, address the letter
  to the principal,counselor and/or district
  administrator of exceptional student education (a
  copy should always go to the principal)
• Talk to the principal
• Request a new IEP/FSP meeting
• Know your procedural safeguards
• Mediation
• Due process
• State complaint.

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Other training

• The Advocacy Center will conduct Parent Strategy
  workshops in a small group environment. The
  purpose of the sessions is to help parents
• Plan for their annual IEPs
• Prepare to make the case for ESY or for other
  services.
• Parent small group sessions are working sessions.
  Parents are heavily encouraged to prepare for
  the meeting by
• Reviewing their childrens cumulative folder
• Acquiring copies of at least the last three IEPs
  and other documents, including the Matrix of
  Service forms, from the cumulative folder.
• Acquiring copies of all evaluations and
  reevaluations support plans reports from
  therapists, physicians, social workers
  psychologists, and/or any other relevant records
• Bringing all documents to the workshop.
• Organizations and providers may also put together
  groups of 5-15 parents and/or staff for small
  group training by the Advocacy Center.
• If interested, contact Lisa Schell 488-9071 or
  ltLisas_at_advocacycenter.orggt