The purpose of this resource is to support students, families, educators, and other school partners with planning for transition into summer and next school year. As schools continue these planning activities and supports specific to students with disabilities, here are a few key points and considerations:
Evaluations and Eligibility
• Individualized Education Program (IEP) – Initial IEPs must be completed within 30 calendar days of the date that initial eligibility is established, even though school may not be in session. This can be a challenge during the summer, so be sure to plan ahead.
• Early Childhood Transitions – Timelines related to initial evaluation and IEP development by the third birthday for students transitioning from early intervention (IDEA Part C) into special education preschool services (IDEA Part B) are still in play over the summer even though school may not be in session. Additional resources are available on the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) webpage.
• Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) – Districts must either respond to a request for an IEE by granting the request at public expense and ensuring the IEE is provided without unnecessary delay, or initiating a due process hearing within 15 calendar days to show that the district evaluation was appropriate. This timeline applies over the summer.
Eligibility
Families and educators should have been working to identify potential regression during long breaks and recovery service needs for the remainder of this school year, during summer, and into next school year and beyond. While schools may need to continue collecting data and addressing recovery learning into next school year and beyond, discussions and planning should be happening now, as well as providing those services.
Summer Programming
Districts have always provided a variety of educational programs and supplemental instruction during the summer. These programs include credit recovery, literacy camps, extended school year (ESY) services for students eligible for special education, and more.
• Districts are considering ways of expanding summer school programming to address a variety of needs
• Seniors who are behind in credits needed for postsecondary preparation or want to take courses that would result in meeting a Graduation Pathway can take summer school and still graduate
• Students with disabilities should have opportunity to participate in summer enrichment/remediation programming available to all students. Districts should plan for accommodations needed by individual students for them to participate.
Extended School Year (ESY)
A student with a goal area of concern may be determined to need ESY services due to:
1) A serious potential for regression of skills beyond a reasonable period of recoupment;
2) The nature or severity of the disability;
3) Critical stages or areas of learning for emerging skills. This learning must occur without delay and learning the skill(s) in the identified goal area(s) of concern will enhance the student’s ability to function independently.
If there are no identified goal areas of concern, then ESY services are not needed for a FAPE. If there is one or more identified goal area of concern, then the following questions must be answered by the IEP team:
• Are there data that indicate to the IEP team that in the identified goal area(s) of concern there is a serious potential for regression of skills beyond a reasonable period of recoupment? Regression refers to the inability of the student to maintain an acquired skill in an identified goal area of concern when special education instruction or related services in an IEP goal area are interrupted and require an unreasonable amount of time for recoupment.
• Recoupment is the student’s capacity to recover those regressed skills to a level demonstrated prior to the break in instruction.
This is a two-part question: (1) there must be serious potential for regression of skills related to the goal area(s) of concern, and (2) the potential period of recoupment must be beyond a reasonable amount of time.
The IEP team determines what a reasonable period of recoupment is for the goal area(s) of concern for each student. In making this determination, the IEP team must consider the unique needs of the student, rather than basing the determination on a formula. This is because formulas do not provide the individualization needed for this type of decision. It is not possible to develop a formula that can take into account the unique needs of all of the students with disabilities in the state of Michigan. Any formula, by its nature, will inadvertently exclude someone from appropriate consideration for ESY services.
The IEP team needs to take into account the fact that all students, whether receiving general education or special education instruction, lose skills when there is a break in services. Students who lose skills over breaks in service, but who can recoup those skills with re-teaching in a reasonable amount of time, are not eligible for ESY services. This is the case with most students with disabilities.
The provision of ESY services cannot be limited only to those students who have actually experienced serious regression of skills requiring an unreasonable amount of time for recoupment. The IEP team must assess the potential for such difficulties in regression and recoupment.
ESY services are not limited to the summer breaks. While this is generally the longest break from the normal school year, ESY services may be needed during shorter breaks (such as winter and spring holiday breaks) of one or two weeks in length. ESY services can even be an extension of the student’s normal school day.
For additional Special Education resources visit the WAA Special Education Legal Library.
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