Procedure – Category 5000 (Students)
AR 5005.4 – Extended School Year (ESY)
• In determining the scope of FAPE, the Court reinforced the requirement that “every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives” and that the “instruction offered must be “specially designed” to meet a child’s “unique needs.” ➢ The IDEA requires neither that a LEA provide the best education to a child with a disability, nor that it provide an education that maximizes the child’s potential ( Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 1982; Gregory K. v. Longview School District, 9th Cir. 1987 ). ➢ An IEP should confer a meaningful educational benefit ( T.R. ex rel. N.R. v. Kingwood Twp. Bd. of Educ., 3rd Cir. 2000 ). • LEAs are required to consider more than just the regression and recoupment analysis and consider other factors relevant in determining a child’s need for special education services during ESY. ➢ No single criterion can be used as a sole qualifying factor ( Johnson v. Independent School District No. 4, 1990 ). ➢ One factor to be considered is the critical stage of developing a skill which has great potential for increasing self-sufficiency. For such skill, if not completely acquired and mastered, it is likely that the current level of acquisition will be lost due to the interruption of summer vacation ( Reusch v. Fountain, 1994 ). ➢ There is a reference in Fullerton USD vs. Parent ( OAH Case # 2011080355 ) that ESY services are recommended only if a child is at risk of a severe regression in skills that would require six to eight weeks at the start of the regular school year to recoup.
• LEAs are not required to create programs in order to provide ESY services.
➢ In Cordrey v. Euckert (6th Cir 1990) , the court noted that “the school district has no purely custodial duty to provide for handicapped children while similar provision is not made for others. Therefore, begin with the proposition that providing an extended school year is the exception and not the rule…” ➢ An example would be a student who requires an integrated setting. If the LEA does not provide summer services for non-disabled students, the LEA is not required to create a new program
Adapted from Guidelines for Determining Need for Extended School Year (ESY) Services, Riverside County Special Education Local Plan Area, 2014. Reprinted in this handbook with permission.
AR 5005.4 – Extended School Year (ESY)
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Desert Mountain Special Education Local Plan Area (DMSELPA) (rev. 09/17)
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