Extended School Year: ESY Criteria, Timing and IEP Rules

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

Extended school year (ESY) services are special education and related services that a student with a disability receives beyond the district’s normal school year, under the IEP and at no cost to the family, when the IEP team decides they are necessary for a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This guide covers what 34 CFR 300.106 requires, the eligibility criteria states use, the data to collect, when the decision is made, how ESY is written in the IEP and how long it lasts. It describes federal and state rules, not legal advice: check your state’s ESY standards and consult district counsel on disputed decisions.

Executive Summary

In 2024-25, 8.2 million students ages 3 to 21 were served under IDEA Part B, according to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and for each of them the ESY question is individual. New York’s guidance shows what is at stake: the typical period of review or reteaching at the start of a school year, after a summer without services, ranges between 20 and 40 school days, and a review period of eight weeks or more indicates substantial regression.

States set the standards, so criteria differ. Texas caps the recoupment period at eight weeks; Pennsylvania weighs seven factors, none decisive on its own. Everywhere, the decision is only as good as the data collected before and after breaks during the year.

What Is Extended School Year?

Extended school year services are special education and related services provided to a student with a disability beyond the normal school year of the district, in accordance with the IEP, at no cost to the parents, and meeting the standards of the state education agency.

That is the federal definition in 34 CFR 300.106(b). When it adopted the rule in 2006, the Department of Education explained that the right to ESY rests on each child’s entitlement to FAPE and reflects a longstanding interpretation by the courts and the Department: “Some children with disabilities may not receive FAPE unless they receive necessary services during times when other children, both disabled and nondisabled, normally would not be served.”

ESY usually happens in summer, but it does not have to. The Department wrote that nothing in the rule prevents services before or after school hours or during school vacations if the IEP team finds them necessary. Virginia goes further: districts may not limit ESY to the summer, and ESY includes transportation (8VAC20-81-100 J).

ESY vs Summer School

Source: the Nebraska Department of Education’s ESY guidance (August 2018, its current edition), which adds that ESY services are not provided to help students advance in relation to their peers.

What 34 CFR 300.106 Requires

• Availability: each district must ensure that ESY services are available as necessary to provide FAPE.
• An individual decision: ESY is provided only if the IEP team determines, on an individual basis and through the IEP process in 34 CFR 300.320 to 300.324, that the services are necessary for FAPE. The Department said in 2006 that the word “only” is intended to be limiting.
• No category limits: a district may not limit ESY to particular categories of disability.
• No unilateral caps: a district may not unilaterally limit the type, amount or duration of ESY.
• State standards: ESY must meet the standards of the state education agency, which is why criteria differ by state.

The Department also wrote that states have “considerable flexibility” in setting ESY standards, but whatever standard a state uses must be consistent with the individually oriented requirements of IDEA (71 Fed. Reg. 46582-46583).

Extended School Year Eligibility Criteria

Regression and recoupment are the oldest test. The Department noted in 2006 that these concepts “have formed the basis for many standards that States use” and come from judicial precedents, citing Johnson v. Bixby Independent School District 4 (10th Cir. 1990), Crawford v. Pittman (5th Cir. 1983) and GARC v. McDaniel (11th Cir. 1983). States may use them alone or add other factors.

Texas: Critical Skills and an Eight-Week Limit

Texas requires data showing that, in one or more critical areas of the current IEP where the student has made progress, the student has shown, or reasonably may be expected to show, severe or substantial regression that cannot be recouped within a reasonable period. That period is set from the student’s IEP needs and must not exceed eight weeks. A skill is critical when its loss would likely lead, in the first eight weeks of the next school year, to a more restrictive placement, a significant loss of skills needed to progress in the general curriculum or of self-help skills, or lost access to community-based living instruction or to job training. If the loss would be particularly severe, or could cause immediate physical harm, ESY may be justified without considering recoupment (19 TAC 89.1065).

Pennsylvania and New York

Pennsylvania lists seven factors, from regression and recoupment to the mastery of an important skill at the point of interruption and the severity of the disability, and states that no single factor is determinative (22 Pa. Code 14.132). New York defines substantial regression as a loss of skill or knowledge during July and August severe enough to require an inordinate period of review to reestablish the IEP goals mastered at the end of the previous school year (8 NYCRR 200.1(aaa)); the state’s guidance treats a review period of eight weeks or more as the indicator.

What ESY Is Not For

• Child care or recreation: Pennsylvania excludes the need for day care, respite care or a summer recreation program, and programs not required for FAPE.
• Getting ahead: Nebraska says ESY is not meant to enhance the levels a student reached by the end of the year.
• A category or a label: Nebraska warns that it is not appropriate to assume regression just because a disability is severe.
• Proof by failure: OSEP’s 2003 Letter to Given lists predictive data based on the opinion of professionals among the factors states use and notes a federal appeals court’s view that actual regression need not be shown; Nebraska adds that a student cannot be required to fail first.

Data to Collect for an ESY Decision

Texas requires the need for ESY to be documented with data collected by the district and the parents, through formal or informal assessments. New York’s guidance says regression data “should be collected any time throughout the ten-month program.” Pennsylvania lists reliable sources:

One practical approach is short probes on the IEP goals at risk, taken the week before a long break and in the first weeks after it. Formats are in our IEP data collection sheets, and the periodic reports required by 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3) are often where regression first shows; see the IEP progress report guide.

When the ESY Decision Is Made

• Texas: the ARD committee must consider ESY at the annual review. If ESY was rejected and the student later shows a need, the parent and district decide location, duration and frequency through an IEP amendment or an ARD meeting; if critical skills are lost and not regained, and the loss interferes with implementing the IEP, the committee must reconsider the IEP. How ARD meetings run is covered in our ARD meeting guide.
• Pennsylvania: eligibility is determined at each IEP meeting; for students with severe disabilities, the IEP review must occur by February 28 and the Notice of Recommended Educational Placement must issue by March 31.
• New York: the committee must determine annually, on an individual basis, whether a student requires ESY.
• Nebraska: if the need is unclear at the annual meeting, the team can set a date to reconvene, early enough to plan.

Because ESY is part of FAPE, a proposal or refusal falls under the prior written notice rule (34 CFR 300.503); model wording is in our prior written notice examples. Meeting rules are in the IEP meeting guide.

How to Write ESY Services in the IEP

The IEP must state the projected start date and the anticipated frequency, location and duration of services (34 CFR 300.320(a)(7)), and Texas requires the IEP to identify the services that will be addressed during ESY (19 TAC 89.1055(j)). Nebraska adds that ESY should concentrate on the areas at risk of significant regression, so it may look very different from the school-year program, and that the student’s needs, not an available program, dictate the services. Transportation follows the IEP; Virginia includes it in ESY by rule.

The statement below is an original example about a fictional student; adapt it to your state’s form.

How Long Is Extended School Year?

There is no federal length: a district may not unilaterally limit the amount or duration of ESY (34 CFR 300.106(a)(3)(ii)), and Nebraska stresses that duration is set by the IEP team, not by the summer school schedule. Some state rules set floors for particular programs. In New York, an approved ESY program of half-day or full-day special class instruction must operate for at least 30 days, five days a week, in July and August, while a program consisting only of related services follows the frequency and duration in the IEP (NYSED, September 2024). Nebraska lists other formats, from programs of two, six or ten weeks to a few contacts during the summer or a week of intensive review just before school starts.

Funding and Staffing

ESY is provided at no cost to parents (34 CFR 300.106(b)), and state rules shape how it is funded. Texas districts are not eligible for reimbursement for ESY provided for reasons other than those in its rule (19 TAC 89.1065(9)); New York’s commissioner approves July and August programs and sets their tuition reimbursement rates (8 NYCRR 200.6(k)). Staff are the harder constraint: 45 states reported special education teacher shortages in 2024-25 (Learning Policy Institute, 2026).

Common Mistakes District Leaders Make

1. One program for everyone. A fixed four-week session for every student can amount to a unilateral limit on duration.
2. Eligibility by category. No disability qualifies or disqualifies a student automatically.
3. Waiting for failure. A student does not have to regress first to show need.
4. Deciding without data. Texas requires documented data; impressions are not enough.
5. Deciding in June. Late decisions leave no time to hire, place or plan transportation.
6. Treating ESY as child care or enrichment. Neither is a reason for ESY.
7. Writing “ESY: yes” and nothing else. The IEP must state the start date, frequency, location and duration of services.

Questions District Leaders Should Ask

• How many students received ESY last summer, and how many different lengths and formats did we offer?
• What data supported each decision, and who collected them?
• How many ESY decisions were made after our planning deadline?
• How long did students who were denied ESY take to recoup skills in the fall?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many weeks is ESY?

There is no standard number. IDEA bars districts from unilaterally limiting the type, amount or duration of ESY, so the IEP team sets the length for each student. Some states set floors for certain programs: New York’s special class ESY programs run at least 30 days, five days a week, in July and August, while related services only follow the IEP. Nebraska cites programs of two, six or ten weeks as examples.

Who qualifies for extended school year services?

Any student with an IEP whose IEP team decides, individually, that ESY is necessary for FAPE. No disability category qualifies or disqualifies a student automatically. States set the criteria, usually starting with regression and recoupment: Texas looks for severe or substantial regression in critical skills that cannot be recouped within a reasonable time, at most eight weeks; Pennsylvania weighs seven factors, none decisive alone.

How is extended school year determined?

The IEP team reviews data against the state’s criteria and decides at an IEP meeting. Useful evidence includes progress on goals across IEPs, probes before and after breaks, parent reports of lost skills, medical reports and observations, the sources Pennsylvania lists. A student does not need to fail first: without regression data, professionals who know the student can show the need, as Nebraska’s guidance notes.

Who determines extended school year and when is it decided?

The IEP team, which is the ARD committee in Texas and the committee on special education in New York. Timing is set by state rules: Texas requires consideration at the annual review, Pennsylvania at every IEP meeting, with deadlines of February 28 and March 31 for students with severe disabilities, and New York annually. Teams can reconvene later in the year if new data show a need.

Is extended school year required?

Districts must make ESY available whenever a student needs it for FAPE (34 CFR 300.106(a)(1)), but it is provided only if the IEP team decides the student needs it. Nebraska’s guidance notes that not all students with disabilities need ESY, and that receiving it one year does not guarantee it the next, nor does its absence one year rule it out later.

What is the difference between ESY and summer school?

Summer school is an optional program a district may or may not run, on a set schedule, sometimes for a fee, for new content or enrichment. ESY is required for students whose IEP teams find it necessary for FAPE, free, individually scheduled, and focused on keeping skills the student has gained. The amount and duration of ESY are set by the IEP team, not by the summer school schedule (Nebraska).

Related Resources

• IEP Meeting Guide
• IEP Progress Report
• IEP Data Collection Sheets
• Prior Written Notice Examples
• Functional IEP Goals
• ARD Meeting Guide

Conclusion

Extended school year is a FAPE decision made one student at a time: the team applies the state’s criteria to real data, decides early enough to plan, and writes goals, minutes, location and dates into the IEP. Districts that probe skills around every long break, offer more than one format and send summer data to fall teachers make ESY decisions they can defend.

Sources: 34 CFR 300.106, Extended school year services; U.S. Department of Education, IDEA Part B final regulations and analysis of comments, 71 Fed. Reg. 46540 (Aug. 14, 2006); 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter AA (TEA, October 2026 update); 22 Pa. Code 14.132, ESY; NYSED, Extended School Year Special Education Programs (last updated September 2024); 8 NYCRR 200.6, Continuum of services; 8VAC20-81-100, Free appropriate public education; Nebraska Department of Education, Extended School Year (ESY) Services Guidance Document (August 2018); U.S. Department of Education, OSEP, 2024-25 Static Tables (Part B Child Count & Educational Environments); Learning Policy Institute, An Overview of Teacher Shortages: 2026 (July 2026). Other regulations are linked where they are cited.

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