CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of Special Education Services
Extended School Year (ESY) Services Consideration and Decision Making Guide
The Extended School Year (ESY) Services Consideration and Decision making Guide is designed to assist the ARD/IEP committee in documenting the
student’s need for ESY services on the IEP.
The ARD/IEP committee may use the consideration and decision making guide below to help determine the student’s need for ESY services based on at
least one of the following six criteria:
o Regression/recoupment criterion
o Interfering behaviors criterion
o Degree of progress on independence and self-help IEP
o Nature and severity of the disability criterion
goals criterion
o Special Circumstances criterion
o Emerging skills/breakthrough learning opportunities
criterion
This chart is divided into the following areas: criterion, question, response, ESY services consideration rationale and supporting documentation.
Committees are to look at each individual criterion and answer the questions for that criterion in order to determine the student's need for ESY services.
Considerations and Decision Making Guide
Criterion
Question
Regression and recoupment
The ARD/IEP committee determines whether,
without ESY services, there is a likelihood that
the child/adult student will suffer substantial
regression of critical life skills caused by the
school break and failure to recover those lost
skills in a reasonable time following the
school break.
NOTE: The recoupment period should not
exceed 8 weeks.
Did the student’s skills
regress during the
extended break in
instruction (winter,
spring, summer)?
 No.
Did the student recoup
the skills within 8
weeks of the
remediation?
 No.
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Response
 Yes.
 Yes. It took
_____ weeks to
recoup the skills
as evidenced by:
______________
______________
_____________.
ESY Services Consideration Rationale
Supporting
Documentation
based on current
IEP Goals
Describe the basis for this
determination:
If no, then do not consider the student for
ESY services based on
regression/recoupment criterion.
If yes, and the student’s skills were not
recouped within 8 weeks of the
remediation opportunities, then consider
the student for ESY services. Review the
documentation on the IEP Goals and
Objectives.
10/2014
CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of Special Education Services
Extended School Year (ESY) Services Consideration and Decision Making Guide
Criterion
Question
Degree of progress toward IEP goals and
objectives
The ARD/IEP committee considers the child’s
individual rate of learning specific skills or
behaviors to meet independence and self-help
skills such as toileting, dressing, eating,
impulse control, and social interaction and
reviews the child/adult student’s progress
toward IEP goals and objectives on these
critical life skills and determines whether,
without ESY services, the child/adult student’s
degree of progress will prevent the child/adult
student from receiving some benefit from his or
her educational program during the regular
school year.
NOTE: The
lack
of
progress
on
independence and self-help IEP goals is
neither a predictor nor prerequisite to ESY
services.
Is the student at a
critical point of
meeting an IEP goal
related to
independence and selfhelp?
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Response
 No.
 Yes
ESY Services Consideration Rationale
Supporting
Documentation
based on current
IEP Goals
Describe the basis for this
determination:
If no, then do not consider the student for
ESY services based on degree of progress
on independence and self-help IEP goals
goal related to independence and selfhelp criterion.
If yes, and the student is at a critical point
of meeting an IEP goal related to
independence and self-help and there is
documented evidence that the
interruption of services will cause the
student to lose acquired or the ability to
acquire independence and self-help skills,
then consider the student for ESY
services?
10/2014
CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of Special Education Services
Extended School Year (ESY) Services Consideration and Decision Making Guide
Criterion
Emerging skills/breakthrough opportunities
The ARD/IEP committee reviews all IEP
objectives targeting critical life skills to
determine whether any of these skills are at a
breakthrough point. When critical life skills,
such as speaking, toileting, are at this point,
the ARD/IEP committee determines whether
the interruption of instruction on those
objectives caused by the school break –
summer, winter or spring – is likely to prevent
the child/adult student from receiving some
benefit from his or her educational program
during the regular school year without ESY
services.
Interfering behavior
The ARD/IEP committee determines whether
any interfering behavior(s) such as
stereotypic, ritualistic, aggressive or selfinjurious behavior(s) targeted by IEP
objectives have prevented the child/adult
student from receiving some benefit from his or
her educational program during the previous
school
year
without
ESY
services.
Additionally, the ARD/IEP committee
determines whether the interruption of the
program which addresses the interfering
behavior(s) is likely to prevent the child/adult
student from receiving some benefit from his
or her educational/behavior support program
during the next school year without ESY
services.
Page 3 of 5
Question
Response
Is the student at a  No.
critical point of skill
acquisition
or  Yes.
readiness, and is the
student’s ability to
acquire the skill greatly
reduced or in jeopardy
of being lost if there is
an interruption of
services?
Is the student working
on decreasing
behaviors that interfere
with the student’s
functioning at school?
Has a new Functional
Behavior
Assessment/Behavior
Intervention Plan
(FBA/BIP) been
completed?
 No.
 Yes.
 No. Stop and
complete.
 Yes. Include
it if ESY is
needed.
ESY Services Consideration Rationale
Supporting
Documentation
based on current
IEP Goals
Describe the basis for this
determination:
If no, then do not consider the student for
ESY services based on emerging
skills/breakthrough learning opportunities
criterion.
If yes, and there is documentation that
the student is at a critical point of skill
acquisition or readiness and an
interruption of services will greatly
reduce or cause the student to lose the
ability to acquire the skill, then consider
the student for ESY services.
Describe the basis for this
determination:
If no, then do not consider the student for
ESY services based on interfering
behavior criterion.
If yes, and there is documentation that
the student is at a critical point of positive
behavior skill acquisition or reducing
negative behaviors and an interruption of
services will cause the student to lose the
ability to acquire the skill, then consider
the student for ESY services.
10/2014
CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of Special Education Services
Extended School Year (ESY) Services Consideration and Decision Making Guide
Criterion
Question
Nature and or severity of disability
While limited recoupment may occur among
children/adult students with mild to moderate
disabilities, it is more likely that a longer
period to recoup loss skills will be required for
children/adult
students
with
severe
disabilities. Children/adult students receiving
support in the highly structured program may
be predisposed to regression of skills when
their services are interrupted. The ARD/IEP
committee determines whether, without ESY
services, the nature and or severity of the
child/adult student’s disability is likely to
prevent the child/adult student from receiving
some benefit from his or her educational
program during the regular school year. The
determination of ESY services is based on
individual needs.
Does the student have
a severe disability that
requires intense
instructional supports
and services such as a
student with a
traumatic brain injury,
autism spectrum
disorders and who has
difficulty retaining
learned skills and
needs ongoing practice
of these skills?
Page 4 of 5
Response
 No.
 Yes.
ESY Services Consideration Rationale
Supporting
Documentation
based on current
IEP Goals
Describe the basis for this
determination:
If no, then do not consider the student for
ESY services based on nature and
severity of the disability criterion.
If yes, and the student receives support in
the highly structured program, review the
regression of skills documentation on the
IEP. If the student’s skills were not
recouped within 8 weeks of the
remediation opportunities, then consider
the student for ESY services.
10/2014
CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of Special Education Services
Extended School Year (ESY) Services Consideration and Decision Making Guide
Criterion
Question
Special circumstances that interfere with the
child/adult student’s ability to benefit from special
education
The ARD/IEP committee considers whether,
without ESY services, there are any special
circumstances that will prevent the child/adult
student from receiving some benefit from his or
her educational program during the regular
school year. The ARD/IEP committee may also
consider the child’s home environment. For
example: The child/adult student who
experiences a traumatic event/illness/injury
(such as newly blinded student, serious illness,
traumatic brain injury) that prevents them
from benefiting from Special Education.
Has the student
experienced any
unusual challenges
during the school year
that can be considered
a special circumstance
such as a student who
is recently blinded and
is just acquiring the
skills to navigate
his/her environment
unsighted?
Response
ESY Services Consideration Rationale
 No.
Supporting
Documentation
based on current
IEP Goals
If no, then do not consider the student for
ESY services based on special
circumstances criterion.
 Yes.
If yes, and there is documentation that a
student experienced unusual challenges
during the school year that can be
considered a special circumstance such as
being recently blinded or diagnosed with
a terminal illness, and an interruption of
services will cause the student to lose the
ability to acquire or retain the skill, then
consider the student for ESY services.
Use the chart below to help determine the amount of time needed to address identified skills in the current IEP that will be addressed as
part of ESY services. The determination of instructional time in hours spent each day on those skills/goals in the IEP beyond the regular
school year is based on documentation during the school year. See the sample ESY conversion table below:
ESY Conversion Table
# of hours per day
X
# of days
=
# of hours for each
session
3.5 hours
X
9 days
=
31.50 hours/session
Note: If the student receives 3.5 hours of instruction on those skills/goals in the IEP for 9
days, then the student receives a total of 31.50 hours each session.
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10/2014