149. The ESY Myth—Maintenance, Not Summer School
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Show Notes:
“Summer School” and “ESY” are not the same thing—and using the wrong word could cost your child their services.
It’s that time of year again. The birds are starting to chirp, the days are getting longer, and for parents of children with disabilities, a familiar shadow is looming: The Summer Slide.
We all know the feeling. Your child worked so hard all year. They finally mastered that visual schedule. They finally hit their reading fluency goal. They finally learned to navigate the cafeteria. And now, three months of summer break threaten to wash all that progress away.
In Episode 149 of the Water Prairie Chronicles, I’m pulling back the curtain on the most misunderstood tool in your IEP toolbox: Extended School Year (ESY).
Why “Summer School” is the Wrong Goal
If you walk into your next IEP meeting and ask for “remedial summer school,” the school might legally be able to say no. Why? Because ESY is not summer school.
- Summer School is for kids who failed a class or need to “catch up” to grade level.
- ESY (Extended School Year) is for maintenance.
The goal of ESY isn’t to learn new things; it’s to make sure the “old” things don’t disappear. To get it, you need to understand the two “Magic Words” of special education law: Regression and Recoupment.
Regression is when your child loses skills over a break. Recoupment is how long it takes them to get those skills back once school starts.
For many of our kids, a 10-week summer break can lead to a 6-week relearning period in the fall. That is exactly what ESY is designed to prevent.
Creative Solutions: Thinking Outside the School Building
Sometimes the school’s version of ESY isn’t the best fit. Maybe it’s in a different building with staff your child doesn’t know, which can actually cause more stress.
I’ve always looked for ways to bridge the gap. For example, my daughter participated in specialized summer programs—like a week-long braille and life-skills camp or an outdoor adventure program.
The Pro-Tip: If you find a specialized program that helps your child maintain their IEP goals, bring it to the team! You can ask the school to provide a 1:1 aide or transportation to that program as their form of ESY. It’s a “win-win”: the school saves on overhead, and your child gets a high-quality, engaging experience.
The Strategy: Start the Conversation NOW
Don’t wait until May! If you want ESY, you need data.
Look at how your child handled Winter Break or Spring Break. Did they have more meltdowns when they returned? Did they forget how to use their communication device? That is your data.
Use this template for your email to the IEP team:
“I am requesting an IEP meeting to discuss Extended School Year (ESY) services for [Child’s Name]. I am concerned about the significant regression seen after the recent winter break in the area of [Specific Goal]. I would like to review the data and discuss what services are necessary to ensure they maintain their current skills over the summer.”
Key Takeaways for Parents
- Maintenance over Progress: ESY is about keeping skills, not gaining new ones.
- Individual Need: Schools cannot deny ESY because of “budget” or “severity of disability.”
- Be Proactive: April is the time to secure your August peace of mind.
Work with Tonya as an IEP Coach: If you’re looking for personalized support, a trusted partner, and expert guidance through the IEP process, I would be honored to be part of your team. Find more information about my IEP coaching services here: https://waterprairie.com/iepcoach
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Music Used:
“LazyDay” by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Tonya Wollum is an IEP Coach, podcast host, and disability advocate. She works one-on-one with parents to guide them to a peaceful partnership with their child’s IEP team, and she provides virtual mentors for special needs parents through the interviews she presents as the host of the Water Prairie Chronicles podcast. Tonya knows firsthand how difficult it is to know how to support your special needs child, and she seeks to provide knowledge to parents and caregivers as well as to those who support a family living life with a disability. She’s doing her part to help create a more inclusive world where we can celebrate what makes each person unique!
Episode #149: The ESY Myth—Maintenance, Not Summer School
“Summer School” and “ESY” are not the same thing—and using the wrong word could cost your child their services.
(Recorded March 19, 2026)
Full Transcript of Episode 149:
Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Water Prairie Chronicles, the podcast for parents of children with disabilities. We are creeping closer to spring, and for parents of children with disabilities, that usually means one thing is on our minds: The Summer Slide.
We worry about those hard-earned skills—the ones our kids fought so hard to master—vanishing during the long break. Today, we’re talking about ESY, or Extended School Year. But before we dive in, let me be very clear: ESY is not summer school. If you walk into your meeting asking for “remedial summer school,” the school might legally be able to say no. But if you ask for ESY the right way, it’s a whole different conversation.
What ESY Is (and Isn’t)
Let’s break it down. Summer school is for kids who failed a class or need to “catch up” to grade level. ESY is for maintenance.
The magic words you need to know are Regression and Recoupment.
- Regression is when your child loses skills over a break.
- Recoupment is how long it takes them to get those skills back once school starts.
For most kids, a little regression is normal. But for our kids, if it takes them six weeks to relearn what they knew in June, that’s a problem. That is what ESY is designed to prevent. It’s not about learning new things; it’s about making sure the “old” things don’t disappear.
A Different Kind of Resource: My Daughter’s Story
Now, sometimes the school’s version of ESY isn’t the best fit. Maybe it’s in a different building with staff your child doesn’t know, which can actually cause more stress.
I always looked for ways to bridge the gap outside of the school system. For example, my daughter participated in a summer program through our state’s Division of Services for the Blind. It wasn’t an “official” school ESY program, but it provided incredible transition skills and maintained her independence.
The camp ran for a week and worked on life skills and included extra instruction in Braille. Their social activities included community events where they learned how to use local resources to make the activities more accessible, and there was support from other kids who were visually impaired to give them confidence to try new things.
Another time, she attended an outdoor adventure camp with another organization in our state. These opportunities were our way of giving her different experiences to help her learn or practice skills she was learning in school.
This is a great example of a “win-win.” If you find a specialized program like this, you can sometimes bring it to the IEP team and say, “My child is attending this program. Can the school provide the 1:1 aide or the transportation as part of their ESY?” It saves the school from running a full program and gives your child a better experience. Even if they aren’t able to help, they may have access to other resources if you can help them think beyond the “normal” ESY options.
State Rules & The Resistance
Every state has its own “flavor” of ESY.
- North Carolina and many other states focus heavily on the “Regression/Recoupment” data.
- Some states are more flexible and look at “Emerging Skills”—if your child is just about to learn to read, stopping for 3 months could permanently set them back.
To find your state’s rules, search for: “[Your State] Department of Public Instruction ESY Guidance.” The Resistance: You might hear, “We don’t have the budget,” or “We only offer ESY for the most severe students.” Neither of those is a legal reason to deny a child who needs it. ESY is based on individual need, not a diagnosis or a budget line.
The Strategy: How to Ask (Template)
Don’t wait until May! If you want ESY, you need to start the conversation now. You need data from the Winter Break and Spring Break.
I’ll use Leo’s experience as an example. Leo has autism and finally mastered his visual schedule in December. After 2 weeks off for Christmas, he came back and had meltdowns for 3 weeks because he forgot how to use it. That is your ESY data! If 2 weeks off was this difficult for him, what will 2 and a half months of no steady school schedule do to his progress?
If you’re considering asking for ESY services for your child, you need to send an email as soon as possible to your child’s IEP team. I’ll post this in the show notes, but Your Email should be something like:
“I am requesting an IEP meeting to discuss Extended School Year (ESY) services for [Child’s Name]. I am concerned about the significant regression seen after the recent winter break in the area of [Specific Goal]. I would like to review the data and discuss what services are necessary to ensure [he/she] maintains their current skills over the summer.”
Being proactive now saves you a headache in August. If you aren’t sure if your child qualifies, or if you’ve been told “no” in the past, let’s look at your progress reports together.
If you’re ready to push back against a “No,” book a Discovery Call with me. You can find the link in the show notes or go to waterprairie.com/iepcoach, and we can talk about your options.
Let’s help your child keep those skills sharp. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next week!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
- Does my child have to be “failing” to get ESY? No. ESY is about preventing the loss of skills already learned.
- What if my school says they only offer ESY for “severe” students? This is a myth. ESY is based on individual need, not a specific diagnosis.
- Can I use ESY for social skills? Yes, if social interaction is a goal in the IEP and data shows the child regresses without practice.
- How do I prove recoupment? Ask your teacher for the data from the first three weeks of January. If your child was still struggling to reach their December levels by the end of the month, that’s proof.
- Is ESY the same as “Year-Round School”? No. It is a specific set of services provided during breaks to maintain IEP goals.
