Now that the school year is coming to a close, many parents are worried about the summer and whether special educations services will continue. If ESY is on your child’s IEP, the answer is yes. If ESY is not on your child’s IEP, the answer is it depends. ESY is a team based decision and needs to be reviewed annually. If you feel your child needs ESY, ask for an IEP meeting immediately. If the school gives push back, call me at 301-605-7303 or email me at frances@shefterlaw.com, to discuss how I can help.
We, as parents, are currently in a very unique situation. We have personally seen what has occurred with lack of or reduced services. One client’s daughter did not receive any special education services for the first 5 weeks of school closures. During that time, my client saw a major regression in her articulation and hare parents’ ability to understand what she was trying to say. Due to this, her frustrations increased, and she often had emotional out bursts. Her parents were at their wits end and did not know where to turn. Thankfully, her parents were discussing with me the possibility of filing a Due Process Complaint, when the speech teacher reached out to schedule services.
Armed with the first hand knowledge at their daughter’s recent annual IEP review, my clients and I argued that there was a major regression during the closure and therefore, their daughter needed ESY services for speech. The team agreed that due to the unique situation of having the long break and the evidence the parents provided, she should qualify for ESY services. The services will still be virtual for now, but thankfully, their daughter does okay with the Zoom lessons.
MSDE did put out a supplemental Technical Assistance Bulletin regarding ESY. In it there is a flowchart for ESY Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The flowchart says that if there is no determination regarding eligibility for ESY, the team should use existing data. You, as the parent, have the most data to provide. The flow chart then says, if there is no data, “for the IEP team to make an eligibility decision on ESY services, the existing IEP is still in effect – compensatory services may be owed if ESY services are not on the IEP and it is later determined they were required.” For more on obtaining compensatory services once schools are back in session, see my blog posted titled “Serving CHildren with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
ESY During COVID Pandemic
Now that the school year is coming to a close, many parents are worried about the summer and whether special educations services will continue. If ESY is on your child’s IEP, the answer is yes. If ESY is not on your child’s IEP, the answer is it depends. ESY is a team based decision and needs to be reviewed annually. If you feel your child needs ESY, ask for an IEP meeting immediately. If the school gives push back, call me at 301-605-7303 or email me at frances@shefterlaw.com, to discuss how I can help.
We, as parents, are currently in a very unique situation. We have personally seen what has occurred with lack of or reduced services. One client’s daughter did not receive any special education services for the first 5 weeks of school closures. During that time, my client saw a major regression in her articulation and hare parents’ ability to understand what she was trying to say. Due to this, her frustrations increased, and she often had emotional out bursts. Her parents were at their wits end and did not know where to turn. Thankfully, her parents were discussing with me the possibility of filing a Due Process Complaint, when the speech teacher reached out to schedule services.
Armed with the first hand knowledge at their daughter’s recent annual IEP review, my clients and I argued that there was a major regression during the closure and therefore, their daughter needed ESY services for speech. The team agreed that due to the unique situation of having the long break and the evidence the parents provided, she should qualify for ESY services. The services will still be virtual for now, but thankfully, their daughter does okay with the Zoom lessons.
MSDE did put out a supplemental Technical Assistance Bulletin regarding ESY. In it there is a flowchart for ESY Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The flowchart says that if there is no determination regarding eligibility for ESY, the team should use existing data. You, as the parent, have the most data to provide. The flow chart then says, if there is no data, “for the IEP team to make an eligibility decision on ESY services, the existing IEP is still in effect – compensatory services may be owed if ESY services are not on the IEP and it is later determined they were required.” For more on obtaining compensatory services once schools are back in session, see my blog posted titled “Serving CHildren with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
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