Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Long, Ph.D. — Director of Special Education, 32 years in public schools.
Yes. ESY prevents significant regression in skills the student worked hard to build when a break would cause substantial, hard-to-recover loss — and behavioral and social-emotional skills are included, not just academics. If your child has made real, documented progress on behavior goals and there's genuine evidence a long break would cause significant regression, that's a legitimate basis for the team to consider ESY. The key word is "significant," and it has to be evidenced with data. Raise it specifically in those terms rather than assuming ESY only applies to academics.
Dr. Long's Assistant answers your specific questions in plain language — built from Dr. Long's expertise, plus state and federal law read at the source — never the open internet.
Get started →This is educational information, not legal advice. IDEA, Section 504, FERPA, and state rules may differ by situation.
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