ESY???

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	WHY is it that the school wants to fight me on everything. they will not give mason esy! they say there is nothing showing that he will regress over the summer. well he is still speech/and social delay. so what is going to be away from other children going to do to him for the summer and then have to go back to school? i just do not understand and do not know what to do!!! it is a never ending fight with these people. i cant wait until he is out of the preschool part and into the reg. school program. i heard it is alot easier.The reason they are fighting with you over this is that that's the LAW.  They are not allowed to give him services over the summer unless there is evidence that he will "significantly regress."  That means, roughly, that he cannot be expected to be at his June level of performance by Oct. 15 without ESY.  Of course, social skills can be an area of significant regression, so if you see him getting school phobic after a holiday or if he has behavior problems after a holiday, you can point to these areas of regression.   Point out to the district that if his school routine is destroyed for the WHOLE summer, they will be getting a MUCH different child back in Sept.  Even if he GETS ESY, they are not allowed to help him make any PROGRESS during the summer.  They are just supposed to make sure he doesn REGRESS.  COuld he go to mainstream summer school?  That is usually totally academic, but it would keep him in the school routine at least.he is only 4. he had a bad time after spring break week going back to school he cried when it was time to get on the bus. at school he cried for a couple of days off and on and he could not tell them why.Send a letter to Spec. Ed. requesting another IEP meeting.  Present as much evidence as you can that your son regresses. Remind them that they DON'T want to have to deal with a regressed Mason in Sept.  Look to the written notes the teacher or therapists have sent to you that indicate he had a bad day.  Check the calendar to see if there's a pattern that those notes mostly come early in the week or after a break or after he's been out of school for any reason.  Point out that this regression is significant (to have trouble going back to school after only a couple of days will be magnified over the course of more than 2 months).  Put all of this evidence on paper and present it to them as YOUR report.  Also, if Mason has any emerging skills that will be lost over the summer, you can point to that. Found this article at www.wrightslaw.com  Hope it helps. Success Story: How I Got Extended School Year (ESY) Services After the School Said "No" When we attended our child's ESY Meeting, we were told that he did not qualify for Extended School Year services because he did not meet the "regression-recoupment criteria". We were not advised of any other criteria that may be used to determine if a child is eligible for ESY. One of my objections was that after three-quarters of the school year, my child is finally getting where he needs to be. I was concerned that after one good quarter, he could not tolerate another 2.5 month break in his education. The team mentioned one criteria for ESY - "regression-recoupment." Period. We were handed a paper sheet to sign. I said I was not prepared to sign the paper. I remembered what you said at the Boot Camp - that parents need to do their own research, and not accept everything they are told. I went downtown to the state department of education office and asked for written information about Extended School Year services. A nice person gave me a yellow ESY Handbook. This Handbook listed three criteria for ESY. When I read the Handbook, I found that I was describing one of the criteria for ESY. If I had not contacted the state department of education to get the ESY handbook, I would not have been informed of our options. As we read the ESY Handbook, we realized that the school team had made their decision before the meeting, without any input from us. You are right when you say parents need to do their own research, and not accept everything they are told. Since we didn't sign the paper, another meeting was scheduled. When we went to that meeting, we brought the yellow ESY Handbook with us - and we marked the criteria for ESY. During the meeting, we were polite and asked lots of questions - the Columbo strategy you talked about at the Boot Camp in Jackson. We acted like we were confused and asked the team to explain the criteria again - and again. By the end of the meeting, the team agreed to provide our child with Extended School Year Services. Please keep telling parents to do their own research and not to accept everything they are told! ESY Resources Extended School Year: Legal Basis and Standards - Dr. Nissan Bar-Lev, Director of Special Education for CESA-7, describes the legal basis of Extended School Year Services and the standards defined by federal courts around the country. Contact your state department of education and request the ESY Manual or your state standards for ESY. See the Directory of State Departments of Education on the Yellow Pages for Kids site for contact information. The information may be available on the state's website. Extended School Year (ESY) - More resources and cases about Extended School Year on the Wrightslaw site. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) - Courts have found that a child may require ESY services in order to receive a free appropriate education. tzoya38855.1834837963 Also from Wrightslaw: Advocacy Strategies: Negotiating for ESY Services If your child needs Extended School Year Services (ESY) but the school does not want to provide these services, you need to learn about the legal requirements for ESY and how to use advocacy strategies to negotiate with the school. The Parent as Expert As a parent, you negotiate with the school on your child’s behalf. To negotiate successfully, you need information about: Your child’s disability Your child's rights and your rights & responsibilities How your child learns and needs to be taught How to measure and monitor your child's progres If you have a disagreement about ESY services, you need to learn about your state standards for ESY. Do not accept legal advice from school personnel. While school staff may believe what they tell you is true, educators are not legal experts. Most have not read the law, regulations, and current caselaw on legal issues. Get Your State ESY Manual or Standards Contact your state department of education (Directory of State Department of Education) and request two copies of your state's ESY Manual or ESY Standards (one for you and one for your child's team). Tip: This information may be available on the website of your state department of education. Go through your state's ESY Manual or Standards to learn about the standards your state adopted. Dog-ear or tab pages so you can find relevant information quickly. Mark up your copy with a highlighter. As you learn about ESY, you will find that most federal courts describe several standards. In Daniel Lawyer v. Chesterfield (VA) Board of Education (E.D. VA 1993), the judge listed several factors that IEP teams should consider when making decisions about ESY: * Recoupment in the Fall * Window of opportunity to learn emerging skills * Child's rate of progress * Child's behavioral or physical problems * Availability of alternative resources * Areas of the child's curriculum that need continuous attention * Vocational needs In Reusch v. Fountain, (U.S. MD 1994), the court listed six factors the IEP team should consider in deciding if the child is eligible for ESY: 1. Regression and recoupment - is the child likely to lose critical skills or fail to recover these skills within in a reasonable time 2. Degree of progress toward IEP goals and objectives 3. Emerging skills/breakthrough opportunities - Will a lengthy summer break cause significant problems for a child who is learning a key skill, like reading 4. Interfering Behavior - does the child’s behavior interfere with his or her ability to benefit from special education 5. Nature and/or severity of disability 6. Special circumstances that interfere with child’s ability to benefit from special education Meet with Your Child's Team Schedule a meeting with your child's team to discuss your child's need for ESY. Since prepartion is the key to success, you need to prepare for this meeting. Make several copies of Standards for Extended School Year by Nissan Bar-Lev for members of your child's team. Since Dr. Bar-Lev is a respected director of special education, your team is more likely to accept what he has written. You should also bring two copies of your state's ESY Manual or Standards. Give one copy to the team leader. Your copy looks well-read - pages are tabbed or dog-earred and marked up with a highlighter. ..thanks for the info. our iep is set for june 6.
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