Extended School Year in Maryland: ESY Eligibility and How to Get It

Every spring, thousands of Maryland IEP teams make decisions about Extended School Year services — and many of them get it wrong in ways that disadvantage families. Schools frequently frame ESY as an enrichment program, an optional extra, or something only for students with the most severe disabilities. None of that is accurate under Maryland law.

If your child has an IEP, ESY eligibility must be considered individually at every annual review. Here is what the standard actually requires.

What ESY Is — and What It Isn't

Extended School Year services are specially designed instruction and related services that extend beyond the standard 10-month school year. They are not summer school. They are not a reward for good behavior or strong progress. They are not a budget item the district can decline to discuss.

Under IDEA and COMAR 13A.05.01, ESY must be provided when it is necessary to ensure a student receives a Free Appropriate Public Education. The central question is whether, without ESY, the student would regress significantly on critical skills during the summer break and would need an unreasonably long time to recoup those skills in the fall — to the point where the regression constitutes a denial of FAPE.

This is the standard Maryland IEP teams are supposed to apply. Many don't.

The Regression-Recoupment Test

Maryland uses the regression-recoupment standard for ESY eligibility, consistent with federal IDEA requirements and affirmed by Maryland and federal court decisions. The test has two parts:

1. Regression: Will the student lose critical skills — academic, behavioral, communication, social, daily living — over the extended break?
2. Recoupment: Will recouping those lost skills take an unreasonably long time once school resumes in the fall?

Both elements matter. A student who loses skills but quickly recovers them may not meet the standard. A student who loses months of progress and spends the first several weeks of the new school year just getting back to baseline almost certainly does.

Critical skill areas that Maryland courts and MSDE have recognized as relevant to ESY determinations include: reading and literacy, communication and language, behavioral regulation, self-care and daily living skills, and social-emotional functioning.

What Schools Get Wrong

The most common ESY errors Maryland parents encounter:

Treating ESY as a categorical decision. Some districts have informal policies that ESY is only for students in certain disability categories (often severe cognitive disabilities). This is illegal. ESY eligibility is an individualized determination based on the specific student's needs and data, not their disability label.

Relying on teacher opinion rather than data. An IEP team member saying "I think she holds her skills pretty well over the summer" is not a substitute for actual regression data. Progress monitoring records, regression documentation from prior school years, and data from therapists or parents documenting summer skill loss are all relevant and should be presented.

Conflating ESY with the least restrictive environment. Some teams argue that a student's placement (e.g., a general education classroom) means ESY isn't needed. Placement does not determine ESY eligibility; the regression-recoupment analysis does.

Denying ESY because summer services are scarce. Staffing constraints and cost are not legally valid reasons to deny ESY. If a district cannot provide the services locally, it must arrange for them elsewhere.

What Data Supports an ESY Case

If you believe your child needs ESY but the school is pushing back, you need data. The most powerful data for ESY arguments:

• Progress reports from the prior school year showing skill gains made during the year
• Fall re-evaluation data showing where the student performed at the start of the new school year compared to the end of the prior year — this documents historical regression
• Parent data logs documenting specific skill regression observed at home over summer breaks
• Reports from private therapists (SLP, OT, PT, ABA) who work with the child year-round
• The child's IEP goals — specifically, goals that address critical skills where regression would substantially impede progress

If your child's private speech-language pathologist sees them over the summer and has documented significant regression in prior years, that practitioner's report carries real weight at an IEP meeting. Get it in writing before the annual review.

How to Raise ESY at the Annual Review

You don't have to wait for the school to bring it up. In fact, you should raise it proactively, in writing, before the meeting.

In your Parent Concerns Letter — submitted at least two weeks before the annual IEP meeting — include a specific statement requesting that ESY eligibility be discussed and documented. Something like:

"I am requesting that the team formally consider and document Extended School Year eligibility for [child's name] at the upcoming annual review. I have observed significant regression in [skill areas] in prior summers and will bring data to support this discussion. Please ensure the team is prepared to address ESY eligibility based on the regression-recoupment standard."

At the meeting, if the team moves to deny ESY, ask them to document the denial in Prior Written Notice (PWN). The PWN must state what was considered, what data was reviewed, and why ESY was rejected. A district that cannot articulate a data-based rationale for denying ESY has a compliance problem.

ESY and Maryland's Five-Day Rule

Under COMAR's Five-Day Rule, parents must receive copies of any reports, evaluations, draft IEPs, or other documents the team plans to review at the meeting at least five business days in advance. If the school is bringing data to support an ESY denial — regression data, therapy notes, progress monitoring — you are entitled to see it in advance. If you arrive at the meeting and the school produces documentation you have never seen, you can invoke the Five-Day Rule and request a postponement.

When the School Says No

If the IEP team formally denies ESY, request PWN immediately. Review the justification carefully. If the denial is based on:

• Categorical exclusion by disability type — this is illegal, and an MSDE State Complaint is appropriate
• Budget or staffing constraints — also illegal, and grounds for a State Complaint
• Opinion without supporting data — contest this at the meeting, document your objection in writing, and consider requesting an IEE to generate independent data

An MSDE State Complaint for improper ESY denial is one of the cleaner complaints to file. The violation is procedural and factual: the team failed to apply the correct legal standard or failed to provide services required under FAPE. MSDE can mandate that ESY be provided and, if services were missed, award compensatory education.

For a full breakdown of how to document ESY claims, write the Parent Concerns Letter, and file an MSDE complaint if needed, the Maryland IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook walks through each step with specific COMAR citations and ready-to-use language.

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