Is Extended School Year (ESY) Worth It? Pros, Cons, and Questions Every Parent Should Ask

When Kevin was in preschool, we had a rough go of it for a while. So, for two summers, I declined ESY. I even had several articles on here about how to DIY your own extended school year program. I shared what we were doing and what we were working on.

It helped that I didn’t work in the summer and he was receiving private therapy and behavior services. I still stand by the assertion that this decision did not impede his progress and it was best for our family.

Every spring, parents ask some version of the same question: “Should I even bother with ESY?” Honestly, this year it feels like I’m hearing this question more than usual, and I attribute that to an extraordinarily challenging school year.

Sometimes the district recommends Extended School Year services, but the program is two mornings a week at a different school with unfamiliar staff. Sometimes your child (or you!) is exhausted after a long school year, and the thought of more school sounds miserable. My own son requires constant 1:1, which also means I have to do his tube feeds and his bathing/dressing before 7:45 every day. A break is often welcomed (though he hasn’t missed ESY since preschool).

Sometimes you’ve heard from other parents that “ESY didn’t do anything.”

Here’s my answer: It depends.

ESY isn’t automatically good or bad. It isn’t a reward, and it isn’t a punishment. It’s simply another IEP service. The real question isn’t whether ESY is worth it. The question is whether this ESY program is likely to meet your child’s needs.

I’ve seen children make tremendous gains because they maintained important skills over the summer. I’ve also seen children attend programs that weren’t a good fit and accomplished very little.

Like everything else in special education, this decision should be driven by data; and not fear, guilt, or pressure.

What is ESY?

Extended School Year (ESY) is special education and related services provided beyond the regular school year for students who need those services to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

ESY is not simply summer school, and it isn’t available to every student with an IEP. The IEP team decides eligibility based on the child’s individual needs.

If you’re new to ESY, start with my complete guide to Extended School Year services before deciding whether it’s right for your child.

What Kind of Progress Should You Expect at ESY?

One of the biggest misconceptions about ESY is that it’s supposed to help children “catch up.”

That’s usually not the purpose.

For many students, ESY exists to maintain critical skills and reduce significant regression over long school breaks. If your child returns to school in August ready to continue learning instead of spending six weeks relearning lost skills, that’s a successful ESY program.

Of course, many children do make progress during ESY. Smaller groups, fewer distractions, and more individualized instruction can lead to growth. But if your child masters three new IEP goals over four weeks, consider that a bonus, not the expectation.

Instead of asking, “Did my child make huge gains?” ask:

• Did they maintain important skills?
• Did they transition back to school more easily?
• Did they avoid significant regression?
• Did the services address the needs identified in the IEP?

Those are much better measures of whether ESY was successful.

Does ESY Help?

Sometimes. That’s probably not the satisfying answer you wanted, but it’s the honest one. I’m always talking about how schools are under-resourced, and extended school year is just one more way that shows up.

I’ve seen ESY work extremely well when:

• The services matched the child’s actual needs.
• Staff understood the child’s IEP.
• The program focused on maintaining critical skills.
• Parents and staff communicated well.

I’ve also seen ESY fail because it was essentially “summer school” for everyone, regardless of individual needs. Some districts are just going through the motions, providing the most minimal extended school year program because the laws require them to do so.

A good ESY program can be incredibly valuable. A poor ESY program may simply keep a child busy for a few weeks.

Benefits of ESY

Depending on your child’s needs, ESY may:

• Reduce regression over long school breaks.
• Help maintain communication, behavior, and functional skills.
• Make the transition back to school easier.
• Provide consistency and routine.
• Continue related services such as speech or occupational therapy.
• Support students who are on the verge of mastering an important skill.
• Reduce the amount of reteaching needed when school resumes.

Not every child will experience every benefit, and that’s okay. The goal is to determine whether the potential benefits outweigh the time, effort, and disruption for your family.

Pros and Cons of ESY

Pros	Cons
Helps maintain important skills over long breaks	Takes time away from summer vacations and family activities
May reduce regression	Some programs are limited in scope
Can provide continued speech, OT, PT, or behavioral supports	Transportation or scheduling may be difficult
May ease the transition back to school	Staff may be unfamiliar with your child
Smaller class sizes are common	Not every district program is individualized enough
Can provide valuable routine and structure	Some children simply need a true break after a long school year

Can You Refuse ESY?

Yes. Parents can decline ESY services just as they can decline other special education services.

That doesn’t mean it’s always the best decision, but it is your decision.

Before declining ESY, make sure you understand why the IEP team recommended it. Ask what data they used, which skills they’re trying to maintain, and what they believe could happen if services are interrupted.

If you still believe ESY isn’t appropriate, you can decline it.

Talk to Your Child, Too

Parents often ask me, “What if I refuse ESY and the school gets mad?”

I understand that fear. Your child has to return to that building in the fall. They have to see those teachers and therapists every day. It’s natural to worry about rocking the boat.

But there’s another person whose opinion matters here: your child.

If your child is old enough, ask them how they feel about ESY.

• Do they enjoy it?
• Do they dread it?
• Do they feel like it helps?
• Are they completely burned out after the school year?
• Is there something about the program that isn’t working?

That doesn’t mean your child gets the final vote. You’re still the parent, and there may be times when ESY is absolutely necessary even if they’d rather spend the summer at the pool.

But don’t overlook their perspective.

I’ve worked with families whose child loved ESY because it gave them routine and confidence. I’ve worked with others whose child was exhausted and needed a true break. Neither situation is automatically right or wrong.

Remember, you’re making a decision about your child’s summer, not checking a box on an IEP form. Their voice deserves to be part of the conversation.

Before You Decline ESY, Ask for a Better Program

I don’t want you to read this article and think I’m encouraging parents to decline ESY. I’m not.

If your child truly needs Extended School Year services, my first choice is almost always to advocate for a program that actually meets those needs.

Too often, parents are presented with one option and assume it’s take-it-or-leave-it. But ESY is an IEP service, and like every other part of the IEP, it should be individualized.

If the district is offering a program that doesn’t address your child’s documented needs, ask questions.

• Which IEP goals will this program address?
• How were the hours determined?
• How does this program prevent my child’s regression?
• If my child’s needs are primarily speech, executive functioning, or behavior, where are those services provided?
• What data supports this recommendation?

Sometimes those conversations lead to changes. Sometimes they don’t.

If the district refuses to make reasonable changes and you believe the proposed ESY program is inappropriate, then you have a decision to make. You can accept the program, decline it, or use your procedural safeguards to challenge the decision.

There’s no one right answer for every family. I could have fought for a different extended school year program for my own son. Fact is, I was engaged in an 18-24 month long IEP battle, that included three different placements and more IEP meetings than I could count. I was trying to get the IEP where it needed to be–I really didn’t have it in me to fight for ESY changes too.

It was easier to do it myself. I knew what he needed to work on and his current IEP wasn’t providing what he needed. I wasn’t going to inconvenience myself and by extension his younger brother, by scheduling our days around an ESY program I didn’t have confidence in. It was easier to look at his needs, and schedule fun things in our summer that would practice what he needed.

I’ve worked with parents who successfully negotiated a more appropriate ESY program after asking the right questions. I’ve also worked with families who decided the offered program wasn’t worth the disruption to their summer.

My advice is simple: don’t decline ESY just because the first offer isn’t ideal. Advocate first. Make sure the team has considered your child’s individual needs. Then decide whether the proposed services are likely to help your child.

What If the School Retaliates?

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

Many parents worry that if they decline ESY—or disagree with the IEP team’s recommendation—they’ll become “that parent.” They’re afraid the school will become less cooperative, scrutinize every request, or make future IEP meetings more difficult.

Those fears aren’t coming out of nowhere. I’ve worked with enough families over the years to know that many parents feel their relationship with the district changes after they push back. Whether that’s true retaliation or simply a more contentious working relationship is often difficult to prove.

Here’s what I tell parents: don’t let fear make your decisions.

If you believe your child needs a different ESY program, advocate for it. If you believe the offered program is inappropriate, say so. If you decide to decline ESY, make that decision because it’s the right choice for your child, not because you’re afraid of upsetting the school.

The best protection you have is the same advice I give about every part of the IEP process: keep your communication professional, keep it in writing, and document everything.

If you later believe the district is making decisions based on your advocacy instead of your child’s needs, that documentation becomes invaluable. IEP retaliation is difficult to prove, but a well-documented paper trail is always stronger than relying on memories of conversations.

How Do You Decline ESY?

If you’ve decided not to participate, keep it simple. Notify the district in writing that you are declining the offered ESY services.

You don’t need a five-page explanation.

You can simply state that you appreciate the offer but are declining ESY for this year. Keep a copy of your communication with your IEP records.

If your child will instead receive private tutoring, attend camp, or receive outside therapies, you’re welcome to share that information, but you generally aren’t required to justify your decision.

What Happens If You Decline ESY?

Usually? Nothing dramatic. Your child simply doesn’t attend the ESY program.

When school resumes in the fall, the IEP remains in effect unless the team reconvenes to make changes.

The bigger question is whether declining ESY will have consequences for your child.

If your child was likely to regress significantly without services, you may notice a more difficult transition back to school. If your child probably would have done well without ESY, declining may have little or no impact.

No one can predict that with certainty, which is why these decisions should always be based on data rather than assumptions.

Don’t decide based on what another parent did. Don’t decide because someone on Facebook said ESY was amazing, or terrible.

Look at your child’s data. Ask what skills the team is trying to maintain. Ask what the program actually looks like.

Then decide whether this ESY program is likely to benefit your child.