Summer break can erase months of progress. There's a law for that.

Most kids lose a little ground over summer — but for some children with disabilities, the loss is dramatic. A child who spent months learning to write their name might come back in September unable to hold a pencil properly. This isn't just a slow start; it's called regression, and it can take weeks or even months to recover skills that were there in June.

That's where Extended School Year (ESY) comes in. ESY is a free service provided through special education law (IDEA) that extends a child's educational program beyond the regular school calendar — typically during summer. It's not summer school or enrichment camp. It's targeted services designed specifically to prevent significant regression in critical skills.

Here's what most parents don't realize: you don't have to wait for the school to offer ESY. You can request it at any IEP meeting. The IEP team must consider whether your child is likely to lose critical skills and whether they'd take an unusually long time to relearn them. Schools often look at data from past breaks — did your child regress after winter or spring break? That pattern is powerful evidence.

ESY doesn't have to look like regular school, either. It might be just speech therapy twice a week, or occupational therapy sessions to maintain fine motor skills. The key is that it's individualized — matched to your child's specific areas of vulnerability, not a one-size-fits-all program.