May is the month when Extended School Year decisions actually get made in Maryland IEP meetings. By the time the school year ends in June, families who didn’t know to ask about ESY — or didn’t know how to push back on a denial — have largely missed the window.
If your autistic child is enrolled in special education in Maryland, ESY may be one of the most important annual decisions in their IEP. It’s also one of the most commonly misunderstood. ESY isn’t summer school. It isn’t enrichment. It isn’t a perk schools offer to all special education students. Under federal IDEA law and Maryland’s COMAR regulations, ESY is a specific service — provided at no cost — for autistic students and others whose progress would be significantly jeopardized by an extended break from school (Maryland State Department of Education — Technical Assistance Bulletin #23-02, 2023).
Here’s the direct answer: Extended School Year (ESY) services in Maryland are special education and related services provided beyond the regular school calendar to autistic students and other students with IEPs whose benefits gained during the regular school year would be significantly jeopardized without continued instruction. ESY eligibility is decided annually by the IEP team based on four specific factors required under Maryland regulations: substantial regression and recoupment, the student’s progress on critical life skills, the presence of emerging skills or breakthrough opportunities, and significant interfering behaviors. ESY is a component of FAPE under IDEA — meaning if your child qualifies, it must be provided at no cost. Maryland IEP teams typically make ESY decisions in the late spring before summer break, which is why May is when families need to be most engaged. If you’re navigating an upcoming IEP meeting and want help preparing or understanding what your child might be eligible for, Move Up ABA’s BCBA-led team supports Maryland families in coordinating school services with home-based therapy.
What ESY Actually Is — and What It Isn’t
Before diving into Maryland-specific criteria, the most important distinction to understand: ESY is not summer school.
According to federal IDEA regulations (34 CFR § 300.106), Extended School Year services are special education and related services that:
- Are provided to a child with a disability
- Are delivered beyond the normal school year of the public agency
- Are delivered in accordance with the child’s IEP
- Are provided at no cost to the parents of the child
ESY is a maintenance program. The purpose is to prevent significant regression of skills the student has already learned — not to teach new skills, provide enrichment, or remediate gaps from the regular school year (Autism Speaks — Seven Things to Know About ESY).
This distinction matters because it shapes what services schools must provide. ESY isn’t a generic summer program every special education student attends. It’s individualized special education services — tailored to specific IEP goals — provided when the IEP team determines the student needs them to continue receiving FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) (Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates).
For autistic students specifically, ESY may include continuation of communication goals, behavior support, social skills instruction, sensory regulation work, and related services like speech-language therapy and occupational therapy.
Maryland’s ESY Eligibility Criteria: The Four Factors
Maryland uses specific criteria for determining ESY eligibility — established under federal IDEA and Maryland COMAR 13A.05.01.08 regulations. These are formally outlined in the MSDE Technical Assistance Bulletin #23-02 on Extended School Year Services (Maryland State Department of Education, 2023).
The IEP team must determine on a case-by-case basis whether any of these four factors — in isolation or in combination — will significantly jeopardize the student’s ability to benefit from their educational program if they don’t receive ESY:
Factor 1: Substantial Regression and Recoupment
The most commonly applied factor. The IEP team examines whether the student is likely to lose significant skills during a break from school — and how long it would take them to recover those lost skills once school resumes.
Maryland’s standard is “substantial regression” and failure to recover those lost skills in a “reasonable time.” Determining this requires data — progress monitoring records, performance data taken before and after breaks during the school year, and documentation of how long the student needed to return to their previous skill level after winter or spring breaks.
For autistic students, regression often shows up in communication, behavior regulation, social engagement, and adaptive skills. A child who took six weeks to return to baseline functioning after a two-week winter break is a strong candidate for ESY consideration.
Factor 2: Critical Life Skills
The IEP team must determine whether the student has annual goals related to critical life skills. According to MSDE, a critical life skill is any skill the IEP team determines is critical to allowing the student to function independently. This can include communication, academics, self-care, social-emotional skills, motor skills, mobility, behavioral skills, or other areas (MSDE Technical Assistance Bulletin #23-02).
For autistic children, examples of critical life skills frequently addressed in IEPs include:
- Functional communication (verbal or AAC)
- Self-feeding, dressing, toileting
- Safety awareness
- Following routines and transitions
- Self-regulation strategies
If a child is making progress on critical life skill goals, and a break in services would significantly jeopardize that progress, ESY services may be necessary.
Factor 3: Emerging Skills and Breakthrough Opportunities
This factor recognizes that some students are at a critical learning moment — on the verge of mastering an emerging skill — and an extended break would interrupt that learning trajectory.
For autistic children, an emerging skill might be the first reliable use of a communication device, the first successful peer interactions in a structured group, or the early stages of toilet training. If breaking the instructional momentum would significantly delay or prevent mastery, ESY may be warranted (Maryland Disability Law Center — Extended School Year Services Manual).
Factor 4: Significant Interfering Behaviors
The IEP team must consider whether the student presents with significant behaviors that interfere with learning, and whether an interruption in services would cause those behaviors to worsen or disrupt the student’s educational progress on return.
This factor is particularly relevant for autistic students whose behavior plans require consistent reinforcement schedules and structured environments. Behaviors that respond well to consistent intervention may significantly escalate during unstructured summer months — potentially erasing months of progress.
Why May Is the Critical Month for ESY Decisions in Maryland
ESY decisions for autistic students in Maryland are typically finalized in IEP meetings held in late spring — often April through May — to allow services to begin shortly after the regular school year ends in mid-June.
This timing matters for several reasons:
Parents have appeal rights, but only if they act in time. Under federal court precedent (Reusch v. Fountain, 872 F. Supp. 1421, D. Md. 1994 — a landmark Maryland federal court decision), ESY eligibility decisions must be made early enough that parents can appeal a denial in time to actually obtain services if their appeal succeeds (Maryland Disability Law Center). If an ESY decision is deferred or denied in late May and parents disagree, the dispute resolution process — including mediation or due process — may not conclude before summer break begins.
Data review needs time. Strong ESY arguments are built on data. IEP teams need progress monitoring records, performance data from before and after winter/spring breaks, and documented information about regression patterns. Bringing this data together — and analyzing it — takes time that families and teams need to plan for.
Schools may need to organize program placements. Even when ESY is approved, schools often need weeks to coordinate staffing, transportation, and site assignments for summer programming. A delayed decision can affect placement quality.
The practical takeaway: if your autistic child has an IEP in Maryland and you haven’t yet discussed ESY for this coming summer, request that an IEP meeting be scheduled to specifically address ESY eligibility. You have the right to request such a meeting at any time.
How Maryland ESY Decisions Get Made: The MSDE Process
According to the MSDE Technical Assistance Bulletin, Maryland IEP teams follow specific steps for ESY determination (Maryland State Department of Education — Technical Assistance Bulletin #23-02, 2023):
Step 1 — Identify critical life skill goals. The team reviews the IEP and identifies which annual goals relate to critical life skills.
Step 2 — Review progress monitoring data. For each critical life skill goal, the team reviews data on student performance both during the school year and around breaks. This includes baseline data from the beginning of the year, data immediately before and after winter and spring breaks, and current performance data.
Step 3 — Evaluate the four factors. The IEP team systematically considers each of the four factors (regression/recoupment, critical life skills progress, emerging skills, interfering behaviors).
Step 4 — Make an eligibility determination. The team determines whether, without ESY, the benefits the child gained during the regular school year would be significantly jeopardized. If yes, the student is eligible for ESY and the team identifies which specific goals and services will be addressed.
Step 5 — Document the decision. Maryland regulations require IEP teams to document the basis for ESY decisions in writing. If the decision is to deny ESY, the documentation must include the rational basis — not just a checkbox indicating “no” (MSDE Complaint Letter 25-429MCPS, August 2025, demonstrates that vague documentation alone violates IDEA and COMAR requirements).
Eligibility is determined annually. A student who was eligible last year may not be eligible this year — and vice versa. Each year requires its own data-driven evaluation based on the student’s current performance and needs.
What Move Up ABA Can Do for Your Maryland Family
For families of autistic children in Maryland, the consistency of services between the school year and summer is one of the strongest predictors of long-term skill maintenance and progress. When school-based services and ABA therapy align, children retain more skills, generalize learning more effectively, and avoid the regression that ESY exists to prevent.
Move Up ABA’s in-home ABA therapy services for Maryland families do exactly this — by providing year-round, BCBA-led ABA programming that complements school-based services without depending on the school calendar. For children who receive ESY through school, in-home ABA therapy extends therapeutic support across all settings. For children who are not ESY-eligible — or whose ESY services are limited in scope — in-home ABA therapy fills the gap that summer break otherwise creates.
Move Up ABA’s clinical team collaborates with school IEP teams in Maryland, sharing data and coordinating goals so that summer ABA programming reinforces the skills your child needs to maintain — whether or not those skills are covered by an ESY program.
Common ESY Misconceptions Maryland Parents Encounter
Even within Maryland school systems, ESY is frequently misunderstood. Several documented misconceptions can lead to inappropriate denials or limited services:
Misconception 1: “ESY is only for students who fail.” False. Maryland regulations do not require a student to first regress before becoming eligible — predictive data and the team’s professional judgment can support ESY determinations. A student does not have to “fail first.”
Misconception 2: “ESY is automatic for students with autism.” False. ESY is an individualized decision based on the four factors. Autism diagnosis alone does not qualify a student. Likewise, IDEA prohibits schools from limiting ESY to certain disability categories.
Misconception 3: “ESY must look like the regular school year.” False. ESY services are individualized — they can be shorter than the regular school day, run for fewer weeks, take place at different sites, and involve different staff. The structure must fit the child’s needs, not a generic district program.
Misconception 4: “ESY can only happen in the summer.” False. ESY can be provided during any extended break, including winter and spring breaks, or even as an extension of the school day. While most Maryland local education agencies (LEAs) deliver ESY in the summer, the law does not require it (MSDE Technical Assistance Bulletin #23-02).
Misconception 5: “If the school says no, there’s nothing parents can do.” False. Parents have multiple appeal rights under Maryland special education procedure: requesting an IEP team meeting to revisit the decision, requesting MSDE-funded IEP facilitation, filing a state complaint with MSDE, requesting mediation, or filing for a due process hearing. Maryland federal court precedent in Reusch v. Fountain established that ESY decisions must be made early enough to allow these appeal processes to actually function.
How Maryland Parents Can Prepare for ESY Discussions
The strongest ESY cases are built on documentation, not advocacy alone. Maryland families can take specific steps:
Document regression after every break. Keep written notes after winter break, spring break, and summer break each year about what skills your child appeared to lose and how long it took them to recover. This is the most powerful data source for future ESY arguments.
Ask for progress monitoring data in writing. Maryland schools must provide IEP goal progress reports at least as often as general education students receive report cards. If you are not receiving this data, request it in writing.
Bring outside provider data. If your child receives ABA therapy, speech therapy, or OT outside school, those providers can document patterns of progress and regression — and this data can inform the IEP team’s ESY determination.
Request an ESY-specific IEP meeting if needed. If your annual IEP meeting is not scheduled until late spring or summer, request a separate ESY meeting earlier in the year. The school must schedule an IEP meeting within a reasonable time of a written parental request.
Know the four factors. Walk into the meeting prepared to discuss each of the four Maryland eligibility factors specifically — regression/recoupment, critical life skills, emerging skills, and interfering behaviors. Generic discussion of “summer regression” is less effective than specific data tied to specific goals.
Conclusion
For Maryland families of autistic children, May is decision month. The data you bring, the questions you ask, and the documentation you push for at this point in the spring directly shape whether your child receives the summer services they’re entitled to under federal and Maryland law.
Whether your child qualifies for ESY through school or you decide to supplement with in-home ABA therapy, what matters most is continuity — your autistic child shouldn’t lose months of progress because of a summer gap in services.
If you’re in Maryland and exploring how in-home ABA therapy can support your child year-round — whether or not they receive ESY through school — get in touch with the Move Up ABA team for a free consultation. We accept Maryland Medicaid and most major insurance plans, verify benefits upfront, and most families start within 2-4 weeks.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is ESY in Maryland and who qualifies?
A: ESY (Extended School Year) services are special education and related services provided beyond the regular school year to students whose progress would be significantly jeopardized without continued instruction. In Maryland, eligibility is determined annually by the IEP team based on four factors: substantial regression and recoupment, progress on critical life skills, emerging skills or breakthrough opportunities, and significant interfering behaviors (MSDE Technical Assistance Bulletin #23-02, 2023). All Maryland students with IEPs must be considered for ESY eligibility — but not all qualify.
Q: Is ESY the same as summer school?
A: No. ESY is not summer school. Summer school is general education that students typically pay for and focuses on credit recovery or enrichment. ESY is free special education provided through the IEP to maintain skills and prevent regression. ESY services are individualized to specific IEP goals.
Q: When do Maryland schools decide ESY eligibility?
A: Most Maryland IEP teams make ESY decisions in the late spring — typically April through May — to allow services to begin shortly after the regular school year ends. Decisions are also subject to Reusch v. Fountain (1994), a Maryland federal court ruling requiring that ESY decisions be made early enough for parents to appeal a denial before summer begins.
Sources:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/300.106
https://josephrabblaw.com/what-is-esy-and-why-should-my-child-attend/
