IDEA Complaint Decision 23-066

On July 3,2023, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (Complainant) against the #### (District). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue is whether the district, during the summer of 2023, properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding specially designed instruction.

 

The student attended the district’s summer school program in the summer of 2023. This attendance was voluntary, and the student’s IEP did not provide for extended school year (ESY) services. Summer school is an optional program typically operated on a set schedule for a number of weeks during the summer. Wis. Stat. § 118.04. The compulsory attendance requirement does not apply to summer classes, and school districts are not required to provide a summer school program. If a student's IEP indicates that participation in summer school classes is required to provide a student a free appropriate public education as part of ESY services, the student's IEP should specify the services to be provided during those classes.

 

School districts have obligations to ensure students with disabilities have equal opportunity to participate in educational programming available to all students by providing reasonable accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Because the student did not require ESY, the student’s IEP in this case is not applicable. Accommodations such as transportation provided during permissive summer school fall under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The department does not have the authority to investigate concerns regarding Section 504 under its Special Education Complaint Process Act.

This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. For information on the dispute resolution process under Section 504, contact the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education at 312-730-1560 or at OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.