Rurality and the Provision of Extended School Year Services

We examined differences in the receipt and delivery of extended school year (ESY) services in the United States by locale as being rural, urban, or suburban. We found that there were significant differences in the percentage of students receiving ESY services according to locale, with rural local education agencies (LEAs) having a significantly lower percentage of students receiving ESY services. Additionally, we found that special education directors perceived the number of students receiving ESY services as generally being “about right” for their LEA. We also found that urban special education directors were significantly more likely to report that there should be less students receiving ESY services while rural special education directors were less likely to report this. We then found that rural LEAs generally reported providing significantly fewer types of ESY services offered than urban or suburban LEAs. Finally, we found that urban LEAs reported significantly higher attendance rates of students who attended ESY services as compared with rural LEAs.