On November 21, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down a victory for a student with a disability. You can read the Fifth Circuit decision in North East Independent School District v. I.M. here.

In this case, the parent of a student with autism sought full-summer extended school year services (“ESY”), among other relief, to prevent her son’s documented regression during school breaks. The parent prevailed following a due process hearing, the school district appealed, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas affirmed. 

The school district appealed the district court’s decision, and the parent again prevailed, with the Fifth Circuit finding that because the school district refused to offer full-summer ESY services, the student’s Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) was insufficiently individualized and the district therefore did not provide the student an appropriate education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). The Fifth Circuit noted that the school district had known the following: the student regressed during school breaks, he benefited from ESY services, half-day summer ESY services for only six weeks was too short a time period given the student’s needs, and the interruption of IEP services during breaks caused the student to regress. Specifically, there was clear evidence that he had regressed in toileting skills and experienced an increase in dangerous elopements following school breaks. The court also determined that the student’s behavioral regression outweighed the academic benefits of his IEP.