Learning support needs What is special education? I have learning support needs. What kind of extra help can I get from my school? What is the Special Education Grant (SEG)? Can I get an Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding? What is an Individual Education Plan (IEP)? Can the school discriminate against me because of my disability? I have learning support needs. Do I have to follow the same school rules as the other students? Where can I get help with my learning support needs?
All students have unique educational needs, but some students require extra learning support from their schools. This could include students with disabilities, mental health issues, problematic behaviour, or educational challenges.
This section provides information about the rights of students with learning support needs.
Learning support needs come in many different forms, but can include physical disabilities (such as mobility, seeing, or hearing difficulties), learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, psychiatric illnesses, emotional and behaviour disorders, developmental disabilities, and communication disorders. Students with learning support needs may require additional support at school.
If you have learning support needs that are affecting your ability to learn, you might be able to get some funding from the government for support for you at school. Only your school can apply to the Ministry for this funding.
The Ministry offers the following kinds of individual learning support:
Otherwise, you might be covered by general funding to schools called the Special Education Grant.
The Special Education Grant (SEG) is fixed funding given to schools by the government based on each school’s decile and number of students. The SEG is general learning support funding for all the students at each school. The purpose of the SEG is to provide extra help and resources for students with mild to medium learning support needs, who might not receive individualised funding.
Each school can choose how to spend their SEG. Schools could, for example, choose to spend their SEG on partially covering the salary of a teacher aid, or upskilling their teachers.
Students with more severe learning needs may qualify for individualised funding.
The Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) is the highest level of learning support funding available to students. ORS can be quite hard to get because students must meet the specific criteria set by the Ministry of Education.
To be eligible for ORS, a student and their school must apply to the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry will assess whether the student qualifies. If you apply and are turned down, you can ask for a review. If the review is unsuccessful after two or more reviews, you can request an appeal. There are limitations around reapplying if your review is unsuccessful.
If the Ministry of Education decides that you’re eligible for the ORS, they will provide money to your school to help you.
Many students with learning support needs have an Individual Education Plan (IEP). An IEP is a written document that sets out a student’s learning needs, the plan for their education, and how progress will be measured. An IEP should include long-term education goals, strategies to help the student learn, any specialist support needed, and what other people in the student’s life can do to help. Their parents, the school, and any specialists involved should meet to review the IEP every 6 months.
If a student gets ORS funding, they must have an IEP. If you think that an IEP might help, your parents should talk to your school about making one.
No, it is illegal for a school to discriminate against a student because of a disability. Disability has a broad legal meaning and can include physical disabilities, psychiatric illness, intellectual and psychological disabilities, and other disabilities.
A school cannot refuse to enrol a student because of their disability, or force attendance conditions on them (for example, saying they can only come to school part time). Students have the right to full-time attendance; however, you can ask for a ‘well-being plan’ if full-time attendance will not be good for you.
As well as not actively doing anything to discriminate against you, schools must also do whatever is reasonably practical to help you get the same benefit from your education as other students.
The same school rules apply to all students regardless of disability, and all students must follow them.
Some school rules might be difficult for a student with a disability to follow because of their learning support needs. Before the school punishes a student for not following a school rule, they must consider their individual circumstances. Any disciplinary decision should consider all the facts, and allowances should be made for individual circumstances, such as a learning support need that makes it difficult for a student to follow the rules.
Schools can make many different types of disciplinary decisions (see the Problems in School section for more information). The most serious disciplinary decision is excluding or expelling a student from school, which is a permanent removal. If the principal or school board are thinking about removing you, whether permanently or temporarily (which would be a stand-down), they must keep your disability in mind when making the decision.
There are a lot of organisations who might be able to help with your learning support needs:
You can also contact us for problems with your school.