Enrolment

Enrolment in specialist schools and other specialist education settings

In Victoria, all students with disability have a legislated right to enrol at their designated neighbourhood school and may be enrolled at another neighbourhood school subject to sufficient accommodation. Refer to the Placement Policy for more information.

In addition to neighbourhood schools, there are a range of government specialist schools and education settings available for students with specific disability and high needs. These settings include specialist schools, specialist campuses and supported inclusion schools.

Each specialist setting has specific enrolment eligibility criteria that are approved by the Minister for Education or their delegates (typically the department’s regional directors). Specialist settings must have a local enrolment policy that lists these enrolment eligibility criteria and must publish it in a visible and publicly accessible location, for example, on their school website or other public platform.

Local enrolment policy templates for specialist schools and for supported inclusion schools are available on the School Policy Templates Portal at: Enrolment – specialist schools and supported inclusion schools (staff login required).

For specialist schools and campuses, the local enrolment policy sets out the specific eligibility criteria under which students are eligible to enrol, subject to sufficient accommodation. Supported inclusion schools also have local enrolment policies that allow them to prioritise enrolment of students with disability who live outside the school zone, provided they meet the school’s specialist enrolment criteria.

Determining enrolment eligibility for specialist settings

In order to make an offer of enrolment, the specialist setting must establish that the prospective student's disability category meets the enrolment criteria in the specialist setting's local enrolment policy using one of the following 2 options:

• current Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD) eligibility, including current assessments, under the disability category outlined in the specialist setting’s enrolment criteria
• a disability category verification request with an outcome of ‘verified’, under the disability category outlined in the specialist setting’s enrolment criteria (refer to 'Submitting a disability category verification request' below).

Where students are transferring from one specialist setting to another specialist setting with the same enrolment criteria, new assessments or other supporting evidence may not be necessary. The regional disability coordinator can support specialist settings in determining whether a new assessment or new disability category verification request, or both, are required. Considerations may include the student’s age and stage of schooling, enrolment criteria of the originating setting, timing of upcoming reviews and other relevant information (refer to 'Reviewing enrolment for current students in specialist settings' below).

Specialist settings with additional school specific enrolment criteria (for example, single-mode intellectual disability schools with specific IQ requirements) must also verify the student’s eligibility for these additional criteria in conjunction with regional disability coordinators.

Specialist settings must also consider any other enrolment considerations referenced in their enrolment policy, such as the student's age, when determining enrolment eligibility.

For students who do not meet the setting’s enrolment criteria, refer to 'Students who do not meet a specialist setting’s enrolment criteria' below.

Priority order of placement

In circumstances where a specialist setting may not have sufficient accommodation to be able to accept all applications from eligible students, the setting will manage enrolment applications in accordance with the priority order of placement in their local enrolment policy.

For specialist schools, the following priority order of placement is outlined in the specialist school enrolment policy template:

1. students with a sibling at the same permanent address who are attending the school at the same time
2. all other students in order of closeness of their home to the school.

The specialist school must ensure that all students eligible under the first criterion have been offered a place before moving to consideration of the second criterion.

Supported inclusion schools should refer to their local enrolment policy and the Supported inclusion school enrolment policy template (staff login required).

Enrolment on compassionate grounds

In exceptional circumstances, a student who meets the enrolment criteria may be approved by the relevant regional director outside of the priority order of placement, based on compassionate grounds. This is an overarching consideration and does not form part of the priority order of placement. Further advice and support is available in the Exceptional circumstances – compassionate grounds section of the Placement Policy and from regional staff.

Submitting a disability category verification request

The department has established a Specialist School Enrolment Verification Service to enable specialist settings to verify a student’s disability category. The disability categories verified by the service are outlined in Appendix B of the specialist school disability verification request form (DOCX) (staff login required).

Any Victorian government school can submit a disability category verification request on behalf of a student. For students already enrolled in a Victorian government school, the student’s existing school is responsible for submitting the request. If the student is not currently attending a Victorian government school, the student’s intended specialist setting is responsible for submitting the request.

Requests for prospective Foundation students can be submitted from 1 September of the year prior to the student enrolling in a Victorian government school. Requests for students currently attending a Victorian government school can be submitted at any time. Assessments are required to be current at the time of submission of the request as listed in the setting’s enrolment policy.

To submit a disability category verification request, the submitting school must:

• consult with all involved schools
• complete the specialist school disability verification request form (DOCX) (staff login required)
• collate all supporting documentation for the disability category or categories to be considered in the request (see Appendix B of the request form)
• provide parents/carers with the privacy statement (see Appendix A of the request form) and seek their signature(s).

The submitting school must email the request form and all supporting documentation to the department’s verification service provider using the email address on the request form.

Request outcome

Once submitted, the supporting documentation is evaluated against the evidence required for the relevant disability category or categories. The outcome will be emailed to the submitting school and regional disability coordinator within 7 working days of submitting a completed request.

An outcome can be ‘verified’ or ‘not verified’ against the disability category considered in the request. The student’s existing school, relevant specialist settings and regional teams must use this outcome to support local enrolment decisions.

Appealing enrolment decisions

Students who meet a specialist setting’s enrolment criteria

Parents/carers can appeal against the decision not to approve an enrolment in a specialist setting. This can occur in relation to enrolments at any age or year level. Parents/carers seeking to appeal an enrolment decision should lodge a written appeal with the specialist setting. After an appeal is lodged, the department will contact parents/carers with further information.

Appeals are considered with reference to a specialist setting's local enrolment criteria and other local factors, such as sufficient accommodation.

Students who do not meet a specialist setting’s enrolment criteria

If a student does not meet the specialist setting’s enrolment criteria, the parents/carers can appeal the decision not to approve the enrolment of the student. If parents/carers want to appeal the enrolment decision, the specialist setting must work with the parents/carers to complete a non-standard enrolment appeal application. Non-standard enrolment appeal applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, including when:

• there are no locally available specialist settings with enrolment criteria that align with a student’s disability diagnosis, but the student’s functional needs at that time could be met on a temporary basis by a locally available specialist setting with different enrolment criteria
• a student has not or has not yet received a disability diagnosis (for example, due to difficulty accessing medical assessment services), but evidence indicates the student’s functional needs at that time could be met on a temporary basis by a locally available specialist setting.

All non-standard enrolments appeal applications must be approved by the relevant regional director or their delegate, considering evidence and supporting documentation outlining the student’s education and support needs. This may include input from the principal of the specialist setting, the student’s family and the regional disability coordinator.

Non-standard enrolments are temporary and are reviewed periodically to ensure that the student is enrolled in the most appropriate educational setting for their needs. Where it is deemed that the student’s education is best supported in another education setting, the specialist setting and regional staff must work with the family to identify suitable alternative education settings.

Non-standard enrolment appeal application process

If parents/carers express that they want to appeal an enrolment decision on the basis that the student does not meet the enrolment criteria, the specialist setting must work with the parents/carers to complete the non-standard enrolment application form (DOCX) (staff login required).

The purpose of the non-standard enrolment application form is to enable specialist settings and families to provide information about the prospective non-standard enrolment. Principals also use the form to make a recommendation about whether they support the application. In making this recommendation, the principal may consider factors such as whether:

• the specialist setting is an appropriate temporary environment for the prospective student at that time
• more appropriate education settings are locally available
• the specialist setting has sufficient accommodation to accept additional enrolments.

Principals are strongly encouraged to discuss non-standard enrolment applications with their regional disability coordinator before submitting the application form. Once completed, specialist settings must email the form to their regional office, with their regional disability coordinator included as a recipient. Email addresses for each regional office are listed within the application form.

Non-standard enrolment appeal application approval

The regional director or their delegate determines whether to approve the appeal application in light of the evidence and principal recommendation, and considering the student's individual circumstances, including whether the student's education is best supported in that particular specialist setting.

The regional office will communicate their decision to the specialist setting in writing. Following this, the specialist setting must communicate the regional office’s decision to the parents/carers in writing, using the letter template provided to them by the region. The specialist setting may update this letter template with additional information relevant to the student’s circumstances if required.

If the application is approved, the student is enrolled in the specialist setting for the enrolment period specified by the regional office. Specialist settings must review non-standard enrolments before the approved enrolment periods ends. If the application is not approved, the regional office will support the prospective student to enrol in another setting or remain at their existing setting.

Reviewing non-standard enrolments

Specialist settings must review non-standard enrolments before the end of the approved enrolment period specified by the regional office in their letter of approval.

In the first instance, the specialist setting (via the student’s student support group) must meet to review the non-standard enrolment (including transition support options) and decide whether to recommend transition to another setting. If the specialist setting (in conjunction with the student support group) recommends that a student transitions to another setting, the specialist setting must complete a transition plan and provide a copy to their regional disability coordinator (refer to Student transfers between schools).

If the specialist setting recommends extending the non-standard enrolment, they must submit their recommendation to the regional office via their regional disability coordinator using the non-standard enrolment application form (DOCX) (staff login required). The regional office will communicate their decision to the specialist setting in writing before the end of the approved enrolment period. The specialist setting must communicate the regional office’s decision to the parents/carers in writing.

If the recommendation to extend the non-standard enrolment is approved, the regional office will confirm a new enrolment period. If the recommendation is not approved, the specialist setting must support the student’s transition to another setting.

Reviewing enrolment for current students in specialist settings

Specialist settings are required to undertake periodic reviews of the enrolment eligibility of all enrolled students to determine whether they continue to be best placed in their current setting, including whether they continue to meet any relevant enrolment criteria. This excludes students who receive PSD funding at levels 5 or 6.

Specialist settings are strongly encouraged to undertake at least one enrolment review for each enrolled student prior to their transition to secondary school, or age equivalent.

For specialist settings in Disability Inclusion areas, an enrolment review must be undertaken when the student is in year 6 or age equivalent, except where enrolment eligibility has been verified within the previous 2 years using the department’s Specialist School Enrolment Verification Service. In all other circumstances, it is recommended to align the timing of enrolment reviews with the following principles:

• if an enrolment review has occurred more than 2 years prior, and the specialist setting is unsure if a review should proceed, they may discuss the circumstances with the regional disability coordinator
• the timing of the review must consider recommendations from relevant professionals or the department’s Specialist School Enrolment Verification Service
• if an enrolment review is deemed necessary, it is recommended that the review occur prior to the completion of a Disability Inclusion Profile to ensure the profile is undertaken in the correct setting.

For specialist settings that enrol students eligible under the PSD, enrolment reviews will continue to align with existing year 6 to 7 review and short-term review timelines (where applicable). Refer to Program for Students with Disabilities guidelines for operational guidance.

In circumstances where a review requires a re-assessment, the department provides an assessment service and a Specialist School Enrolment Verification Service (refer to 'Determining enrolment eligibility for specialist settings') to support specialist settings to determine whether a student meets their enrolment criteria. Department regional offices also play a role in supporting specialist settings with enrolment review processes.