Students with disability (SWD)
A student with disability must meet the following criteria:
- the student must have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Physical Impairment, Speech-Language Impairment, Vision Impairment or Social Emotional Disorder;
- the student must be verified under the Education Adjustment Program (EAP) as meeting the diagnostic criteria and be eligible for additional resources in respect of activity limitations and participation restrictions in relation to their educational program; and
- the student must be in receipt of a support service or program in response to the activity limitations and particular restrictions of the disability.
Note: All students enrolled at and attending a non-State school accredited for special education are eligible to be included as students with disability, regardless of whether the verification process is completed by Census Day. This does not remove the requirement for the verification process to be completed for all students with disability at non-State schools accredited for special education. If a student subsequently fails to meet the verification requirements, it is the governing body's responsibility to inform the Board and the department so that the data can be amended and any action necessary be taken.
To ensure a student with disability is eligible for inclusion in the Census, the student must be verified by Census Day (excluding students enrolled at and attending a non-State school accredited for special education whose verification can be completed after Census Day). Verification is the process of confirming that a student's identified impairment, and the associated activity limitations and participation restrictions, which require significant education adjustments, meet criteria for one or more of the Education Adjustment Program (EAP) categories. The verification has to be completed by Census Day and the verification cannot have expired. A student's verification will expire if it is not reviewed within two years of the stated review date.
Records of each student's verification under the EAP and the specific educational adjustments, which indicate the types of educational support services and resources provided, are to be retained by the school/governing body for a period of five years from Census Day, and in a way that ensures the integrity and security of the data and documents.
A student may have educational needs arising from disability in more than one category. In this case, a student with multiple disabilities should be included on one line only in the table EAP by impairment category, but with each disability category included across that line in the table.
Disability categories for verification
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD);
- Hearing Impairment (HI);
- Intellectual Disability (ID);
- Physical Impairment (PI);
- Speech-Language Impairment (SLI);
- Vision Impairment (VI); and
- Social Emotional Disorder (SED).
Students to be excluded
The following students are not eligible under this program and must not be included as students with disability:
- students whose only impairment is a specific learning difficulty or for whom remedial education or remedial support is appropriate;
- students whose only impairment is a temporary medical condition or a long-term episodic condition (such as epilepsy);
- students at non-State schools accredited for primary and/or secondary education not verified on Census Day;
- overseas students (refer to Overseas students in these Instructions); and
- students on visitor visas, bridging visas with study limitations or no visa (refer to Students on visitor visas, bridging visas with study limitations or no visa in these Instructions);
For further information, refer to the EAP Handbook published by the Department, or contact:
- Independent Schools Queensland;
- Catholic Education Diocesan offices for Diocesan Catholic non-State schools;
- Queensland Catholic Education Commission for other Catholic non-State schools (for example, RI/PJP schools); or
- the NSSAB Secretariat.
>> Completing the SWD fields and SWD page
Last updated 31 January, 2023