Teacher support for teenagers with mild disabilities such as dyslexia is to be cut by 5% from next September, according to a communication to second-level schools from the Department of Education.
The move comes on top of a 10% cut to resource teaching supports last year.
The decision has been criticised by managers of the country's voluntary secondary schools. The Joint Managerial Body says it amounts to an overall cut of 15%.
The JMB also says it is very concerned for children with more severe disabilities such as Down's Syndrome or Autism.
Resource hours for those children were also cut by 10% last year. The JMB says it is worried that those children may also see additional cuts to support provisions this year.
A communication received by second-level schools today says allocation for these children will be based on the number of applications received and in the context of overall staffing restrictions for the public sector.
The Department of Education said there will be no overall reduction to the number of resource teachers.
It said the resource teaching hours held back will be redistributed to second-level schools that do not have any current allocation, such as new schools.
