A new way of allocating additional teaching resources for school children will be introduced from next September.
The new model removes the need for children with special needs to get individual assessments in order to access extra support.
All schools will get baseline support and extra teaching resources will be allocated to schools based on a number of factors including social profile, the results of standardised tests, the gender of pupils, and the number who have complex educational needs.
The latter group will be identified by the Health Service Executive.
The new system has already been piloted in 47 primary and second level schools.
Minister for Education Richard Bruton said no school or child would lose resources in the transition to the new system.
All children currently with a personal allocation of extra resource teaching hours will keep that allocation until they leave their school.
Mr Bruton said the new system would be "better and fairer".
The INTO union welcomed a number of aspects of the plan but said "the jury was out on the new model."
It said the success of the new model would require the necessary resources.
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