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The Education Adjustment Program (EAP)

The Education Adjustment Program (EAP) is a process used by DET to identify and respond to the highly complex and specialised needs of some students with disability.

The EAP process initiates an ongoing cycle of documented data collection, planning, program development, intervention, evaluation and review.

Non-state schools also use this program.

Eligibility for the EAP

To be eligible, a student's disability has to meet the criteria in one or more of the six disability categories identified by DET through the EAP process. The disability categories are:

'Verification' is the process of confirming that a student's identified impairment and the associated educational impact which require significant education adjustments meet DET criteria. The verification process involves data gathering on both the impairment and the educational impact.

Impairment

before verification takes place specialist assessment or medical diagnosis will need to occur
some specialised assessment can be completed by school personnel, whereas other assessment and diagnoses will need to be completed by specialists outside the school.

Impairment	Personnel eligible to make assessment or diagnoses
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)	A registered paediatrician, psychiatrist or neurologist
Hearing Impairment (HI)	An audiologist or otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist)
Intellectual Impairment (II)	A guidance officer or psychologist
Physical Impairment (PI)	A registered paediatrician, neurologist, orthopaedic surgeon, geneticist or rheumatologist
Speech-Language Impairment (SLI)	An Education Queensland speech-language pathologist
Vision Impairment (VI)	A registered ophthalmologist or in cases of cerebral vision impairment, a registered paediatrician or neurologist

Educational Impact:

the educational impact of the impairment relates to the student's ability to access and participate in the curriculum and school life
teachers, specialists and other members of the educational team are involved in documenting the significant educational support needs for a student.

When you see a departmental document referring to a 'verified disability', it means the disability has been verified by a member of the EAP Verification Team as meeting the department's criteria.

Profile

The EAP profile records a sample of the adjustments that are being made for the student. It doesn't record all adjustments that are being made but it gives a sample of the type and frequency of adjustments.

Here is a sample of the EAP profile form.

Parents are welcome to attend a meeting about their child's EAP Profile. Keep in mind that the EAP Profile is about the adjustments that are already being made. Should you wish to discuss the adjustments being made for your child please make a time to speak with our child's teacher, special education teacher or the principal.

Not all students with disability will meet criteria for the EAP. However, even if your child does not meet departmental criteria for the EAP, the school can provide support through an appropriate program for your child.

The broader definition of 'disability' is the basis upon which EQ, or any other education provider, is required to make reasonable adjustments for your child.

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