ISA Fees and Special Needs Extra Charges at Dubai Schools

You enrol your child in a Dubai private school. Tuition is agreed. Then, a few weeks in, the school's Head of Inclusion sends an email outlining an Individualised Service Agreement — an ISA — with monthly costs that were never mentioned during the admissions process. Some families receive ISA invoices for AED 1,500 per month. Others are handed figures far higher. Many have no idea whether these charges are legal, what they cover, or how to push back.

This is one of the most common financial disputes between parents and schools in Dubai's private school sector. Here is how the ISA system actually works — and how to tell when a school is crossing the line.

What an ISA Actually Is

The Individualised Service Agreement is the formal mechanism by which KHDA-regulated Dubai schools can charge parents for specialist support services that go beyond what the school is required to provide as standard.

The key word there is "beyond." Under KHDA's framework, every private school in Dubai must provide what is called the Standard School Service: differentiated teaching, environmental accommodations, and minor interventions that allow Students of Determination to access the curriculum alongside their peers. This Standard School Service must be available to all students who need it, at no additional cost to the family. It is funded through the standard tuition fee that every student pays.

An ISA only becomes legally applicable when a student requires highly individualised, intensive support that demonstrably and significantly exceeds the Standard School Service. Examples might include specialist speech and language therapy delivered during the school day, one-to-one occupational therapy sessions, or intensive behavioural support from a qualified external practitioner.

The ISA is meant to be a transparent, documented agreement that specifies exactly what additional service is being provided, who is delivering it, how often, and at what cost. The school must formally justify the necessity of each item in the ISA and register it with the KHDA.

What Schools Cannot Charge Through an ISA

This is where many Dubai schools overstep — and where parents most need to know the rules.

Standard inclusion support is not an ISA item. If your child needs differentiated worksheets, extended time on tests, a quiet corner during class, or regular check-ins from the class teacher, those accommodations fall within the Standard School Service. A school that charges ISA fees for these interventions is charging for something they are legally obligated to provide for free.

Vague or undocumented services are not ISA items. A school cannot put a line item on an ISA invoice for "general inclusion support" or "additional SEN resources" without specifying what service is being delivered, by whom, and at what frequency. If you cannot verify what you are paying for, you are entitled to request full documentation before paying.

Services that are not actually being delivered. This is the most common grievance seen in UAE parenting communities. Parents report paying ISA fees for years while their child's IEP goals remain unchanged and no specialist is actively working with the child. If a service is listed on the ISA but the school cannot demonstrate its delivery through records or progress data, the fee is being charged without the corresponding service.

The Fee Cap in Abu Dhabi

While Dubai uses the ISA system, Abu Dhabi schools operate under ADEK's School Inclusion Policy (updated September 2024). ADEK provides stricter financial protections with an explicit fee cap.

Under ADEK regulations, any additional fees a school charges parents for specialist services beyond standard provision must not exceed 50% of the student's base tuition fee. This cap is hard. If your child's annual tuition in Abu Dhabi is AED 40,000, the school cannot charge more than AED 20,000 in additional specialist fees on top of that — regardless of the services being provided.

There is a secondary cap as well: if a school charges an administration or management fee for facilitating third-party in-school specialists, that fee cannot exceed 10% of the actual cost of the service. So if a speech therapist charges AED 400 per session and the school passes that on to parents, the school can add a maximum of AED 40 as an administrative charge, not an arbitrary "hosting fee."

Exceptions to the 50% cap exist only for schools in the very low tuition band, and even then require explicit written parental consent and formal ADEK approval. A school in Abu Dhabi cannot simply announce that your child's additional fees will exceed the 50% threshold — they must apply to ADEK for permission.

How to Dispute an ISA Fee

If you believe your Dubai school is charging fees that either exceed the scope of the Standard School Service or cover services that are not being delivered, here is the process:

Step 1: Request full documentation. Email the Head of Inclusion and the Finance team requesting a breakdown of every item in the ISA, including what service it covers, who delivers it, how frequently, and what measurable outcomes it targets. Ask whether each item has been formally registered with the KHDA.

Step 2: Cross-reference with the IEP. Every specialist service in the ISA should correspond to a goal or intervention in your child's IEP. If the ISA lists occupational therapy but the IEP contains no occupational therapy goals, ask why. If the IEP lists a service as a goal but the ISA does not include it, ask how it is being funded.

Step 3: Request evidence of delivery. For any ongoing ISA item, ask for records confirming that the service has been delivered as agreed. This might be therapist session notes, frequency logs, or progress reports. If the school cannot produce delivery records, you have grounds to dispute the fee for the period during which no records exist.

Step 4: Dispute in writing. If the documentation reveals overcharging or non-delivery, draft a formal letter to the Principal (not just the Head of Inclusion) citing the specific items in dispute. Reference KHDA's requirement that additional fees be formally justified and transparently documented. State clearly what resolution you are requesting — a fee adjustment, a refund, or a revised ISA.

Step 5: Escalate to KHDA. If the school does not resolve the dispute within a reasonable timeframe (typically two to three weeks), file a formal complaint through the KHDA parent complaint portal. The KHDA mandates that parent complaints are acknowledged and resolved within a defined timeline, and the Parent-School Contract — the signed agreement outlining fee responsibilities — is used as the primary reference document in any dispute resolution.

Practical Warning Signs

Several situations should put you on alert that ISA fees are being misapplied:

• The ISA was presented at the same time as the admission offer, with no explanation of why these specific services are necessary for your child's individual profile.
• The ISA fee increases each year without any corresponding change in your child's IEP goals or the services being provided.
• You have never met the specialist whose sessions you are funding.
• The Head of Inclusion cannot tell you the qualifications or background of the person delivering the ISA services.
• The school applies the same ISA template to multiple students in similar situations without individual justification.

Dubai's private school sector includes many genuinely committed inclusion teams working within resource constraints. But the ISA system creates an opportunity for fees to be charged without commensurate services, and the only reliable protection is asking specific questions, demanding written documentation, and knowing when to escalate.

For parents dealing with an ISA dispute or facing unexpected special needs charges, the UAE Special Education Advocacy Playbook includes a fee dispute letter template, the KHDA escalation process in detail, and a checklist for auditing your current ISA against what the regulations require.

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