Assistive Technology at School in NZ: What's Available and How to Get It Funded

Assistive technology (AT) can be transformative for disabled students — whether that's a text-to-speech app that gives a child with dyslexia access to grade-level content, an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device for a student with limited speech, or a hearing loop system for a student who is Deaf or hard of hearing. The challenge for most NZ parents isn't finding out that AT exists. It's getting the school to actually fund and implement it.

What Counts as Assistive Technology

In the school context, AT covers a broad range of tools and supports:

• Low-tech: visual schedules, graphic organisers, adapted pencil grips, slant boards, enlarged print materials
• Mid-tech: text-to-speech software (like Kurzweil or Microsoft Immersive Reader), speech-to-text tools, screen readers, audio recordings of texts
• High-tech: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices and apps, powered wheelchairs, electronic communication boards, FM hearing systems, braille displays

The right technology depends on the individual student's needs — and identifying that is the starting point for any advocacy around AT access.

Who Funds Assistive Technology in NZ Schools

Funding for AT in schools comes from multiple sources, and navigating between them is part of the challenge.

School operational funding and the Special Education Grant (SEG): Schools receive bulk funding that includes provision for learning support materials and equipment. Schools can use SEG funds to purchase or lease AT tools. Many schools underutilise this because they haven't been asked to prioritise AT in a student's IEP.

Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS): Students who qualify for ORS funding receive a resourcing package that can include specific AT requirements. The ORS funding is portable and follows the student. For students with the most complex communication or physical needs, ORS is typically the route to high-cost AT like AAC devices.

Whaikaha — Ministry of Disabled People: For some equipment needs that cross the health/education boundary (e.g., powered wheelchairs, communication devices used both at school and at home), Whaikaha's Equipment and Modification Services (EMS) may fund or co-fund the equipment. This often requires a referral from an occupational therapist or speech-language therapist.

BLENNZ (Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ): If your child has vision impairment, BLENNZ provides specialist resources and may fund technology like screen readers, braille displays, or magnification software.

Ministry of Education specialist services: Educational psychologists and speech-language therapists from the Ministry can assess AT needs and write recommendations. These recommendations carry weight in IEP discussions and in funding applications.

How to Get AT onto the IEP

The most common barrier to AT access is that nobody puts it in the IEP. Parents request verbal agreements in meetings, but without written goals and resource allocations, nothing happens.

To get AT formally incorporated:

1. Get a specialist assessment first. If you believe your child needs AT, request a referral to a Ministry speech-language therapist or educational psychologist. Their formal recommendation is the foundation for an IEP goal. Alternatively, an occupational therapist or private speech-language therapist can produce this assessment.

2. Request an IEP meeting. Before the meeting, send the assessment report and request that AT be specifically discussed as an agenda item.

3. Propose specific, measurable IEP goals. Don't let "will use assistive technology" be the goal. Push for something like: "[Child] will use text-to-speech software to independently access written instructions in all core subjects by the end of Term 2." Goals must be measurable.

4. Ask who is responsible for sourcing and maintaining the technology. An IEP goal without a named responsible person and timeline is a goal without teeth.

5. Specify teacher aide training. If a teacher aide is supporting your child's AT use, there must be a plan for them to be trained. Untrained support staff will default to doing tasks for the student rather than facilitating independent use of the tool.

When Schools Say They Can't Afford It

"We don't have budget for that" is not a legal defence against a reasonable accommodation request. Under the Human Rights Act 1993, schools must provide reasonable accommodations for disabled students. "Reasonable" means the burden must not be "undue" — but a school refusing to use free built-in accessibility features on existing devices because they'd prefer not to, or refusing to apply to the Ministry for equipment funding, doesn't meet that threshold.

If the AT your child needs is:

• Low-cost or free (e.g., Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge, Apple's built-in text-to-speech, speech-to-text on Google Docs): the school has almost no grounds to refuse. These tools require no budget, just staff time to set up and train.
• Mid-cost (e.g., specialist software subscriptions): the school should be applying for funding through the Special Education Grant or requesting Ministry support.
• High-cost (e.g., AAC devices costing thousands of dollars): this is where Whaikaha, ORS, or BLENNZ pathways become important. The school should be co-ordinating with specialists to pursue these avenues, not simply declining.

If the school is refusing to take any action on AT needs documented in a professional assessment, write a formal request letter citing both the IEP failure and the reasonable accommodation obligation under the Human Rights Act.

Connecting AT to NCEA Special Assessment Conditions

For older students approaching NCEA, AT access at school should naturally connect to Special Assessment Conditions (SAC). A student who has been using text-to-speech or speech-to-text throughout secondary school has the documented evidence base to apply for equivalent accommodations in NCEA assessments.

Proactively raise this with the SENCO from Year 9 onwards. The NZQA Notifications Gateway is how schools submit SAC applications, and the evidence requirements are met more easily when AT use has been documented consistently throughout the school years.

If you're pushing for better AT access for your child and running into resistance, the New Zealand Special Education Advocacy Playbook provides accommodation request templates, IEP meeting preparation checklists, and formal complaint pathways grounded in NZ law.

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