The ICP Process in Queensland Schools: What Parents Need to Know

A school mentioning an Individual Curriculum Plan (ICP) for your child can feel alarming. It's often presented as a solution, but parents frequently walk away from that first conversation without really understanding what they agreed to, what comes next, or what rights they have along the way.

Here's how the ICP process actually works in Queensland state schools.

Step 1: Identifying the Need

The ICP process starts when the school has documented evidence — typically from classroom observations, assessment data against Australian Curriculum achievement standards, and allied health or medical reports — that a student cannot meaningfully access the curriculum at their enrolled year level.

Under Queensland's Inclusive Education Policy, the push is for differentiated teaching first. An ICP is not supposed to be the first response to a student struggling. Before an ICP is proposed, the school should have tried and documented adjustments within the standard curriculum framework.

The Guidance Officer often plays a central role here. They may administer psychoeducational assessments, conduct structured observations, and review external diagnostic reports to build the evidence base. For students who meet criteria under the Education Adjustment Program (EAP) — which covers Autism, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Physical Impairment, Speech-Language Impairment, and Vision Impairment — the verification process feeds directly into both the ICP decision and the school's NCCD/RAR funding.

Step 2: The Learning Support Team (LST) Meeting

The formal mechanism for developing and reviewing an ICP is the LST meeting. This is the Queensland equivalent of what American systems call an IEP meeting, though it operates under different rules.

A well-constituted LST meeting should include at minimum:

• The parent or carer
• The classroom teacher (or Year Coordinator in secondary)
• The Head of Special Education Services (HOSES) or Inclusion Coordinator
• The Guidance Officer, if complex assessment data is being reviewed
• Where relevant, external NDIS therapists (Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists)

Parents have the right to attend this meeting. You also have the right to bring a support person. Queensland policy is clear that parents are partners in the process, not passive recipients of school decisions.

Before the meeting, request the agenda in advance. Come prepared with a written summary of your child's functional needs extracted from their allied health reports — not the full reports, but the specific, actionable recommendations. For example: "OT recommends visual schedule to manage transitions; sensory break every 40 minutes."

Step 3: ICP Development and Goal-Setting

At the LST meeting, the team develops the ICP collaboratively. The plan specifies:

• The type of ICP (Different Year Level, DYL-Partial, or Highly Individualised Curriculum Plan)
• The subject areas affected
• The achievement standards the student will work toward
• The adjustments and supports that will be in place
• Review timelines (typically semesterly)

The single most important thing to get right at this stage is the quality of goals. Goals should be specific and measurable, not aspirational. A goal like "will improve reading" is unenforceable. A goal like "will decode CVC words with 80% accuracy using visual prompts by the end of Term 2" gives both the school and the parent a clear benchmark.

Push for data-driven review. If the goal doesn't include how progress will be measured, ask for that to be added before you sign.

Step 4: Parental Endorsement

Under Queensland Department of Education policy, an ICP requires formal parental endorsement before implementation. This is not optional. If a school implements an ICP without your consent, that's a policy breach.

Read the ICP carefully before signing. Specifically, look for:

• Whether the ICP type matches your child's actual needs (a HICP should only be proposed for students with profound intellectual or multiple disabilities, not as a catch-all)
• Whether goals are genuinely aimed at inclusion and progress, or whether they represent lowered expectations with no pathway back to mainstream achievement standards
• Whether the adjustment level (Supplementary, Substantial, or Extensive under the NCCD) is accurately recorded — this drives the school's RAR funding allocation

If something doesn't look right, you are entitled to request more time before signing. You can also request that specific wording be changed.

Step 5: Implementation and Review

After sign-off, the ICP is shared with all relevant teaching staff. In practice, this handover is where implementation often breaks down — particularly in secondary schools where multiple subject teachers may not receive adequate briefing.

Ask at the LST meeting: "Which specific teachers will receive this plan, and how will you confirm they've read it?" Get the answer documented.

ICPs are typically reviewed every semester, but parents can and should request an out-of-cycle review if:

• There's a sudden decline in the student's mental health or wellbeing
• The student receives a new diagnosis
• The support staff or teacher changes significantly
• The agreed adjustments are not being implemented

Escalation If the Process Breaks Down

Queensland's complaints process requires you to raise concerns at the school level first — directly with the classroom teacher, HOSES, or Principal. The school must acknowledge a formal complaint within 3 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If the school doesn't respond adequately, the next step is an internal review through the Regional Office (e.g., Metro South, North Coast). You have exactly 20 days from receiving the Step 1 outcome to request that review.

External escalation options include the Queensland Human Rights Commission, the Queensland Ombudsman, and the Australian Human Rights Commission for federal discrimination complaints under the DSE 2005.

The Queensland Disability Support Blueprint covers every stage of this process in detail — including the exact questions to ask at LST meetings, how to audit an ICP, and what to do when schools push back. Download the complete guide at /au/queensland/iep-guide/

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