Dyslexia and Learning Disability Support in Victorian Schools

A diagnosis of dyslexia or an intellectual disability does not automatically generate school support. In Victoria, the support your child receives is determined by what you request, what gets written into an IEP, and whether the school is implementing it. Here is what Victorian schools are required to provide, what works, and how to ensure your child's needs are formally documented.

The Legal Framework

Dyslexia (formally classified as a Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in reading) and intellectual disabilities are recognised disabilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005. Victorian schools are legally required to make reasonable adjustments to enable students with these conditions to access education on the same basis as peers.

The key word is "reasonable." Courts and the Australian Human Rights Commission have consistently found that the most common adjustments for dyslexia — assistive technology, modified assessment formats, extended time — are easily within the threshold of reasonability. Schools cannot claim that providing a student with text-to-speech software or a reader imposes unjustifiable hardship.

For students with an intellectual disability, the threshold is higher because the adjustments required are often more substantial — but so is the legal obligation. Victorian DET policy explicitly states that schools must modify the curriculum to meet the student's needs, using the Victorian Curriculum's Towards Foundation Levels A-D for students who are working below the Foundation level.

Adjustments for Dyslexia in Victorian Schools

Dyslexia affects reading fluency, spelling, and often written expression. The adjustments that have the strongest evidence base include:

Assistive technology:

• Text-to-speech software (Read&Write, Natural Reader, Snap&Read) for accessing written texts
• C-Pen scanning readers for reading independently during class and exams
• Speech-to-text software for students who can express ideas verbally but struggle to produce written output
• Audiobook versions of set texts (available through SPELD Victoria and through the library system)

Assessment modifications:

• Extended time for all assessments involving reading or written output
• Provision of a reader for exams where reading comprehension is not the assessed skill
• Alternative assessment formats (e.g., oral presentations, video recordings) as evidence of learning
• Spell-checking tools permitted during written tasks where spelling is not the assessed competency

Classroom modifications:

• Access to teacher notes or slides before class, to reduce the cognitive load of note-taking
• Explicit phonics instruction as part of literacy support (for students who have not yet consolidated decoding)
• Reduced written output requirements where the task can be completed another way
• Modified spelling requirements — focus on communication rather than mechanical accuracy in drafts

Study and organisation:

• Digital rather than handwritten notes
• Structured graphic organiser templates for essay and extended writing tasks
• Visual concept maps instead of linear note-taking

IEP Goals for Dyslexia

Victorian DET policy requires IEP goals to be SMART and aligned to the Victorian Curriculum. For a student with dyslexia, goals might address decoding, reading fluency, written expression, or vocabulary — linked to the English strand of the Victorian Curriculum.

Weak goal: "Sophie will improve her reading."

Strong goal: "Given access to text-to-speech software and a pre-lesson vocabulary preview, Sophie will read and identify the main idea of a Level 5 informational text (Victorian Curriculum English — VC2E5LY07) with 75% accuracy on at least 3 out of 5 weekly formative tasks, by the end of Term 2."

The strong goal specifies the accommodation (text-to-speech software, vocabulary preview), the curriculum link (VC2E5LY07), the measurable threshold (75% accuracy, 3/5 tasks), and the timeframe (end of Term 2).

Building a VCAA Evidence Trail for Dyslexia

If your child is in secondary school and completing the VCE, the adjustments you request now are building the evidentiary foundation for a VCAA Special Provision application in Year 12. The VCAA requires documented proof that accommodations have been consistently used across prior years of schooling.

For dyslexia, the typical VCAA arrangements include:

• Extended time (often 15 minutes per exam hour)
• Provision of a reader
• Access to text-to-speech software
• Modified format materials

The VCAA will want to see that the student has been using these supports in Year 9, 10, and 11 school-based assessments — not just that they have a diagnosis. Ensure that each accommodation is specifically listed in the IEP and that teachers are recording when they are used.

SPELD Victoria provides specialist literacy assessment and support services and can assess specifically for dyslexia, producing reports that carry weight in both DET and VCAA processes.

Support for Students with Intellectual Disability

Students with intellectual disability (generally defined as a Full Scale IQ below 70 on a standardised cognitive assessment) require a qualitatively different type of support. For these students, the curriculum itself must be modified — not just the way it is delivered.

Victorian DET provides the Towards Foundation Levels A-D of the Victorian Curriculum for students who are working below Foundation (Prep level). These levels allow teachers to set genuine curriculum goals that reflect the student's current functional level, rather than simply applying modified versions of grade-level content the student cannot meaningfully access.

For a student with an intellectual disability, appropriate IEP goals address:

• Functional literacy and numeracy (reading environmental print, using money, following simple written instructions)
• Daily life skills integrated into academic contexts
• Communication and social participation goals

The NCCD adjustment level for students with intellectual disability is typically Substantial or Extensive — meaning they should be assessed for Disability Inclusion Profile eligibility and potentially Tier 3 individualised funding.

What to Do When the School Resists

A common response from Victorian schools is that assistive technology is expensive, or that modified assessments are administratively burdensome. The legal position is clear: these are standard, well-within-threshold reasonable adjustments that the DSE requires.

If the school resists, request at the SSG meeting that the refusal be documented in the meeting minutes, including the reason given. This creates a paper trail for a future complaint. You can then escalate to the DET Regional Office or the VEOHRC if needed.

Private educational psychologists across Victoria (Therapy Pro in Melbourne, Hopscotch & Harmony in Geelong, Davis Psychology in Ballarat) can conduct comprehensive assessments that document the functional impact of dyslexia in detail — providing the professional-grade evidence that makes adjustment requests much harder for schools to resist.

The Victoria Disability Support Blueprint includes specific adjustment templates for dyslexia and learning disabilities, Victorian Curriculum goal-writing formulas for students working at Foundation and Towards Foundation levels, and a checklist for building the VCAA evidence portfolio starting from Year 9.

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