Children with special needs who are still waiting for a place in school or nursery next year had offers "retracted by the Education Authority".
It comes as an emergency meeting of all political parties has been called by South Belfast MLA Kate Nicholl in order to try and find a solution to the issues facing families as over 800 children are still without a place in primary school or nursery.
Concerned parents Curtis Coates and Robyn Stevenson said that they have been "left in tears" as a result of not being able to secure a place in nursery for their son Lucas next year who has significant complex needs and says their son received an offer from a school only to be told the Education Authority couldn't guarantee the place.
Read more: NI mum opens up on son's SEN school placement nightmare
Speaking to Belfast Live Curtis said that he felt that children with special and complex needs are being discriminated against and that parents have received little to no information from authorities regarding their children's future.
He said: "We started this process in January and made all of the authorities aware of Lucas' assessed complex needs and while we knew it would not be an easy process we never expected things to end up like this.
"At the moment we have no idea where Lucas will be in September when he is due to start nursery, and even though we were offered a place that would have been suitable for him by a school, but then the Education Authority said that it could not be confirmed.
"We are now hearing that there may not be any places at all for him, as the ones that could be available would be at schools that would be entirely unsuitable for Lucas as he needs to be in a highly supportive setting due to his complex needs.
"The lack of communication from the Education Authority throughout this process has been horrendous and I recently broke down in tears for 40 minutes due to the stress and worries that I have about my son's future.
"We have been waiting for up to 10 weeks for a response on our son's position and there has been a complete lack of clarity and transparency about this process.
"It feels like SEN parents are constantly having to fight for the basic rights of our children and rather than get easier for us, more and more barriers are just put in the way.
"It is clear discrimination that there are over 800 children with special needs without a place in school or nursery next year, when these are the children who are most in need of education and early years development and it feels like some politicians are happy to leave them behind."
South Belfast MLA Kate Nicholl met with families at the Mencap Children's Centre on Friday where they explained the challenges facing them.
Of the 52 children being supported by the centre that are due to go to school or nursery next year, 47 have no place while the remainder have chosen a mainstream setting.
The MLA says she has called for an emergency meeting of NI's political representatives and the families who are affected on Monday at 12.30pm.
Ms Nicholl said: "The Mencap Centre is around the corner from my office and I know the wonderful work that they do and this is having a huge impact on families and they really want to impress on politicians the reality of the situation and see if collectively we can do anything to help them and get the EA to improve communication and support them.
"We all know the budgets are extremely tight and difficult decisions are being made in education in particular, but these children are some of the most vulnerable or have some of the most complex needs and they have a right to education.
"The key message that came to me from the parents was that it felt discriminatory for them, it wouldn’t be an option in mainstream schools to stop nursery places and these are children that need more help than anyone and we need to amplify their needs and do what we can for them.
"What the officials need to remember is that these children need a range of support and they have been getting it and made lots of progress, to be removed from that risks undoing really important work and that consistency and tailored support is so vital."
A spokesperson for the Education Authority said: “Supporting children with SEN and ensuring all children with statements receive a placement which fully meets their needs remains a top priority for the Education Authority (EA).
“We absolutely recognise that this is an extremely anxious time for those parents and children waiting for the confirmation of a school place.
“The EA is working to ensure all children will be placed appropriately as soon as possible and fully understands the importance of keeping parents informed of progress regarding their child’s school placement.
"SEN Link Officers will be in contact with all parents of pupils awaiting placement by the week beginning 26th June 2023 at the latest. If you have not been contacted by Friday 30th June 17.00, please email your SEN Link Officer directly on Monday 3rd July 2023 or call the SEN Helpdesk on 028 9598 5960 where staff will be available to help you.“
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