There are specific agencies in the cantons (including school psychological services) that provide case evaluation, diagnosis, guidance counselling and treatment. Special needs schooling is offered after an application, an evaluation of the case and an admittance decision. Applications may be made, in the first instance, by teachers, physicians, special services (e.g. school psychological services), school authorities and guardianship authorities.

In most cantons, the school psychological services, child and adolescent psychological services, or other specialists are responsible for making the evaluations.

The decision as to whether a child with special education needs will attend a normal school (integrative schooling) or a special needs school is made according to the standardised evaluation procedure. This procedure is used in order to systematically record various information about the child. Here, the intention is not for individual characteristics (e.g. an impairment) to trigger measures, but for the actual needs to be determined on the basis of transparent developmental and educational goals. The evaluation is made in two standardised process steps (basic evaluation and needs evaluation). In turn, these steps are subdivided into individual elements and are applied when collecting data from various sources of information.

The standardised evaluation procedure enables those who use it (school psychological service, evaluation agency) to make a comprehensive, multi-dimensional evaluation and it constitutes an initial basis for targeted support in the intended setting. The standardised evaluation procedure is applied if the locally available resources for special needs education are insufficient and additional resources have to be provided for education and training. This procedure serves the cantons primarily as a basis for decision-making upon arrangement of enhanced special needs education measures.

The introduction of the standardised evaluation procedure dispenses with the disability insurance criteria, which previously were based primarily on limits. Now, when determining requirements, attention is paid to the developmental and educational goals of the children and young people.

In Switzerland, the adequate schooling of children and adolescents with special education needs and disabilities is laid down in law. Since 2008, special needs education has solely been the task of the cantons. This means that the cantons are responsible for the content, legalities and financing of special needs schooling. Due to this new task allocation, each canton is obliged to define the special needs education that it offers, along with the corresponding measures, in a special needs education concept.

The learning objectives and requirements pertaining to children and adolescents with special education needs are individually tailored to suit the abilities of the respective pupil. Essentially, they depend on the type of disability: a sensory or physical deficiency does not automatically mean that cognitive learning is also impaired. In such cases, special teaching material and aids are provided in order to facilitate satisfaction of the requirements and objectives of the normal school. In other cases, where the impairment of a pupil's development and learning ability does not allow an orientation based on the normal school's curricula, the set learning objectives are geared towards maximum independence and the best possible social integration in particular. In both types of case, the learning objectives for each child are oriented towards the optimal balance between maximum development of the potential (on the cognitive level and in general) of the child or adolescent and simultaneous promotion of self-realisation. Each school type (special needs school or integrative schooling) strives to achieve this balance.

To an increasing extent, learning content, learning objectives and even development itself are laid down in writing within individual development plans drawn up by an interdisciplinary group of experts considering the respective child or adolescent. This approach requires good coordination and cooperation between the various parties involved, who meet regularly in order to reassess and adapt the objectives.

The preferred assessment method in special needs education is a continual and formative assessment which enables regular feedback for pupils and parents. The development of the child or adolescent is recorded in a report at the end of the school year or half-year. Examinations or grades at the end of the year are rather rare. Those pupils who are integrated into normal schools and who follow the normal curriculum are assessed in the same way as their fellow pupils. Pupils with disabilities can, however, request the compensation of disadvantages (e.g. extension of the time allowed to sit an examination; support from a third person [e.g. sign-language interpreters in oral examinations for pupils with a hearing disability]; adapting examination media or the form of examination).