Funding to primary schools for nurture classes to help young pupils with emotional or social needs has been cut by the Department of Education.
One principal told BBC News NI the cut was "targeting the most vulnerable children in our society".
Nurture units are special classes in which small groups of pupils receive specialist teaching and support.
The department funds nurture units in 62 primaries in NI but the schools will get less money to run them in 2023-24.
That is because the department has cut the overall funding for nurture provision by £1.1m and also cut the allocation to each individual school.
In their letter to principals explaining the move, the department said it was facing "an extremely challenging budget and therefore extremely difficult decisions had to be taken".
"The department recognises the far-reaching value and impact of nurture provision. However the current budgetary pressures have made reductions in the existing level of provision unavoidable," it said.
