It turns out this is yet another matter affected by uncertainty in the political process.

"The minister will hopefully agree on the version of the draft regulations to be put forward by debate in the assembly at some point in the future where possible," says Ms Gillan

"You can't make these regulations without the assembly?" Chris Lyttle asks.

"No," says the official, "the engagement will have to be picked up again when the assembly returns".

Two departmental officials take their places to brief members on the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2016 regulations.

Caroline Gillan outlines the responses to a consultation on the proposed regulations.

She says the focus of the new SEN (special educational needs) framework is: "Early identification assessment leading to interventions to ensure that children and young people with SEN have access to SEN provision they need when they need it."

The schools budget session with the civil servants ends with Education Committee chair Chris Lyttle telling them: "It's obviously an extremely challenging situation."

He wishes them well in "trying to bring extremely difficult circumstances under control".

The committee agrees to call Education Minister Peter Weir and the Education Authority to appear before it next week to discuss the same matter, in what looks to be the final meeting of this assembly mandate.

Chair Chris Lyttle raises a query over a report in the Irish News that suggests by March 2017 schools in Northern Ireland schools will be "£33m in deficit".

DE civil servant Gary Fair says the Education Authority is taking the matter "by the horns" and "working closely with schools to try and fine-tune the information".

Image source, Education Authority

He says the EA is also working with schools in helping them to manage their budgets as effectively as possible, but acknowledges that it is a "complex" situation.

Work is being done with the authority between the education and finance departments, he says, "to ensure they are doing all they can as an organisation to live within budget".

DUP MLA Philip Logan asks what the Department of Education's see as its main concerns and "worst-case scenario" with the uncertainty hanging over the budget.

He says the department would not want to see schools make "unnecessary cuts to their staffing".

Image source, PA

He says civil servants can only act within their remit, and by allocating some money up from it will ensure some "normality" in the early part of the year.

Mr Logan says schools principals he has spoken to will not get "a lot of comfort" from what has been outlined this morning.

DUP MLA Lord Morrow asks Gary Fair for more details about the move that would allow the allocation of three-quarters of the education budget, asking if it equates to a cut in the budget.

The civil servant says it is only intended as a short-term measure to allow spending to go ahead in the early part of the year.

"The intention wouldn't be - even in the political realm - that a budget would necessarily be cut," he says.

"It wouldn't be conveyed as a cut to budgets of 25%," he says, that would be "subject to review hopefully when a budget act is passed."

Lord Morrow suggests that it is the "politics" that is going to leave schools in "very, very serious trouble".

Mr Fair explains that a further 20% of the budget can be freed up in the summer, but acknowledges: "Yes, there is uncertainty until the budget act is passed."

Matters move on to a discussion with civil servants from the Department of Education (DE) on contingency plans for funding schools' budgets with the assembly set to be dissolved in just a few day' time.

A budget for Northern Ireland was not agreed before the political crisis led to the collapse of Stormont and that has led the committee to seek clarification and certainty on what happens next for schools.

Gary Fair from the DE acknowledges that there is a sense of "not knowing where we'll be in March", when the assembly election will be held.

But he says the permanent secretary at the Department of Finance has the power to allocate up to 75% of budgets to executive departments.

"We will be working very closely with the Department of Finance keeping in mind the uncertainty for schools and other bodies."

We now turn to the first briefing of the day, as assembly researcher Caroline Perry outlines the advantages and disadvantages of composite classes, where pupils of mixed age groups are educated together in a single class.

She says they are not unique to Northern Ireland as 30% of pupils around the world are educated in composite classes.

Rosemary Barton of the UUP is a former teacher, and says she would like to see more information on the alleged academic disadvantage of composite classes.

Chair Chris Lyttle suggests that the committee should invite the education minister and the Education Authority to appear at next week's meeting to address issues such as school budgets, changes to school buses and outdoor education.

Lord Morrow of the DUP expresses doubts about the value of such an invitation given the small number of attendees this week.

"It would be a very focused meeting," Mr Lyttle says, one that would allow those matters to be put on the record.

The DUPs Carla Lockhart criticises the absent Sinn Féin members.

"There are those who have walked away from the children of this country," she says, "their own political end."

The members agree to invite the minister, and Mr Lyttle says he will ascertain whether sufficient members will be present.

Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI Education Correspondent

Teachers belonging to the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) are staging a half-day strike in a dispute over pay.

About 7,000 of the union's members in some 800 schools across Northern Ireland will not start work until 12:30.

Some schools are closed for the morning, others the entire day, while schools with relatively few INTO members are operating as normal.

Chairing this morning's Education Committee meeting is Chris Lyttle of the Alliance Party.

Sinn Féin MLAs have been boycotting committee meetings since last week, so committee chair Barry McElduff is not to be seen.

Mr Lyttle thanks members for attending, adding: "We still have a job to do on behalf of the people who sent us here."

BBC News Northern Ireland

The father-in-law of a senior DUP adviser runs two green energy boilers under the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, it has emerged.

Image source, Pacemaker

On Monday, John Robinson, who advises Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, denied any family links to the flawed initiative, which is set to cost taxpayers an extra £490m and has led to Stormont's collapse.

But on Tuesday, Mr Robinson told the Press Association that three months before his marriage, his now father-in-law applied to the scheme in August 2015.

It's been quite a dramatic week on the hill and the Stormont fireworks appear set to continue as the Public Accounts Committee picks up where it left off before Christmas in its inquiry into the RHI scandal this afternoon.

Look out for an appearance from senior civil servant Dr Andrew McCormick.

BBC Radio Ulster's The Stephen Nolan Show revealed this morning that the DUP has said Dr McCormick raised concerns with the party that one of its figures was interfering in the closure of the RHI scheme last year... but more on that later.

Back to this morning, and we have live coverage of the Education Committee,which is discussing contingency plans for schools budgets as the election looms.