Class sizes across the province are getting smaller, as a result of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling — but the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) says class composition is still a big problem.
The number of classes with more than 30 students has dropped by nearly half to about 750 classes, and the average classroom now has about 21 students.
But BCTF president Glen Hansman says several districts don’t have any contract language around composition.
“The overall percentage of classes with four or more children with special needs has gone down, that is a positive thing,” he said.
“But the difference is about 20 of our locals don’t have any class composition language in the collective agreement.”
“There’s 60 school districts around the province… Of the remaining 40, about half of those are pretty solid and pretty clear, others are a bit more ambiguous.”
Hansman says school districts and the government need to put more effort into prioritizing special needs programs with the appropriate staff.