Alberta election promise tracker: What the parties have pledged on education

Albertans are heading to the polls for a spring election on Tuesday, April 16.

As a way of helping you make an informed decision on election night, Global News is keeping track of all the promises made by the main parties vying for your vote.

Here is a closer look at what the parties have pledged on education.

Alberta NDP

• March 25: Expand $25-a-day daycare (13,000 new daycare spaces)
• March 28: Hire nearly 1,000 more teachers. Notley said an NDP would hire 600 teachers and another 400 would come through a $23-million increase in the province’s classroom improvement fund
• March 28: Spend $1.3 billion to build and upgrade another 70 schools
• March 28: Money to ensure every new and modernized school comes with a playground
• March 28: $5 million per year to replace 100 aging and outdated play areas

To see all of the promises made by the Alberta NDP, click here.

United Conservative Party

• March 25: Reinstate the former PC’s unproclaimed Education Act (with GSA provision)
• March 25: Lift cap on number of charter schools in Alberta
• March 25: Review NDP’s curriculum overhaul
• March 25: Ensure consent is taught in all sex education classes
• March 26: Double the number of schools offering vocational training, increase courses to 1,000 from 500 and quadruple the number of students placed with employers.

To see all of the promises made by the Alberta UCP, click here.

Alberta Party

• March 21: $230 million to double the number of educational assistants in school, create agency to test students with possible learning challenges
• April 9: Create 45,000 new post-secondary spaces by 2024
• April 9: Retain the current cap on tuition at Alberta post-secondary institutions
• April 9: Eliminate tuition fees for high school upgrading and English language learning programs
• April 9: Expand the STEP program to run year-round
• April 11: Create 60,000 new spaces for K-12 students over the next four years
• April 11: $190 million to create 15,000 student spaces each year and build or modernize 25 schools per year
• April 11: Support GSAs with $690 million in annual funding for inclusive education
• April 11: Support current curriculum review
• April 11: Maintain current funding programs for private and charter schools

To see all of the promises made by the Alberta Party, click here.

Alberta Liberal Party

• Feb. 15: Ban seclusion rooms in Alberta classrooms
• March 20: Put a cap on classroom sizes, beginning with K-3 classes
• March 21: Improve child welfare, education and justice for Indigenous people if his party were to win the April 16 election
• April 3: Increase science, technology, engineering and math graduates in Alberta by 25 per cent

To see all of the promises made by the Alberta Liberal Party, click here.

Promises will be tracked throughout the election campaign, so be sure to check back here for updated party platforms.