Canada

Manitoba’s “plan to cap class size at 20 kids for kindergarten to Grade 3 has trustees nervous.” Trustees are concerned that there could be unintended consequences (i.e., having to split a class into two classes because of increased enrollment during the school year) if the rules are rigid and inflexible. The issue:  An influx of immigrants have swelled the numbers of students in the lower grades, making the proposed reform expensive.  (More on the increased expense of capping classes here.)  “Trustees overwhelmingly want the province to impose the cap on 90 per cent of K-3 classrooms, and let the rest take the numbers needed to avoid space and staff problems.”  This would allow flexibility if the student population grows during the school year.