2009-10 Class Size Report
VICTORIA – The fifth annual report on class size and composition shows that class sizes continue to be smaller today than they were prior to the class size and composition legislation that was brought in four years ago.
This is the only government in B.C. history to enact this type of legislation. When the first class size report was released in 2005-06, there were 9,253 classes with more than 30 students. Today, that number has decreased by more than 65 per cent to 3,229.
School districts are required to submit a report on class size by Oct. 30 each year. The report includes information on the number of students at each grade level in each class, the number of students with special needs in each class and the number of ESL students.
For the fourth consecutive year, more than 95 per cent of classes in school districts throughout B.C. have 30 or fewer students and 99 per cent of classes have 32 or fewer students.
Other findings from the 2009-10 class size report include:
- There are 67,473 classes in B.C. public schools this year.
- As a result of 3,350 fewer students this year, there are 884 fewer classes.
- B.C. now has one of the lowest student-teacher ratios ever – 16.7 students per teacher.
- There are 541,917 FTE students in provincial public schools.
- 18 school districts had reductions in their average Grade 8-12 class size over last year.
- There are no Kindergarten classes with more than 22 students and no classes from grades 1-3 with more than 24 students.
- There are 62 more education assistants this year, bringing the total to 8,877 – up by 1,221 or almost 16 per cent since 2005-06.
- There are 16,630 classes with assigned education assistants – an increase of 279 over last year.
- 17 per cent, or 11,959 classes have four or more students entitled to an Individual Education Program.
For proposed classes of more than 30 students or more than three students entitled to an Individual Education Program, the School Act requires that teachers be consulted with respect to the organization of the class. The act also requires the school principal to confirm the learning situation is appropriate for all students.
Government provides nearly three-quarters-of-a-billion dollars a year in funding for students with special needs. The Province increased operating grant funding for boards of education in 2009-10 by $84 million. Since 2000-01, the Province has increased funding to B.C. public schools by almost $1.3 billion: $873 million in operating grants and $407 million in one-time grants. During the same period, enrolment has declined by more than 56,000 students.
