Alberta unveils classroom complexity task force as NDP calls move a delay tactic
EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides have launched a new task force to address rising classroom sizes and complexity in the province’s schools.
The 11-member Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee will be co-chaired by Smith and Nicolaides, and includes cabinet ministers, school board leaders and a representative from the Alberta Teachers’ Association. The group will direct policy and funding to schools facing the most pressure and develop a new framework for inclusive education. Only cabinet ministers will have voting rights, while educators and administrators will serve in advisory roles.
Teachers will not sit on the committee itself. Instead, Nicolaides said a separate teacher advisory council will be formed to provide ongoing input on classroom realities and policy issues. The council, expected to operate for the next two years, is still being developed.
The province says the committee will use data from school boards on class sizes and composition to guide decisions and distribute resources. Boards must submit the data by November 24, with public reporting set to begin in January. The committee will also oversee hiring 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 educational assistants over the next three years, and help determine where new schools and modular classrooms will be built.
The new body follows recommendations from the government’s Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team, whose report has been completed and will be released soon.
Alberta NDP education critic Amanda Chapman called the task force a “distraction from action,” saying the government voted down an NDP bill in 2023 that would have reinstated classroom size and complexity reporting. She said the committee is a delayed response to long-standing problems.
“My message is clear: get to work and get the work done ASAP so teachers and students have safe and supportive learning environments,” Chapman said in a statement.
The committee begins its work immediately, with data collection underway through November and its first public reporting scheduled for early 2026.
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