5th Session, 40th Legislature
This HTML version is provided for ease of use and is based on the bilingual version that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.
Bill 2
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMENDMENT ACT (SMALL CLASSES FOR K TO 3)
| Bilingual version (PDF) | Explanatory Note |
(Assented to )
WHEREAS students benefit if teachers are able to give them the individual attention they need;
AND WHEREAS small class sizes for children in kindergarten to grade 3 produce measurable academic benefits;
AND WHEREAS the standards set in Manitoba's class size initiative are expected to be achieved in 2017;
AND WHEREAS those standards will benefit future students;
THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
The Public Schools Act is amended by this Act.
The following is added after section 42.6 and before the centred heading that follows it:
CLASS SIZES — KINDERGARTEN AND GRADES 1 TO 3
Maximum class size — kindergarten and Grades 1 to 3
A school board must ensure that a class that includes a pupil in kindergarten or in Grade 1, 2 or 3 has 23 or fewer pupils.
Classes of kindergarten to grade 3 pupils to be predominantly 20 or fewer
A school board must ensure that, in each school year, at least 90% of the classes in the school division or school district that have any kindergarten to Grade 3 pupils enrolled in them have 20 or fewer pupils.
Subject to subsection (4), a school board must comply with subsections (1) and (2) as of October 15 of each school year that begins on or after July 1, 2017.
Exemption if additional classroom space is being prepared
The minister may exempt a school board from the requirement to comply with subsection (1) or (2), or both, for a particular school year if, for that year,
(a) classroom space intended for use by its kindergarten or Grade 1, 2 or 3 pupils is under construction, or funding for the construction of such classroom space has been included in the applicable annual funding plan approved under section 8.1 of The Public Schools Finance Board Act; and
(b) the school board has requested the minister grant the exemption.
In this section, "class" means a group of pupils who are scheduled to spend more than 50% of the instructional time together.
The minister may make regulations
(a) establishing the methods to be used by a school board in determining class size for the purposes of this section, including the date or dates on which the determination is to be made;
(b) requiring boards to
(i) prepare reports and plans containing the specified information relating to class size,
(ii) make the reports and plans available to the public in the manner prescribed, and
(iii) submit the reports and plans required to the minister, within the time and in the manner specified by the minister.
This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.