A proposed bill could ease class size rules for kindergarten through third grade in some North Carolina School districts. The move comes ahead of a mandate that would shrink classes to 19 in the fall and 18 students in 2020.
The State Board of Education is pressing for the legislation after school districts raised hardship concerns about meeting the mandate.
Currently, there are a small number of circumstances under which schools can ask for a waiver. The GOP-sponsored bill would add a couple more reasons to that list, like inadequate classroom space or facilities that would require a building expansion or relocation.
President of the North Carolina Association of Educators Mark Jewell supports the bill, but has lingering concerns.
“We need to address our facilities by passing a school bond, a statewide school bond,” says Jewell. "We also need to address our teacher shortage across the state of North Carolina, which are the two issues of why we have to have this flexibility on class size.”
North Carolina lawmakers recently announced plans to put a $1.9 billion school bond proposal before voters next year. A majority of that money would fund construction and renovation needs for K-12 school districts across the state.
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