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By rdnewsNOW staff
School supports

Province invests $11 million for classroom complexity supports in rural communities

Nov 12, 2026 | 5:22 PM

The Government of Alberta announced additional classroom complexity supports for students in rural communities.

On Thursday, the province announced it’s investing $11 million to strengthen supports for students and teachers.

More specifically, they’ve allocated money to improve access to specialized services in rural and remote communities and provide training for teachers managing complex classrooms.

Of the investment, $5 million will go towards helping school boards address additional costs of delivering specialized services for students in rural and remote communities.

The school boards can use the funding to cover costs such as mileage, transportation, accommodation, and travel time for speech-language pathologists, psychologists, physical therapists and other qualified professionals.

“Students with complex learning and behavioural needs need the right supports to help them succeed,” said Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education and Childcare. “This funding will strengthen the capacity of schools to meet diverse student needs and help school authorities reduce geographic barriers to specialized supports and services in rural and remote communities.”

Meanwhile, the remaining $6 million will help school boards provide targeted training for teachers and administrators managing complex classrooms.

Funding can support training in areas such as trauma-informed practices, crisis response, behaviour assessment, collaborative problem-solving, de-escalation and post-incident recovery.

School boards can also use the funding to cover the cost of substitute teachers, helping teachers and school staff participate in training while minimizing disruptions to classroom learning.

“In rural Alberta, distance can stand between a student and the specialized help they need,” said Reagan Weeks, vice president, College of Alberta School Superintendents. “This funding recognizes the real cost of bringing speech-language pathologists, psychologists and therapists into small and remote communities. The investment in training gives our teachers and school leaders practical tools for today’s complex classrooms. The College of Alberta School Superintendents welcomes this support, which helps ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live.”

Quick facts

  • Funding for specialized supports and services in rural and remote communities is being provided to 39 school authorities, prioritized on rurality and sparsity.
  • Targeted teacher training funds are for new teachers, members of complexity teams and school administrators.
  • Budget 2026 provides $355 million in 2026-27 to address class size and classroom complexity, including:
    • $200 million for the Class Size Reduction Grant.
    • $75 million for 223 new complexity teams.
    • $25 million for targeted supports, including training and rural and remote services.
    • $55 million to continue the Classroom Complexity Grant.
by rdnewsNOW staff