The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) has stated there is a whopping number of students who need to learn English as an additional language (EAL) in their classrooms. The CBE's 2026-2027 Budget Priorities lay it out plainly, stating 31% of students are learning EAL in its classes, which is a total of 44,000 students.According to the most recent stats from the 2024-2025 school enrolment report the CBE has approximately 142,402 students. It also states this statistic is 17.6% higher than the rest of the province. "As complexity grows, the cost of supporting students with specialized learning needs is rising faster than provincial funding," stated the CBE..They also stated the need for classroom-based supports, such as interpreters and educational assistants.The public school board hasn't responded to a request for comment.The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) says they have approximately 12,000 students learning EAL, representing 19% of its 64,000 students."This means that roughly one in three CCSD students has diverse and/or complex learning needs," stated the CCSD to the Western Standard. The Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) has 27,791 students with EAL needs.."That is a 3% decrease compared to September 2024, when 28,797 students learning EAL were enrolled," EPSB told the Western Standard.According to the most recent numbers for the 2024-2025 school year, EPSB had approximately 120,198 students. Based on this, 23% of students need EAL. During the last two quarters of 2025, Alberta experienced a growth of approximately 31,770 people.
