First Step Toward Teachers’ Statute: Spain Approves Reduced Class Sizes and Teaching Hours for Public Schools

The Spanish government has approved a draft bill to reduce classroom sizes and regulate teaching hours for non-university teachers, marking the first concrete step toward a long-awaited teaching statute. The Council of Ministers adopted the proposal on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, which sets maximums of 22 pupils per classroom in primary education and 25 in compulsory secondary education (ESO), down from current levels of 25 and 30 respectively.

The reform also establishes a maximum of 23 teaching hours per week for pre-school, primary and special education teachers, and 18 hours per week for secondary, baccalaureate and vocational training teachers. For the latter group, the law allows an exceptional increase up to 20 hours under specific conditions.

Students with special educational needs will count as two pupils when calculating classroom ratios, a measure advocated by unions to ensure smaller class sizes in inclusive settings. The rules apply to all publicly funded schools, including both state-run and privately managed concertada centers, although the teaching hour limits initially apply only to public school teachers.

Education Minister Milagros Tolón stated that the reform aims to reverse education cuts made in 2012 and improve both working conditions for teachers and learning conditions for students. “If we improve the conditions of our teachers, we improve the education of our country,” she said during the press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting.

The measure is part of a broader initiative to establish a future teaching statute regulating access, training, career development and retirement for educators. The government described the current legislative period as “the legislature of the teaching profession,” with this approval representing the first concrete step in that effort.

The reform will be implemented gradually, with full application expected by the 2030-31 academic year. Some autonomous communities that have already achieved lower ratios or reduced teaching hours will not be affected, while others, including Madrid and Galicia, will need to adjust their systems to meet the new national minimums.

The approval follows months of protests by teachers across Spain, from Andalusia to Catalonia passing through Madrid, who have denounced overcrowded classrooms, excessive workloads, salary disparities and bureaucratic burdens. Unions have welcomed the classroom size reductions and special needs provision but criticized the exclusion of concertada teachers from the initial teaching hour limits, noting they are currently negotiating their collective agreement and had sought parity with public school colleagues.