Madrid public schools face backlash after mid-term classroom closures

• The Madrid regional government closed four classrooms across two public primary schools after the academic year had already begun, forcing an increase in student-to-teacher ratios.
• Teachers were reassigned overnight, causing significant disruption to established classroom stability and student well-being.

Administrative Actions

• The affected institutions are the Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo and Nuria Espert primary schools, located in the Las Tablas and Valdebebas areas.
• Education authorities justified the move by claiming the initial number of authorized classrooms was excessive relative to enrolled student counts.
• Class sizes rose to 26–27 students per group, exceeding the standard legal limit of 25 students per primary classroom.

Legal and Ethical Concerns

• While the Ministry of Education argues that a 10% ratio increase is legally permissible, teachers' unions and parent associations (AMPAs) maintain this margin is intended only for exceptional, emergency circumstances—such as the arrival of refugees—not for routine planning.
• The Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo school is a designated center for students with special educational needs (ACNEAE), including those on the autism spectrum, making the increased density particularly damaging to inclusive education.
• The policy contradicts the regional government’s own publicly stated goal of progressively reducing student-to-teacher ratios across the community.

Institutional Impact

• Unions, including CCOO and Stem, have condemned the decision as detrimental to educational planning and a violation of teacher working conditions.
• Critics argue the sudden move is a cost-cutting measure designed to shift overflow students away from the public system and into charter (concertado) schools.
• Parent groups have filed formal complaints with the Madrid Territorial Area Directorate (DAT) to challenge the reorganization.