Oklahoma schools have been laying off teachers and increasing class sizes for many, many years. Typical class sizes there now are already 30-40% larger than the

Oklahoma schools have been laying off teachers and increasing class sizes for many, many years. Typical class sizes there now are already 30-40% larger than the legal (state law, which has itself been adjusted upwards several times) limit. In most of these places, there are 3-5 class groups in a cohort (that is, there are 3-5 4th grade teachers). Even aside from the terrible impact on teacher attention, these classrooms have already run out of space to hold students -- students are already sharing desks that are explicitly designed for one student. Laying off a teacher and redistributing their 26+ students to the remaining 2-4 classrooms doesn't work any more.