Oklahoma school districts required to meet class-size limits

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Tight budgets won't be excuses this year, as about two-thirds of Oklahoma's 540 school districts will have to meet class-size maximums.<br/><br/>Most elementary classes, by

Monday, August 30th 2004, 6:10 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Tight budgets won't be excuses this year, as about two-thirds of Oklahoma's 540 school districts will have to meet class-size maximums.

Most elementary classes, by law, can't have more than 20 students per teacher. Kindergarten through third-grade classes can have up to 29 students if the classes have teaching assistants.

Core-subject teachers at the secondary level can teach up to 140 students per day.

The state Board of Education and the Legislature had loosened the rules during years with tight budgets.

Now, some districts -- including Tulsa Public Schools -- will have to hire teachers to meet the requirements.

Districts can be fined several thousand dollars for not following the law.