Here in NJ the big scam is bilingual education; it basically doubles the number of employees for each grade (not just teachers, but “teacher assistantss”). WTH is a teacher assistant? I always had one teacher, regardless of class size.
Special education requires a teacher's aide. If you have special ed students mainstreamed into that classroom, then there will be an aide at least part of the time. Of course, it's discriminatory if you know which student(s) they are supposed to be working with.