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“I have been getting a lot of questions about work permits and Work Experience Education (WEE) placements so I am going to address both here:

As we know, child labor law in CA makes clear that each LEA has discretion over issuing work permits but there is no code that allows extending permits past expiration dates. I have seen no order or stay issued by the Labor Commissioner, the SSPI, nor the Governor temporarily overriding Ed Code 49110, which specifies how work permits are issued,  nor EC 49118 which says work permits must expire 5 days into the new fall term, if not before, per EC 49118 and the expiration date is determined by the calendar of the school the minor attends per EC 49110.. The CDE has not taken a position as to  whether or not to issue new permits and issues now surrounding the process but has recently set up an email address to receive concerns related to COVID19: COVID19@cde.ca.gov So, instead, I will provide you with some facts and conditions I think should be considered before issuing work permits and WEE work assignments.

 

The decision to issue permits is subject to the usual child labor law restrictions and, now also, to the Governor’s shelter in place order (https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.19.20-attested-EO-N-33-20-COVID-19-HEALTH-ORDER.pdf ) and local Public Health Officers’ directives as well.   For those areas where school campuses are closed, the allowed hours should follow that of regulations governing independent study since, as the governor has directed, schools are to continue to deliver instruction via distance learning/independent study “Executive Order N-26-20 regarding the physical closure of schools by local educational agencies (LEAs) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The order provides that even if schools close temporarily because of COVID-19, LEAs will continue to receive state funding for those days so that they can:

• Continue delivering high-quality educational opportunities to students to the extent feasible through, among other options, distance learning and/or independent study”

See this link re Distance Learning: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/distancelearning.asp

 

State Board President, Linda Darling Hammond, stated on the program EdSource last Thursday that a state-wide decision on whether continuing education under current conditions should resemble enrichment or a continuance of graded classroom instruction pre covid19 school campus closings had not yet been reached. Long Beach Unified has moved to a non-graded option for example. So, flexibility to meet the Governor’s direction to continue instruction is the current guidance. See this link for details:  https://edsource.org/podcast/linda-darling-hammonds-view-and-long-beachs-plan-for-a-lengthy-shutdown?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=linda-darling-hammonds-view-and-long-beachs-plan-for-a-lengthy-shutdown-03-21-20

 

California Code of Regulations Title 5 Section 11701.5 which says that the Independent Study option is to be “substantially equivalent in quality and in quantity to classroom instruction”, thereby ensuring that a pupil who engages in independent study on a full-time basis, or on a part-time basis in conjunction with part- or full-time classroom study, will be enabled to complete the district or county office of education adopted course of study within the customary time frame for completion of that course of study.  An LEA or school issuing a work permit to an independent study student should impose daily work hour limitations while school is in session, which it is despite campus closures, in a manner that will ensure compliance with Section 11701.5 and to ensure that the minor does not exceed the weekly work-hour limitations in labor code.

 

Schools issuing work permits to independent study students should set daily work hour limits for an independent study student while school is in session and these limitations should be based upon such factors as the Independent Study student’s coursework and study schedule, their independent study agreement, and the scope and nature of their outside employment. Overall, it is recommended that I.S. students be limited in their work schedule in a comparable manner to non-IS students to ensure their academic success, I.S. students are not granted any special exemptions to labor law. So, max hours for independent studies students should be approximately the same as students in comprehensive schools in normal times and also now that instruction is continuing via independent study and distance learning.

 

I recommend that Local Education Agencies should review the governor’s order and local public health officer’s directives which have the force of law. The Governor’s state-wide shelter-in-place order limits residents permitted to work to essential government functions and essential private sector businesses like grocery stores, banks, laundry businesses, gas stations, and pharmacies. So, before issuing permits you should see what the current guidance is from the governor’s office and see what local guidance has been issued concerning containment procedures and guidance for non-essential workers to be able to weigh the risk to the minor’s health. My understanding is that, in general terms, student workers would not be considered essential employees but that depends upon the type of local businesses that are involved, the need to augment family income, and the local conditions. Movie theatres and gyms have been ordered shut state-wide and restaurants are limited to take out so they do not need as many employees as before.

 

I am recommending that students in programs such as Work Experience and Community Classrooms that are being ordered to shelter-in-place should consider using online and alternative learning strategies/career exploration tools such as those found on the California Career Resource Network (CalCRN) https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ct/cc/ or commercial off the shelf online career exploration tools such as Nepris or ImBlaze if your district happens to already have access to those tools. I would advise that worksite requirements for a given work-based learning course be made as flexible as possible and that any inability to secure an onsite experience due to the COVID-19 outbreak should not be held against the student nor negatively affect their course grade. This sort of flexibility is in keeping with the Governor’s executive order regarding delivery of instruction at this time: https://edsource.org/2020/california-school-districts-learn-more-about-what-state-expects-during-a-long-shutdown/626431

 

The following is general guidance from the Center for Disease Control for employers to carefully consider: “Plan to minimize exposure between employees and also between employees and the public, if public health officials call for social distancing.” See this link for detailed information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fspecific-groups%2Fguidance-business-response.html To find your local Public Health Department consider using this search engine from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). To save time you may wish to search by zip code: https://www.naccho.org/membership/lhd-directory