BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 66
AUTHOR: Anderson
INTRODUCED: December 10, 2008
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 17, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Pupils: work permits.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes school principals, including
principals of private schools, to issue, or designates
another administrator to issue work permits to minors.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes the following school officials to
issue a work permit to students:
A school district or county superintendent.
The chief executive officer (CEO), or the equivalent,
of a charter school.
Credentialed teachers or pupil personnel services
credential holders authorized by a school district
superintendent.
Pupil personnel services credential holders authorized
by a superintendent or CEO, as specified.
Current law authorizes a school district superintendent to
designate a principal or other person in charge of a
private school within the district to issue work permits to
pupils attending the school.
Work permits are limited as follows:
Thirteen year-old pupils, who have completed 6th grade
and participate in a district sponsored employment
program, may work for up to 2 hours in any day, but
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not more than 4 hours a week.
Fourteen and 15 year-old pupils, who have completed
7th grade, may work for up to three hours in any day
while school is in session.
Sixteen and 17 year-old pupils may work for up to four
hours in any day while school is in session, or up to
eight hours on a day immediately prior to a non-school
day.
Work permits may also be issued to pupils that meet
criteria and are enrolled in specified work experience
courses, or must work under personal and family
circumstances. Work permits may currently be issued to
pupils to work during school holidays and summer vacations,
without restriction. Work permit limits do not apply to
pupils delivering newspapers.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Authorizes the principal of a public or private school
to issue, or designate another administrator in the
school to issue, work permits to pupils who attend the
school.
2) Requires a principal who issues work permits to
self-certify understanding of the law for issuing work
permits and submit copies of each work permit along
with a copy of the application for each permit to the
superintendent of the school district in which the
school is located.
3) Prohibits a principal from issuing a work permit to
his or her own child.
4) Provides that the superintendent of a school district
may revoke a work permit issued by a principal of a
school in the district if the superintendent becomes
aware of any reason why the pupil should be ineligible
for a work permit.
5) Provides that the limitations on the number of hours
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that may be worked under a work permit shall be based
on the school calendar of the school the pupil
attends.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Rationale for the bill . Current law permits private
school officials who have been designated by a
district or county superintendent to issue work
permits provided the person authorized to issue the
work permits is knowledgeable about federal and state
labor laws affecting minors and about the work permit
issuance process. Further, the California Department
of Education (CDE) has determined that authorized
public school officials may issue a work permit to a
pupil who attends a private school located within the
school district boundaries, even though the pupil is
not a resident of the school district.
Notwithstanding the permissiveness of current law, the
author's office indicates that the process for issuing
work permits to private school pupils varies across
the state and many private school students have
difficulty obtaining work permits through the public
school system. By authorizing principals to issue
work permits without first being designated by a
school district superintendent or county
superintendent of schools, this bill could make it
easier for students to obtain a work permit. Could
this easier access however, make it easier for a
student's job to interfere with his or her education?
2) Local control and oversight . According to the
author's office, site administrators, who are usually
closer to a student than district officials, are well
positioned to make determinations regarding the
issuance of student work permits. Yet by providing
principals with the statutory authority to issue work
permits, this bill creates the potential for
inequities in the issuance of work permits across
schools in the same district and reduces the authority
of superintendents and the boards who hire them.
3) Previous legislation . This bill is identical to the
enrolled version of
AB 2213 (Houston, 2008). AB 2213 was passed as
amended by this Committee on a 9-0 vote and
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subsequently vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with
the following veto message:
The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State
Budget has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to
my desk at the end of the year's legislative session.
Given the delay, I am only signing bills that are the
highest priority for California. This bill does not
meet that standard and I cannot sign it at this time.
In 2007, Senator Steinberg carried SB 406 to prevent
the issuance of work permits to those pupils whose
academic records indicate that working may lead to
school failure or the pupil dropping out of school.
SB 406 would have authorized certificated employees
who were designated by a district superintendent to
issue work permits and would have authorized a similar
process for private schools. SB 406 was vetoed by the
Governor with the following veto message:
Although I understand the author's desire to require
uniform statewide criteria for the issuance of work
permits, I believe that the determination of such
criteria is best left to the discretion of local
school boards. School boards are better suited to
determine the standards that meet the unique
circumstances of their students and their communities.
Moreover, given the State's current fiscal condition
it would not be prudent to approve a measure that
results in significant reimbursable state mandated
costs. Establishing voluntary statewide criteria that
could be used as guidelines for school districts would
provide necessary flexibility, without incurring the
associated state costs.
SUPPORT
Association of Christian Schools International
California Association of Private School Organizations
California Catholic Conference
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
California Homeschool Network
California Teachers Association
Capitol Resource Family Impact
Christian Home Educators Association of California
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Church State Council of Seventh-day Adventists
Homeschool Association of California
Individual private school consultant
Los Angeles Unified School District
Private and Home Educators of California
OPPOSITION
None received.