Homeschool And Work Permits | How to Be Certified

Are you an homeschool parent finding yourself needing a work permit for your student to obtain a side job?

Labor laws and work permit requirements are different in every state. How can your child obtain a permit?

By State

Labor laws are made by state. Depending on where you live, the employment age will differ. You must take in consideration the type of Certificate Issued by each state. You want your student to at least have a 2.0 gpa, before considering them to work. You as the parent can make that decision.

Contents

The U.S. Department of labor has a break down by state that you can refer to listed here: Employment/Age Certificate | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov).

Work Permits in General

Only children who are employed under the age of 18 need a work permit.

Exceptions:

• If a student has graduated from high school or passed the California High School Proficiency Exam even if the student is under 18 years old.
• Self-employed minors.
• Minors working in agricultural or domestic jobs where their parents own, operate, or control the business.
• Minors who deliver newspapers, work at small jobs like yard work, baby-sitting, or in private homes where the minor is not regularly employed.

All work permits are issued individually. If your child or student has two jobs, both require a work permit, if they change jobs, a new permit must be submitted. The work permit is then valid for five days after the opening of the next school year.

If you are an HSLDA Member, they have tons of articles on obtaining an work permit as a homeschooler. However, the most important ones are only available to their members and have attorney advice per state. So this is an awesome perk for a membership there.

For the sake of this article, meant for homeschool parents looking for a work permit for their students, not for employers, I will give the basics. If you are enrolled in a Private Satellite School, like, Homeschool With Us, then they will help you obtain a work permit, and fill out the required forms. However, not all PSP’s offer a work permit due to the certification process. If this is your case, keep reading below to see where you can obtain yours.

Where Can I Get a Permit?

Mostly, principals of a public or private school must self-certify that they understand the laws related to work permits, before they can issue work permits to students enrolled in their schools. The principal may also authorize another administrator to issue the permits, especially if it is their own child that needs a permit (principals and administrators cannot issue permits to their own children). This means that most students will obtain a work permit from their own schools.

Homeschool

If your child can not get a work permit from their school, you have two options:

1. They can obtain a permit from the  superintendent of the school district in which the student resides.
2. Any work experience education teacher or person who holds a services credential with a specialization in pupil personnel services, so long as the person issuing the permit has written authorization by the school district superintendent to issue permits.

Exceptions would be if you don’t live in an area under a school district authority, then you can access a permit from your county superintendent of schools or any certificated work experienced education teacher or coordinator, or any person who holds a services credential with a specialization in pupil personnel services. However, that person giving out the permit, must be authorized by the county superintendent of schools in writing.

What does this mean for my homeschooler?

Parents are not allowed to issue work permits to their own children. The permits must be from a school administrator who is not their own parent.

If your child is enrolled in a public school program of any sort or a charter school, they can simply go to the administration there.

If you are not in a PSP or charter school, obtain your Childs work permit in the ways described earlier.

Similar, you can ask an additional administrator to issue permits. The HSLDA advises that, “Nothing in the law prohibits a private school from adding new administrators at any time. Thus, a homeschool parent who is the principal of his own family-sized school could add an administrator to his school staff. In order for the new administrator to issue permits, he must meet the self-certification process and must be authorized by the principal (you or your spouse) to issue permits.”

See their article for more help, if you want to know about certification process and more. Or you can contact us for help, and acquire a homeschool consultation.

Additional Information

For your benefit, below we have attached some important information you can use in obtaining your students permit.

For additional information, visit:

Home | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)

Division of Labor Standards Enforcement – Home Page (ca.gov)

U.S. Department of labor

Employment/Age Certificate | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov).

Here are Some important documents and forms:

To access documents to this article you must login and have either a homeschool membership or be a part of California Homeschool Academy PSP.

You can also purchase ($10) this article below for access to files.

[swpm_payment_button id=7466]

Work Permit Handbook for California Schools

This is the California Department of Education’s guide to laws and regulations that govern the employment of minors.

California Form B1-1

Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit. Click image.

California Form B1-4

Permit to Employ and Work. Click Image

California Form B1-8

Statement of Intent for Self-Certification for Permit to Employ and Work. Click image.

We hope this article has helped you! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

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