CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 51760-51769.5
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 51760-51769.5
51760. The governing board of a district maintaining a high school
may do all of the following:
(a) Provide for the instruction of pupils in the skills,
attitudes, and understanding necessary to succeed in employment by
means of courses of work-based learning or work experience education
as provided in this article.
(b) Provide for guidance and supervision procedures designed to
ensure maximum educational benefit to pupils from placement in
suitable work-based learning or work experience education courses.
(c) Provide for arranging, approving, coordinating, and awarding
credit for work-based learning or work experience education courses,
and for those purposes employ instructors, coordinators, and other
necessary personnel.
(d) Provide for the district to purchase liability insurance for
pupils enrolled in programs of study involving work experience, which
may include work-based learning, or vocational education at
locations off school grounds approved by the governing board, or
require pupils to purchase insurance and to pass on all or a portion
of the costs, at the discretion of the governing board, to the
district.
51760.1. (a) Consistent with the most recent state plan on career
technical education, work-based learning opportunities for pupils may
be delivered by partnership academies conducted pursuant to Article
5 (commencing with Section 54690) of Chapter 9 of Part 29, regional
occupational programs, as defined in Section 52303, programs
established pursuant to Section 88532, and local educational
agencies, and may include, but are not limited to, work experience
education, as defined in Section 51764, community classrooms, as
defined in subdivision (c) of Section 52372.1, cooperative career
technical education programs, as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 52372.1, and job shadowing experience, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 51769.
(b) School districts and community colleges that receive funding
to provide career technical education programs pursuant to Section
52055.770 may include a work-based learning component in these
programs.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, school districts opting to
offer work-based learning opportunities to pupils enrolled in the
district shall ensure that, when applicable, pupils are afforded the
same statutory and regulatory safeguards as pupils in work experience
programs.
(d) For purposes of this section, "work-based learning" means an
educational approach or instructional methodology that uses the
workplace or real work to provide pupils with the knowledge and
skills that will help them connect school experiences to real-life
work activities and future career opportunities. When feasible,
work-based learning should be an integral part of a more
comprehensive program that integrates academic courses and career
technical education.
(e) High-quality work-based learning may include, but is not
limited to, any of the following:
(1) Emphasis on learning in the workplace.
(2) Exposure to a wide range of career areas and worksites in
order to help youth make informed choices about education, training
options, and career pursuits.
(3) Thoughtful placement of pupils into opportunities that are
evaluated for their safety, qualified supervision, and learning
opportunities.
(4) Appropriate sequencing of experiences based upon the pupil's
age and maturity, ranging from site visits and tours, job shadowing,
unpaid and paid internships, and paid work experience.
(5) Explicit aim to supplement, or systematically reinforce,
classroom instruction in technical courses, academic courses, or
both.
(6) Systematic attention to the development of 21st century
skills, such as communication, problem solving, teamwork, project
planning, and critical thinking.
(7) A trained mentor who structures the learning at the worksite.
(8) Coordination between the classroom teacher and the workplace
mentor or supervisor.
(9) Built-in regular assessment and feedback.
(10) Involvement of youth in choosing and structuring the
experience.
(11) Clear and measurable learning outcomes.
(f) School districts are encouraged to work with local workforce
investment board youth councils and workforce investment boards to
maximize the use of available resources for youth employment
opportunities by coordinating work-based learning opportunities and
facilitating work-based learning regional planning.
51760.2. Regional and local business organizations, in conjunction
with school districts and community colleges, and any other
representatives deemed appropriate, including, but not limited to,
industry representatives, research centers, and parents, may develop
principles and guidelines for the establishment of work-based
learning programs. If these organizations develop principles and
guidelines pursuant to this section, both of the following shall
occur:
(a) The organizations shall consider existing guidelines or
regulations relative to the programs described in subdivision (a) of
Section 51760.1, the state's most recent career technical education
plan, and the most current academic and career technical education
standards adopted by the state board.
(b) The guidelines shall include specific guidance to school
districts and community colleges on ensuring that a pupil's workplace
learning opportunities are linked directly to academic learning
objectives and provide the necessary skills for the pupil to use in
future employment or postsecondary education opportunities.
51760.3. The governing board of any school district offering work
experience education pursuant to the authority of Section 51760 shall
grant credit to pupils satisfactorily completing a work experience
education program, in an amount not to exceed a total of 40 semester
credits, of which no more than 10 credits may be conferred in any one
semester, provided the pupil meets all of the following
requirements:
(a) At the time of enrollment, the pupil is at least 16 years of
age. Pupils under the age of 16 years may receive credit for work
experience education under the following conditions:
(1) The pupil is enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade.
(2) The principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled
certifies that the pupil is in need of immediate work experience
education in order to pursue employment opportunities.
(3) The principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled
certifies that there is a probability that the pupil will no longer
be enrolled as a full-time pupil without being provided the
opportunity to enroll in a work experience education program.
(4) The pupil's individualized education program adopted pursuant
to the requirements of Part 30 (commencing with Section 56000),
prescribes the type of training for which participation in a work
experience program is deemed appropriate.
(b) During the course of the pupil's enrollment in the program,
the pupil receives as a minimum the equivalent of one instructional
period per week of classroom instruction or counseling by a
certificated employee. The instruction or counseling shall be offered
in sessions scheduled intermittently throughout the semester.
(c) The work experience education program meets all of the
requirements of law governing these programs.
51760.5. Notwithstanding Section 51760, attendance in work
experience classes or programs maintained by a regional occupational
center or regional occupational program shall not receive
apportionments from state funds based on average daily attendance
unless such classes or programs are in conformance with standards
adopted pursuant to Section 52372.
A student enrolled in a vocational education class using the
cooperative vocational education methodology conducted by a regional
occupational center or program shall not be credited with more than
15 hours of attendance in any calendar week for purposes of the
methodology.
51762. The Department of Education shall adopt any rules and
regulations necessary to implement the standards set by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, in order to maintain the
educational purpose and character of work experience education.
51762.5. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall adopt
standards for district plans required by subdivision (b) of Section
46300. The adopted standards shall include, but shall not necessarily
be limited to, all of the following:
(a) Selection and approval of work stations.
(b) Classroom instruction.
(c) Supervision of pupils.
(d) Formal training agreements.
(e) Paid and unpaid on-the-job work experience programs.
(f) Academic credit for participation in work experience education
programs.
51763. All laws or rules applicable to minors in employment
relationships are applicable to students enrolled in work experience
education courses.
51764. Work experience education as authorized by this article
includes the employment of pupils in part-time jobs selected or
approved as having educational value for the students employed
therein and coordinated by school employees.
51765. The governing board of any school district which establishes
and supervises a work experience education program in which mentally
retarded pupils are employed in part-time jobs may use funds derived
from any source, to the extent permissible by appropriate law or
regulation, to pay the wages of pupils so employed.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the authority
granted by the provisions of this section is necessary to ensure that
the work experience education program will continue to provide
maximum educational benefit to students, particularly mentally
retarded pupils, and that such program is deemed to serve a public
purpose.
51766. Work experience education involving apprenticeable
occupations shall be consistent with the purposes of Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 3070), Division 3 of the Labor Code and with
standards established by the California Apprenticeship Council.
51767. The governing board of any school district which maintains
one or more high schools may provide for the establishment and
supervision of work experience education programs in areas outside
the district, either within this state or in a contiguous state.
51768. The governing board of any school district providing work
experience and work study education may provide for employment under
the program of pupils in part-time jobs located in areas outside the
district, either within this state or in a contiguous state, and the
employment may be by any public or private employer. The districts
may pay wages to persons receiving the training whether assigned
within or without the district and may provide workers' compensation
insurance as may be necessary, but no payments may be made to or for
private employers. However, wages to individuals with exceptional
needs, as defined in Section 56026, may be paid to or for private
employers as part of work experience programs funded through the
annual Budget Act for these individuals.
51769. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code or the Labor
Code to the contrary, the school district, county superintendent of
schools, or any school administered by the State Department of
Education, under whose supervision work experience education,
cooperative vocational education, or community classrooms, as defined
by regulations adopted by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
or a job shadowing experience, as defined in subdivision (b), or
student apprenticeship programs registered by the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards of the Department of Industrial Relations
for registered student apprentices, are provided, shall be considered
the employer under Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) of the
Labor Code of persons receiving this training unless the persons
during the training are being paid a cash wage or salary by a private
employer, except in the case of registered student apprentices, when
the school district, county superintendent of schools, or any school
administered by the State Department of Education elects to provide
workers' compensation insurance, or unless the person or firm under
whom the persons are receiving work experience or occupational
training elects to provide workers' compensation insurance. A
registered student apprentice is a registered apprentice who is (1)
at least 16 years of age, (2) a full-time high school student in the
10th, 11th, or 12th grade, and (3) in an apprenticeship program for
registered student apprentices registered with the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards. An apprentice, while attending related and
supplemental instruction classes, shall be considered to be in the
employ of the apprentice's employer and not subject to this section,
unless the apprentice is unemployed. Whenever this work experience
education, cooperative vocational education, community classroom
education, or job shadowing, or student apprenticeship program
registered by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards for registered
student apprentices, is under the supervision of a regional
occupational center or program operated by two or more school
districts pursuant to Section 52301, the district of residence of the
persons receiving the training shall be deemed the employer for the
purposes of this section.
(b) For purposes of this section, "job shadowing experience" means
a visit to a workplace for the purpose of career exploration for no
less than three hours and no more than 25 hours in one semester,
intersession, or summer school session.
51769.5. Sections 1292, 1293, and 1294 of the Labor Code shall not
apply to work experience education programs established pursuant to
this article if all of the following occur:
(a) The work experience coordinator determines that the students
have been sufficiently trained in the employment or work otherwise
prohibited.
(b) Parental approval is obtained.
(c) The principal or the counselor of the student has determined
that the progress of the student toward graduation will not be
impaired.