References:OSHA, UOSHA, Fair Labor Standards Act, Utah SB 28,Federal Child Labor Laws

Purpose:

To implement State Board of Education rules which direct the Weber School District Board of Education to implement a policy regarding work-based learning programs for secondary school students. To provide direction to schools as they provide work-based learning programs and to establish criteria.

Definition of Terms:

1. Cooperative Education means a structured method of instruction in basic workplace learning. It is designed as a beginning work experience where high school students practice basic skills of appropriate employer/employee relations, teamwork, customer service, and work assignment responsibilities. The work assignment should relate to the student’s career goal or academic preparation and goals. It is a paid experience.
2. Internship means a structured method of instruction whereby students train with an employer for an occupation relative to the occupational interest, academic preparation, and career goal. An employer site mentor supervises the student intern in workplace activities. Activities may include learning a variety of skills related to different job stations/levels within an occupation, participation in a company special project, or learning advanced skills to a specific single occupation. It is an unpaid experience and the training student is referred to as a student intern.
3. Job Shadowing means an opportunity for a student to follow an employee at a company for part(s) of one or more days to learn about a particular occupation or job assignment. It may be implemented in context with a particular course of study.
4. Service Learning means a method of instruction which combines community service with a structured school-based opportunity emphasizing the connections between service experiences and academic learning.
5. Work-based Learning means activities that involve actual work experience or connect classroom learning to workplace learning.
6. School-based Enterprise means a business set up on a school site and run by supervised students. Students learn to apply “practical” skills in the production of goods or services for sale or use by others.
7. Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP) means a primary strategy for recognizing student accomplishments and strengths and for planning, monitoring, and managing education and career development in grades 7-12. This is achieved through an ongoing partnership involving students, parents, school counselors, and other school personnel.  
8. Worksite or Workplace means the actual location where employment/training occurs for a particular occupation(s), or an environment that simulates all aspects/elements of that employment, for instance, school-based enterprises.
9. Parent(s) is the person(s) who has legal guardianship responsibilities for the student.

Policy

Under the direction of the superintendent, school principals are authorized to administer this policy in their respective schools. Work-based learning opportunities include, but may not be limited to: Job Shadowing, Internship, Cooperative Education, Service Learning, and School-based Enterprise, 

1. Student Eligibility
   • 1.1 For work-based learning activities, except possibly job shadowing, the Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP) is used as a qualifying indicator for students to participate in a work-based learning experience. The SEOP indicates a student’s occupational interest and classroom preparation for a community site training experience in a selected career field. Eligible students participate on a “space available” basis.
   • 1.2 Prior to or concurrently with work-based learning, students are to receive instruction on pre-selected objectives derived from the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report and/or from the Utah State Office of Education critical workplace skills curriculum.
2. Student Records
   The following documents must be completed and on file at the school for students participating in work-based learning (exceptions may apply to students participating in job shadowing):
   • SEOP
   • Student Application
   • Documentation of SCANS and/or critical workplace skills curricula
   • Student Job Activities Grid and Worksite Assessment/Evaluation
   • Training Agreement signed between student, parent(s), employer, and education institution
   • Student Work Record
   • Student Evaluation
3. Training for Students, Student Supervisors, and Cooperating Employers regarding Health Hazards and Safety Procedures in the Workplace
   • 3.1 Work-based learning coordinator will inform students of safety and health hazards in the workplace prior to the student leaving the school.
   • 3.2 Employers will assure a safe work environment and will discuss all safety issues or concerns with the education supervisor during a review of the work site and prior to the student work-based learning experience.
4. Approval of Cooperating Employers and Off-Campus Work Sites
   School site coordinator will ensure that all employers desiring to participate in the School-to-Careers program whether public or private, satisfy the following requirements, and agree to abide by such requirements in writing before students can be assigned to an employer’s off-campus work site through the School-to-Careers program.
   • 4.1 Accessibility: The off-campus work site must be in compliance with relevant provisions of the American with Disabilities Act, regarding access to individuals with disabilities.
   • 4.2 Safety: The off-campus work site must be in compliance with the applicable safety codes, especially those outlined in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Act (UOSHA)
   • 4.3 Hazardous Occupations: According to the Industrial Commission of Utah and the Child Labor Requirement in Nonagricultural Occupations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the following activities are deemed to be hazardous occupation activities:
     • 4.3 A. Manufacturing and storing explosives;
     • 4.3 B. Motor-vehicle driving and outside helper;
     • 4.3 C. Coal mining;
     • 4.3 D. Logging and saw milling;
     • 4.3 E. Power-driven woodworking machines;
     • 4.3 F. Exposure to radioactive substances;
     • 4.3 G. Power-driven hoisting apparatus;
     • 4.3 H. Power-driven metal-forming
     • 4.3 I. Mining, other than coal mining;
     • 4.3 J. Slaughtering, or meat-packing, processing, or rendering;
     • 4.3 K. Power-driven bakery machines;
     • 4.3 L. Manufacturing brick, tile, and kindred products;
     • 4.3 M. Power-driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears;
     • 4.3 N. Wrecking, demolition, and ship breaking operations;
     • 4.3 O. Roofing operations;
     • 4.3 P. Excavation operations.
       
       The employer shall not allow any student to participate in these activities unless
       
       • it provides careful supervision as defined in this policy;
       • the student is at least 16 years of age;
       • the student has taken or is taking a state and District-approved vocational program related to the on-the-job training provided at the work site; and
       • the student has signed an apprenticeship agreement and furnished a copy of the agreement to the Industrial Commission of Utah.
   • 4.4 Supervision: The employer must provide appropriate supervision for the student at all times.
   • 4.5 Child labor laws: The employer must adhere to all applicable state and federal child labor laws.
   • 4.6 Wage laws: The employer must adhere to all applicable state and federal wage laws.
   • 4.7 Discrimination: The employer must comply with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws, and prohibit discrimination against students and other employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, render, religion, age, or disability in its treatment and assignment of students to jobs, hours of employment, levels of responsibility, and pay.
5. Student Transportation
   • 5.1 Students participation in school-organized career awareness field trips are transported by school district-approved carriers.
   • 5.2 Students participating in work-based learning programs (except as noted in 5.1), the determination of the method of transporting students to and from the work site is the parents’ responsibility.
6. Supervision and Evaluation by Employers
   • 6.1 Supervision: All cooperating employers shall provide appropriate supervision for students working at an off-campus work site as part of their School-to-Careers program. In the case of hazardous occupations, the employer or organization shall provide “careful supervision” defined as “training safeguards and supervision reasonable necessary in light of an apprentice’s current level of preparation and experience relative to a given task considered hazardous.”
   • 6.2 Training: The cooperating employer shall provide a training program, with varied experiences, which will contribute to the education of the student.
   • 6.3 Evaluation: The cooperating employer shall complete an evaluation, provided by the coordinating school personnel, of the student on a regular basis. Upon completing the evaluation, the employer will notify cooperating school personnel and schedule a conference with school staff and the student. The evaluation shall be shared with the student to identify student skills that may need improvement, objectives that remain to be reached, changes that may be needed in the training agreement, and progress the student has made.
7. Supervision and Evaluation By School Personnel
   • 7.1 The school site coordinator will:
     • 7.1 A. Approve the cooperating employer and work site;
     • 7.1 B. Visit and assist the employer in establishing an appropriate training program;
     • 7.1 C. Conduct regular observations of the student on the job;
     • 7.1 D. Coordinate with the employer on the evaluation of the student (final evaluation is the prerogative of the school);
     • 7.1 E. Provide meaningful in-school instruction related to the employment/training activities of the student;
     • 7.1 F. Monitor the student’s academic progress and provide notice to the student and the student’s parent or guardian when the student’s in-school work related to the student’s work experience (school-based learning component) drops below a C level;
     • 7.1 G. Inform student about safety and health hazards in the workplace prior to the student’s placement in an off-campus work site and how to obtain initial treatment for work-related injuries;
     • 7.1 H. Cooperate with the employer to jointly provide ongoing safety training to the student;
     • 7.1 I. Instruct students participating in unpaid internships or paid work experience how to file and Employee’s First Report of Injury and other applicable forms in the event of a work-related injury;
     • 7.1 J. Make every reasonable attempt to solve problems at the local level by involving the cooperating employer or organization, the student’s parent/guardian, student, and community.
8. Insurance coverage
   • 8.1 For paid work employment, work injuries and occupational disease insurance benefits are covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation.
   • 8.2 For unpaid work experiences, work injuries and occupational disease insurance benefits are covered by the local educational agency’s workers’ compensation as specified by Utah SB 28.
   • 8.3 The determination of additional insurance coverage for the student is the parents’ responsibility.
9. Appropriate Supervision and Evaluation of the Student by the Local Education Agency
   The education supervisor will:
   • 9.1 approve the cooperating employer work site and training,
   • 9.2 inform students of safety and health hazards in the workplace prior to the student leaving the school,
   • 9.3 assure “careful supervision” of the student at the training site,
   • 9.4 coordinate with the employer on student training and evaluation.
   • 9.5 students will be placed in training sites under careful supervision and in accordance with Federal Child Labor Laws.
10. Appropriate Involvement and Approval by the Student’s Parent(s) in the Work-based Learning Program
    The parent(s) will:
    • 10.1 partner with the school, school counselor, school personnel, student, by participating in the SEOP process,
    • 10.2 support the student’s participation in the work-based learning program,
    • 10.3 determine the method of transporting students to and from the work site,
    • 10.4 assume responsibility for the student’s released time from school.

Approved by the Board 12/03/2003