COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Local education agencies throughout the state are engaged in Cooperative Occupational Education Programs where students at least 14 years of age and older are being trained cooperatively by employers and these agencies. The programs employ various systems of alternating school classroom instruction with appropriate related on-the-job experience to help students realize their occupational goals.

Secondary education programs of this type must be approved by the State Education Department. It is important that each local program include specific health and safety instruction as part of a plan and agreement for each job placement. A trained, certified cooperative coordinator is responsible for the development of this plan, as well as for periodic visitations on the job and, in some programs, for school related instruction.

Participants 16 and 17 years of age may not be placed with any employer more than 6 hours per day or 28 hours per week. Participants l4 and l5 years old may not work more than three hours a day on school days. As in other work-experience programs, cooperative occupational education students under the age of 18 must obtain working permits and be paid according to the appropriate minimum wage orders. Participants l4 and l5 years old may not work during school hours without special permission.