I am preparing to introduce legislation that will amend our state Child Labor Act to remove the prohibition on 16 and 17 year-old minors working during the school hours of their local school district.

This simple change will make our state law much more consistent with federal child labor law, and it will open up employment opportunities for older minors in flexible schooling arrangements.

Many students who are juniors and seniors in high school have significant flexibility in their schooling arrangements.  Homeschool and cyber school students can generally complete their studies around their own schedule, and public and private school students in dual-enrollment arrangements may have large blocks of time during the school day where they do not need to attend school to complete their studies.

By bringing our state law in line with federal law, these students will be able to gain employment experience and participate in opportunities which might not otherwise be available to them.  For example, a 17 year-old high school senior could participate in an internship in a professional setting that does not typically work nights or weekends, or a student in a cyber school could work part-time during the day and complete their school work in the evening. 
 
The best form of workforce development is getting employment experience earlier in life.  I believe that this commonsense change will provide the next generation of Pennsylvania’s workforce with a much broader range of opportunities than under the limitation in our state law that exists today.

I hope you will join me as a cosponsor.