PALATKA, Fla. — For Putnam County School District Superintendent Rick Surrency, his high school experience was very similar to some of his current students.
"I raised cattle, so I did both, I was involved in athletics and everything and you know, I learned I guess just buy the old work ethic that you had to balance that," Surrency told First Coast News.
Working full-time and going to school is something that's been a hot topic in the Florida Legislature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on House Bill 49, keeping the 30-hour workweek limit for 16 and 17-year-olds when school is in session. What’s new is that now parents, guardians and school superintendents have the ability of waiving the 30-hour limit. The new law will also allow 16 and 17-year-olds to get a 30-minute break after four hours of work when working a shift that’s eight hours or more.
“If we see that work is interfering with their schooling, whether they're staying up late at night working or anything like that, I think that warrants a conversation with the school and the parents,” Surrency said.
Surrency sees this law benefiting all of the students involved with the school district's co-op programs, who are working towards their post-graduation plans.
"They can also work weekends, and more hours outside of school, according to the statute, so I think the kids are going to benefit from this because it could possibly give them more credit," Surrency said. "It will benefit them by having the ability to work more hours possibly towards their program. So, I see that as a positive. Again, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their other schooling," he said.
Unfortunate to some, the new law still protects students from overworking themselves outside of school hours.
“There are some dire situations and I think that we have resources available in our community," Surrency told First Coast News. "There's numerous governmental agencies, our school does have ways we can help them."
The law will go into effect July 1st.