A bill now before the General Assembly is a valiant attempt to inject some common sense into the issue of employment for high-school students. It’s a good idea with one significant flaw.

Any business owner who employs youth understands the challenge of sorting through the various state and federal employment regulations involved, and sometimes a commitment to do the right thing isn’t enough. The ‘right thing,’ in this instance, is to provide safe and useful work experience that pays a worthwhile wage while emphasizing the value of education.

That link between school and education is vitally important. It illustrates the applications of principles students are learning in school and provides some incentive for actually understanding them rather than just memorizing enough information to pass a test. It demonstrates that flipping burgers and mowing lawns can get old really fast, and that improved skills translate into more fulfilling and lucrative employment. It provides lessons in the value of money and the fact that it’s much more easily spent than earned.

Those are lessons every student should learn, and local employers make an honest effort to create employment opportunities that meet the needs of students. Responsible adults recognize the value of balancing school, work and the business of being a kid. Employers who take advantage of students undoubtedly do exist, but far more common are those who are doing their best but can’t quite figure out what the law requires.

House Bill 1347, by Rep. Don Lee, R-Littleton, attempts to sort out the confusion. It would bring state law into line with federal regulations, for example, and clearly delineate what’s permissible and what’s not.

Unfortunately, the practices that would be allowed under the bill include nine-hour work days and 48-hour work weeks. That might not sound onerous to legislators who are accustomed to long hours, but they need to remember that a student’s work hours take place in addition to 35-hour school week, plus homework and extracurricular activities.

Learning should be students’ primary occupation. Young people will have many years during which they can decide how to prioritize their lives. If they want to work 80-hour weeks, they can do so. If they want to choose income-producing activities over any other way of spending their time, that’s their decision. But during their high-school years, that decision should be made for them by adults who realize that there’s more to life than money.

Child-labor laws should be written with that philosophy in mind. Money for college is important (although it’s next to impossible for a student to actually earn enough to pay for college). That first car is nice, and earning money for one’s own recreation and clothing is good way to teach responsibility. But school is children’s work, and it’s the foundation for all that comes afterward. Furthermore, students who don’t take advantage of the opportunities afforded by public education are less likely to be able to support themselves later on.