A work permit is usually approved by a school principal or another administrator designated by the principal. "During summer months or when school is not in session the work permit is obtained from the superintendent of the school district in which the minor resides," according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.
A new California law, AB 66, that went into effect on January 1, 2010, authorizes the principal of a public or private school---and a home school is considered a small private school---"to issue, or designate another administrator in the school to issue, work permits to pupils who attend the school." Although the de facto principal of some home schools is a parent, the new law prohibits a minor's parent from approving a work permit, requiring instead that the parent choose a designee to sign off on the document.
Having a parent designate a different administrator to issue the permit to their child, "was included in the bill by the author [Republican Assembly member Joel Anderson] as a perceived safeguard so that there would be a third person outside the family who would be able to objectively determine whether the student's job has a detrimental effect on his education," the Home School Legal Defense Association notes on its website."
California is currently working on a process for private school principals or administrators who issue work permits to self-certify with the state. In the meantime, call the California Department of Education at 916-319-0800 or your local school district to get a work permit for a home-schooled minor.
The new law allows a minor's work hours to be based "on the school calendar of the school the pupil attends," according to the law. Home-school children are not required to be taught for a full school day but must receive at least three hours of instruction daily for 175 days each calendar year between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m, according to the California Department of Education.