Two jobs in one
The title says teacher, and the schooling is real: minors on a school day have to get their hours of instruction on set, often in a trailer or a corner of the stage with a folding table. The other half of the job carries more weight on the day. Under 8 CCR 11755.3, the studio teacher is responsible for "caring and attending to the health, safety and morals" of minors under 16. That includes watching working conditions, physical surroundings, and signs of fatigue, and it gives the teacher authority to refuse to let a minor work or to pull them off set. Only the Labor Commissioner can overrule that call.
Under 8 CCR 11762, a minor under 16 can't be sent to wardrobe, makeup, or hair, or employed in any way, unless they are under the general supervision of a studio teacher. A parent or guardian must also be present and within sight or sound of a minor under 16 at all times (8 CCR 11757). The teacher doesn't replace the parent.
Prep: permits, ages, and the schedule
The studio teacher, or the production coordinator with the teacher's input, checks paperwork before the minor's first day. That means a valid Entertainment Work Permit for the minor, the production's Permit to Employ Minors, and school information. See the minor work permit entry and the Coogan account entry for the money side.
Then the teacher reads the schedule. The allowed hours in 8 CCR 11760 are counted from arrival at the place of employment and change by age:
| Age | Max time at place of employment | Max work | School (when in session) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 days to 6 months | 2 hours | 20 minutes | n/a |
| 6 months to 2 years | 4 hours | 2 hours | n/a |
| 2 to 6 years | 6 hours | 3 hours | Balance is rest, recreation, and/or education |
| 6 to 9 years | 8 hours | 4 hours (6 when school is out) | At least 3 hours |
| 9 to 16 years | 9 hours | 5 hours (7 when school is out) | At least 3 hours |
| 16 to 18 years | 10 hours | 6 hours (8 when school is out) | At least 3 hours |
Meal periods are excluded from those hours, and a meal can't extend the day by more than half an hour (8 CCR 11761). Twelve hours must pass between a minor's dismissal and the next day's call. If the minor's regular school starts less than 12 hours after dismissal, the minor has to be schooled the next day at the employer's place of business. Travel from studio to location counts as work time, with a limited exception on overnight distant locations (8 CCR 11759).
A worked day for a 10-year-old
Scene 22 and Scene 23 have a 10-year-old day player on a school day. The child's clock starts at arrival:
- 7:30a: Arrive, sign in. The 9-hour limit means the child must be released by 4:30p, plus up to 30 minutes for lunch, so 5:00p
- 7:30a to 8:30a: School block 1 (1 hour)
- 8:30a to 10:30a: Hair, makeup, wardrobe, rehearsal, shoot Scene 22 (counted as work)
- 10:30a to 11:30a: School block 2
- 11:30a to 12:00p: Lunch (excluded)
- 12:00p to 2:30p: Shoot Scene 23 (work)
- 2:30p to 3:30p: School block 3
- 3:30p to 4:30p: Rest and recreation
- Totals: 4.5 hours of work (under 5), 3 hours of school, 1 hour of rest
The 1st AD builds the day around those blocks, and the teacher tracks the running totals. If Scene 23 runs 45 minutes long, the child passes the 5-hour work limit, so the AD team needs to know the count before that happens.
How many teachers you need
8 CCR 11755.2 sets the ratio at one studio teacher per 10 minors or fraction thereof. For minors under 16, it's one per 20 on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and school vacation periods. A Tuesday school scene with 23 minor background actors needs 3 teachers. The same scene on a Saturday needs 2. Infants have their own rule in 11760: a nurse and a studio teacher for every 3 or fewer babies from 15 days to 6 weeks old, and for every 10 or fewer from 6 weeks to 6 months.
Pay under Local 884
IATSE Local 884, The Studio Teachers, posts its rate sheet on its website. The sheet effective August 3, 2025 through August 1, 2026 lists an IATSE base rate of $68.97 an hour for studio and nearby location work, a daily rate of $551.76 with an 8-hour guarantee, and a weekly "on call" rate of $3,241.65. In studio, overtime is 1.5x after 8 hours and 2x after 12. An 11-hour studio day at those rates is 8 x $68.97 = $551.76, plus 3 x $103.46 = $310.38, for $862.14 before fringes. Call Local 884 dispatch to confirm the rates in effect after August 1, 2026.
How studio teachers get certified
8 CCR 11755 requires two valid California teaching credentials: one elementary-level credential (such as a Multiple Subject credential) and one secondary-level credential in English, math, social science, science, or a foreign language. The Labor Commissioner certifies studio teachers for up to three years, with a written exam on minor labor law and a 12-hour course, plus three hours of instruction at each renewal. Local 884 says it does not certify studio teachers and sends credentialing questions to the DLSE. For union work, roster and dual credential substitute list questions go through Contract Services.
Paperwork and tools
Work permits, the minor's sign-in and sign-out times, the teacher's daily log of work, school, and rest minutes, and school assignments from the minor's regular school. The call sheet should list minors' call times and the studio teacher by name. Storiara builds call sheets from the schedule with each actor's call time, which helps the AD team see where a minor's hours start before the teacher does the count.