8.5 Schools, Students, and Teachers

The handbook says the state items cover all areas of the regulations and the act, and a large part of Chapter 7 governs schools of cosmetology. You trained in one, so these rules are also the rules that shaped your own 200 hours.

Who a school may enroll

Section 6(a)(1) of the Cosmetology Law lets a school enroll only students who have completed an 8th-grade education or its equivalent, or training through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, who are of good moral character, and who are free from contagious or infectious disease. The 10th-grade rule in Chapter 1 of this guide is a licensing requirement, not an enrollment requirement.

What a school must keep and report

The § 43b.5 schedule lists failure to maintain student records at $250 for a first offense and formal action for a second.

Staff, supervision, and ratio

Section 6 requires at least one teacher for every 25 students, and § 7.118(d) says the student/teacher ratio of a class taught for credit may not exceed 25 to 1, except for a guest lecture. A school must employ at least one full-time teacher, display each teacher's license conspicuously, and have a Pennsylvania-licensed physician on staff for consultation. Teachers of required courses hold a cosmetology teacher or limited practice teacher license.

Each school has exactly one supervisor, and one person may not supervise two schools at once. Another licensed teacher may serve as temporary supervisor for up to 3 months, and an absence longer than 2 weeks is reported to the Board in writing. Teachers and students wear washable uniforms, and the teacher's uniform must differ from the student's.

How hours are earned

Under § 7.122, a day-time student may earn at most 8 hours of credit per day and 40 hours per week. A night-time student may earn at most 4 hours per night and 20 hours per week when the school runs 5 nights a week. A student who mixes day and night sessions still earns no more than 8 hours in one day. Under § 7.123, students keep their stations clean and help with salon-type cleanup, but a school may not make them scrub floors, wash windows, or do janitorial work.

Students working on the public

Section 7 of the act allows students to work on the public only as clinical work on persons who have been told the operator is a student, and lets the school charge a reasonable fee approved by the Board. Section 7.120 adds the hour thresholds and the signs.

The fee is based on the reasonable cost of materials. A school that lets students work on the public displays at its entrance, in letters at least 2 inches high, the statements ALL WORK IN THE SCHOOL DONE BY STUDENTS ONLY and CHARGES FOR REASONABLE COST OF MATERIALS ONLY, plus a sign that it is a school of cosmetology. Advertising of student services must say the same things. Schools follow the same health and safety rules as salons under § 7.125.

Each nail technology student must have a polish kit, complete nail tools including emery boards, a pusher, and a brush, a carrying case, and a basic nail technology textbook under § 7.115(c).

Becoming a nail technology teacher

A limited practice teacher in nail technology may teach nail technology in a licensed school and perform nail technology services under § 7.12a(b). Under § 7.32b(b) and Section 4(c), the applicant must:

1. Be at least 18 years old.
2. Have completed a 12th-grade education or its equivalent.
3. Hold a current nail technician license.
4. Complete at least 500 hours in a cosmetology teacher or limited practice teacher curriculum in a licensed school.

Section 4(d) lets the applicant take the written examination after 400 of those hours. The recommended 500-hour teacher curriculum in § 7.129(c) is 300 hours of teaching techniques, 100 hours of student teaching, 25 hours of professional practices, and 75 hours of salon management theory.

Moving on to cosmetology

A nail technician who later trains as a cosmetologist receives credit for up to 100 hours toward the 1,250-hour cosmetology program under § 7.32d(c)(2), and must finish the full 1,250 hours, including the credited hours, within 4 consecutive years under § 7.32d(d). The 2,000-hour apprenticeship in Section 10 leads only to a cosmetologist license. There is no nail technician apprenticeship route.

Scenario: clinic floor at 40 hours

A school wants nail students with 40 hours to staff a busy weekend clinic, charging full salon prices, with one teacher for 30 students. Students with 40 hours may not yet work on the public, because § 7.120 requires 50 hours. The charge must reflect the reasonable cost of materials, the entrance needs the two student-work statements in letters at least 2 inches high, and 30 students need a second teacher to stay within 25 to 1.