Proposed child-labor-rule changes--the most ambitious in 30 years--would carve out a permanent exemption to U.S. Department of Labor regulations for the work-study program run by a national network of Roman Catholic high schools. The program is a requirement of the Chicago-based Cristo Rey Network, which now has 12 high schools around the country targeting low-income, mostly minority students in grades 9-12 with their sights set on college. Under the Cristo Rey-style model that the department has proposed, students in any qualifying public or private school could work up to eight hours a day during some school days--more than double the time now permitted for 14- and 15-year-olds. As the proposal is now worded, "academically oriented" 14- and 15-year-olds could work for up to 18 hours in some weeks. Students in department-approved programs would still have to attend classes for at least the minimum number of hours required by their states. It is unclear how many other schools might take advantage of a Cristo Rey-style work-study program. The Labor Department proposal does not spell out what would qualify students as "academically oriented," except requiring that they be "enrolled in a college-preparatory program."