Michigan Health Science Pathways: Barriers and What High School Can Deliver

How much of the health career path a high school can deliver

You can deliver most of the classroom side of a health science pathway inside a Michigan high school. Curriculum, CPR and safety certifications, medical terminology and anatomy are within reach, and so is the nurse aide (CNA) credential, which has no state minimum age. What you cannot deliver before graduation is set by law and by your clinical partners: every Michigan EMS license requires age 18, and hospitals and nursing homes decide whether they accept students under 18 at all.

The practical question for your district is which pieces of the path a student can finish by graduation, and which pieces you can only start.

Plan the sequence so students reach clinical sites with every prerequisite already documented, and time age-gated credentials close to graduation.

This resource is general information, not legal advice. Last checked Oct. 3, 2026.

How Michigan health science programs are set up

Program codes. MDE’s Health Science cluster has three program codes: 51.0000 Health Sciences/Allied Health, 51.1000 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science, and 26.0102 Biomedical Sciences. On MDE’s December 2025 list, only 51.0000 is open to new program applications; 51.1000 and 26.0102 are closed. Nurse aide, EMT, medical assisting and similar tracks run inside 51.0000. (Confirmed)

Approval and monitoring. You apply through the MDE CTE Portal in the CIP Self-Review format, with CEPD sign-off before MDE OCTE review. After approval, each CEPD administrator reviews 20% of CTE programs each year, and every program must be reviewed at least once every five years under OCTE’s Technical Review, Assistance and Compliance (TRAC) process. (Confirmed)

Teachers. The teacher of record needs a teaching certificate with a CTE endorsement matched to the program (R 390.1161) or an Annual Career Authorization (ACA). Under MCL 380.1233b, the district applies for an ACA when it cannot hire a certified, endorsed teacher. The candidate needs a high school diploma and 2 cumulative years of professional experience in the field within the past 10 years, with licensure where the field requires it. MDE states the experience rule as 4,000 hours. (Confirmed; how MDE converts 2 years to hours: Confirm with the agency) A nurse aide program also needs a LARA-permitted trainer: a Michigan RN with 2 years of RN work in the last 5, including 1 in long-term care (R 400.321).

Curriculum. The National Consortium for Health Science Education publishes the National Health Science Standards: 11 standards with a four-course framework (August 2022). The Tri-Council for Nursing issued a letter of support for the standards on March 15, 2024. PLTW Biomedical Science offers a four-course sequence; taught as local electives outside a state-approved program, PLTW courses cannot use Michigan’s statutory credit substitutions. HOSA-Future Health Professionals is the health science student organization. (Confirmed)

Academic credit. A department-approved formal CTE program completed in full can replace the third science credit and other credits under MCL 380.1278a and 380.1278b. Michigan has no statewide CTE-to-academic crosswalk. The S4IS CTE Crosswalk prototype (Product A) is available as interim guidance, but its Health Sciences to Biology entry is an illustrative draft (version 0.1); validate it against the current 51.0000 competencies and Michigan biology standards before your board acts on it. Keep chemistry and biology as courses for students headed to nursing or other four-year health programs, because each university sets its own admission expectations.

Nurse aide training: hours, permits, age and continuing education

Hours. R 400.335 sets a 75-hour minimum: 16 classroom hours, 16 clinical hours, and 43 more hours in any mix of classroom, lab or clinical time. The 16 classroom hours come before any direct resident contact. Clinical and lab hours are in person; classroom hours may be virtual if students can interact with a nurse aide trainer. This matches the federal floor (42 CFR 483.152). LARA’s program overview places the 16 clinical hours in a long-term care setting with a permitted trainer on site. (Confirmed)

Permits. LARA’s Bureau of Community and Health Systems issues a program permit tied to one location, through MI-NATES. The fee is $100 for a secondary education institution or nursing home and $300 for other programs. Permits last two years and expire July 31 of even years. LARA processes a complete application within 30 days and surveys the site within 60, so plan about 90 to 150 days for this step. (Confirmed)

Age. Michigan sets no minimum age to train or test as a nurse aide. Clinical hosts and college partners set their own: Lake Michigan College, which runs a CNA course at the Allegan Tech Center, requires students to be at least 17. Students get three exam attempts; after a third failure they repeat a full program. (Confirmed) Confirm each host’s age rule in writing before you schedule a cohort.

Continuing education. Since March 23, 2026, a CNA whose registry certification expires on or after that date must complete at least 12 hours of continuing education per year, 24 hours per two-year renewal period (R 400.315). Each cycle must include at least one course each on abuse, neglect and care planning. LARA accepts the 12 hours of annual in-service training that federal rules already require of nurse aides in certified nursing homes (42 CFR 483.95(g)), but every CNA still needs a separate care-planning course. Employer in-service counts when the employer documents it. (Confirmed: LARA CE FAQ revised April 20, 2026)

Tell your graduates about this requirement. A student who certifies at 17 and works part time must keep the CE record to renew.

Bloodborne pathogens, minors and the MIOSHA standard

What Part 554 is. MIOSHA Part 554, Bloodborne Infectious Diseases (R 325.70001 and following, amended 2021), is Michigan’s workplace standard for blood and other potentially infectious materials. It applies to employers whose employees have occupational exposure. It requires:

• an exposure determination that sorts jobs into exposed and not exposed categories;
• a written exposure control plan;
• hepatitis B vaccination made available within 10 working days of assignment to an exposed job;
• training at initial assignment and at least annually;
• personal protective equipment at no cost;
• confidential post-exposure evaluation and follow-up at no cost. (Confirmed)

Part 554 itself sets no age limit. It protects employees, so it does not cover an unpaid student in a clinical rotation.

Where the age rule comes from. The age limit is a youth employment rule, not a MIOSHA rule. LEO’s Youth Employment Standards Act table of restricted work (WHD 9934, revised October 2023) lists bloodborne pathogen exposure as prohibited for ages 14 and 15. At 16 and 17, a minor “may work in occupations that are likely to have exposure to bloodborne pathogens, provided the employer is in full compliance with MIOSHA standard 554.” The table gives no rule number for this row; it rests on the department’s authority to restrict hazardous work under MCL 409.103. (Confirmed: LEO table. Legal basis: Confirm with the agency)

What this means for your program.

• A paid nurse aide job at 16 or 17 is allowed only with an employer that fully complies with Part 554. A 15-year-old cannot be employed in an exposure job.
• An unpaid clinical rotation is training, not employment, so neither Part 554 nor the youth employment table applies directly. The host’s own infection control policy and your affiliation agreement govern. Write into the agreement who provides exposure training, who pays for post-exposure testing and hepatitis B follow-up, and whether your student accident policy covers clinical exposures.
• Federal Hazardous Occupations Order 7 treats powered patient lifts as hoists. Paid workers under 18 may assist with them only under DOL’s enforcement position in Field Assistance Bulletin 2011-3, and never operate them alone. (Confirmed)
• A student placed under a written school-employer agreement (MCL 409.118) is outside the state youth employment act, but federal rules still apply. Whether such a placement needs a permit through LEO’s Youth Employment Permit Portal, live since October 2, 2026, is open. (Confirm with the agency)

EMS licensure at 18 and pending bills

The rule. MCL 333.20950 bars practice as a medical first responder, emergency medical technician, EMT specialist, paramedic or instructor-coordinator without a license, and lets MDHHS issue a license only to an individual 18 or older. The age rule covers every level, including medical first responder (EMR). (Confirmed)

What a high school can deliver. A high school or tech center can be an MDHHS-approved EMS education program sponsor. The EMT course is at least 194 hours, including 32 clinical hours. NREMT has had no minimum age since 2019, and a course completion is valid for NREMT testing for two years. A student can finish the course in high school but cannot hold a Michigan license until 18. Place EMT in grade 12, timed near the student’s 18th birthday. An EMR course in grade 11 is not a licensure route. Kent Career Tech Center’s EMT students ride at least 36 hours on an ambulance. (Confirmed)

Pending bills. HB 5488 (Rep. Witwer) and HB 5489 (Rep. Prestin) would allow licensure of medical first responders and EMTs at 17. Both were introduced and referred to House Health Policy on January 29, 2026, are tie-barred to each other, and show a last recorded action of February 3, 2026. Press reports a committee hearing on September 23, 2026, with no vote. (Changing) Do not plan on either bill.

Clinical placements: HIPAA, background checks, agreements and ACEMAPP

HIPAA. Students in a clinical rotation are inside HIPAA, not outside it. The federal definition of workforce includes “employees, volunteers, trainees, and other persons whose conduct, in the performance of work for a covered entity … is under the direct control of such covered entity … whether or not they are paid” (45 CFR 160.103). HHS also treats supervised training programs as health care operations, and a covered entity may let trainees see patient information, up to entire records, within its minimum necessary policies (HHS FAQ 209). The host must train new workforce members on its privacy policies within a reasonable time after they join (45 CFR 164.530(b)); in practice, sites require that training before a student has any access. (Confirmed)

So the real gates are the host’s policies, the affiliation agreement and onboarding. Records your school keeps about its students stay FERPA education records; patient information a student sees at the site stays the host’s HIPAA responsibility. You need FERPA consent from a parent before you share a minor’s education records with the host.

Background checks. Michigan’s long-term care criminal history law, MCL 333.20173a, bars covered facilities from employing, independently contracting with, or granting clinical privileges to people with listed criminal history who have regular direct access to patients or residents. It does not name students, trainees or volunteers. The practical gate is facility policy: many facilities run students through the state Workforce Background Check anyway. Ask your host in writing whether it requires a check for students and how it processes a student under 18. (Confirm with the agency: LARA BCHS)

Affiliation agreements. Michigan’s nurse aide rules do not require a written clinical agreement and set no trainer-to-student ratio, so put both in the agreement yourself. Common terms cover supervision, student health records (TB, hepatitis B, MMR, varicella, flu), background check and drug screen, insurance, indemnification within your district’s legal limits, removal of a student, exposure response and termination with time for enrolled students to finish. Hosts often require a parent signature on confidentiality and release forms for students under 18 (examples: HCA’s school affiliation agreement and Intermountain Health’s under-18 packet). Agree in writing on who pays for each requirement.

ACEMAPP. ACEMAPP is a web platform from the Michigan Health Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It launched in 2008 to manage scarce clinical rotation slots in southeast Michigan and now coordinates placements nationally. It offers schools and clinical sites shared onboarding, HIPAA, OSHA and bloodborne pathogen modules, document storage, e-signatures and progress tracking, and it markets a high school use. ACEMAPP’s pages do not describe its pricing for schools or its handling of minor consent, and how many Michigan high schools use it is not published. Ask your intended host which platform it uses before you choose one. (Confirm with the Michigan Health Council)

Michigan program examples and a Texas comparison

These examples show how Michigan districts structure health science programs. Figures are what each program reports on its own pages.

The common thread is a formal anchor partner. Henry Ford Early College works because one health system is a co-designer, not a host found course by course. Where you lack that partner, a college partner (as the Allegan Tech Center has with Lake Michigan College) can supply the clinical relationships and the permitted program.

Texas comparison. Northside ISD’s Health Careers High School in San Antonio is a standalone health magnet. It reports rankings of 16th in Texas and 137th nationally (U.S. News, 2025), two concentration areas (Health Diagnostics and Healthcare Therapeutic), clinical sites including University Hospital and UT Health Science Center, and $14.4 million in scholarship offers to the Class of 2025. Michigan’s capacity sits instead in shared-time ISD career centers and early colleges, which reach more districts but rely on each center building its own clinical partnerships.

Labor market. In a March 2024 American Health Care Association survey of 441 member nursing homes (descriptive), 95% reported open nurse aide positions. Use Michigan’s Hot 50 (2026 edition) and regional data for program justification.

Review status and sources

Status: Revised and verified Oct. 3, 2026 from a July 2026 draft. 51 claims checked: 19 confirmed, 13 corrected, 8 new findings, 6 unconfirmed (left out of the text), 5 removed. This resource is general information, not legal advice. Dollar amounts, bill status and agency guidance change; recheck before use.

Sources:

• MDE OCTE, Career Clusters and CIP Codes (Dec. 2025)
• MDE OCTE, Monitoring (CIP Self-Review and TRAC)
• MCL 380.1233b, Annual Career Authorization
• Advance CTE, National Health Science Standards and Framework
• NCHSE, Tri-Council for Nursing letter of support (Mar. 15, 2024)
• R 400.335, nurse aide program hours (LII)
• LARA, Nurse Aide Training Program (permit fees and term)
• LARA, Nurse Aide Training Program Overview and Requirements (June 2023)
• LARA, Michigan Nurse Aide Continuing Education FAQ (rev. Apr. 20, 2026)
• Lake Michigan College, Certified Nurse Aide
• R 325.70001, MIOSHA Part 554 scope (LII)
• MIOSHA Fact Sheet, Bloodborne Infectious Diseases (rev. Feb. 20, 2023)
• LEO, YESA Work Activities Prohibited or Restricted, WHD 9934 (rev. Oct. 2023)
• LEO, Youth Employment Permit Portal
• MCL 333.20950, EMS licensure
• HB 5488 of 2026 and HB 5489 of 2026
• Michigan Advance, bills would allow 17-year-old EMTs (Sept. 23, 2026)
• MDHHS, EMS Initial Education Requirements and Objectives (Apr. 2026)
• NREMT, EMT Full Education Program pathway
• MCL 333.20173a, long-term care criminal history checks
• 45 CFR 160.103 (LII) and 45 CFR 164.530 (LII)
• HHS, HIPAA FAQ 209 (trainee access)
• HHS and ED, Joint Guidance on FERPA and HIPAA (Dec. 2019)
• ACEMAPP, About Us and Michigan Health Council, ACEMAPP
• ACEMAPP, Using ACEMAPP for High School Students (Nov. 25, 2024)
• Clay County School Board and HCA, School Affiliation Agreement (2023)
• Intermountain Health, under-18 clinical student forms
• Wilson Talent Center, Healthcare programs
• OSTC, All CTE Programs and OSTC Early College Programs
• Kent Career Tech Center and KCTC Health Sciences
• Dearborn Public Schools, Henry Ford Early College and Henry Ford Health, Early College FAQs
• Henry Ford College, HFEC named National Blue Ribbon School (2021)
• Northside ISD, Health Careers High School
• AHCA, State of the Nursing Home Sector (2024)