Working parents know covering those hours after school or on days off can be tough, not to mention expensive. A new bill proposes “legislation to align the school day with the work day to better support working families.”

Senator Kamala Harris, one of the bill’s leading sponsors, says:

“My mother raised my sister and me while working demanding, long hours. So, I know firsthand that, for many working parents, juggling between school schedules and work schedules is a common cause of stress and financial hardship. But, this does not have to be the case. My bill provides an innovative solution that will help reduce the burden of child care on working families. It is time we modernize the school schedule to better meet the needs of our students and their families.”

Mother Jones points out the “burden typically falls to women,” a hardship that is “particularly pronounced for low-income mothers and mothers of color, who are the most likely to have unpredictable or inflexible work schedules.”

Harris’ camp points out:

The Family Friendly Schools Act will create a first-of-its-kind pilot program to give schools resources to stay open during the entire work day throughout the school year and to invest over $1 billion in enriching summer learning programs – all without forcing teachers to work longer hours or for less pay. 

Mother Jones adds that this is, “A pilot program that gives money to 500 schools that serve a high proportion of low-income families to develop a school schedule that better matches the work schedule. Each recipient school would receive up to $5 million dollars over five years to keep their doors open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no closures except for weekends, federal holidays, and emergencies.” 

Clearly making this a reality won’t be easy. There are also questions about whether a longer day is truly the answer. One Twitter user, Ingrid Meyers, remarked:

I think it’s reasonably well developed for an existing gap, but given the research on productivity by hours worked, I wish we were solving the other side of the equation (parents working away from home) first. I’d rather have those couple hours back with my kid.

But others are pointing out this bill doesn’t make a longer day mandatory, it simply helps the parents who need someone to cover the extra hours.

For Gods sake everyone Kamala Harris is not trying to make your kids go to school until 6 pm! She wants to fund aftercare programs of the kind that already exist in public schools with affluent PTAs.

— Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn) November 6, 2019

The bill was co-sponsered by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).