Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) introduced a bill last week that would keep schools open for an extra three hours to reduce the burden of childcare on working families, reported Eyewitness News 3.
Harris reportedly wants to align the business workday with the school day.
The proposed bill, “Family Friendly Schools Act,” would keep elementary schools open until 6 p.m. Currently, most U.S. schools end their day around 3 p.m.
The legislation would create a first-of-its-kind pilot program that gives schools resources to stay open. This would keep the schools open for an extra three hours to better accommodate parents’ work schedules.
The bill would reportedly award a five-year grant to school districts that serve a high number of low-income families. The grant money would go towards electives in music, arts, athletics, writing, engineering, and other enrichment activities to help fill up the extended school day.
The bill states that it would “amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to local educational agencies to establish ‘Family Friendly School’ policies at 500 elementary schools that align the school day with the workday to better support working families and to disseminate the learnings from these model schools so that other local educational [agencies] may adopt these practices, and to establish a supplemental 21st century community learning centers grant program to support programs and activities during summer recess when school is not in session.”
Related: EPA Awards Clean School Bus Grants in Several States
Related: EPA Accepting Applications for DERA School Bus Rebates Program
Related: EPA Extends Clean Diesel Tribal Grant Applications Timeline
Related: STN EXPO: Discover School Bus Alt-Fuel Benefits of Clean Cities Programs
Related: EPA Announces DERA Funding Recipients
Related: California Lower-Emission School Bus Program Issues Revisions
Related: Atlanta-Area School District Receives EPA Grant for Propane Buses
Related: EPA to Propose New Standard on NOx Emissions
Related: EPA Grant Brings 4 Blue Bird Electric School Buses to New York District
Related: EPA Announces Latest School Bus Rebate Awards
