OPINION: Respectfully Senator Harris, America needs Family-Friendly Work Policies not Family-Friendly Schools

Originally appeared on MotherHonestly.com

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By Blessing Oyeleye, Founder Mother Honestly

This week, former Presidential Candidate and U.S Senator For California, Kamala Harris unveiled the Family-Friendly Schools Act that will extend kids’ school hours to 6pm. The bill intends to “align the school day with the work day to better support working families.” Senator Harris recalls that her mother raised her 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.” says Harris.

This bill proposes that school open from 8am and closes at 6pm, ensuring that kids will have some type of enrichment classes even on snow days, parent-teacher conference days, and professional development days. Harris plans to spend billions of dollars over a period of five years to ensure this pilot program is successful. Although longer hours will be expected at school, teachers won’t be forced or mandated to work and when they do, they will be compensated accordingly. Harris sees this as a strategy for economic and child development.

The Family-Friendly Schools Act will save working parents some money, however, the implications are extremely damaging for kids and working parents. First off, we can start with the expectation to work longer hours at work. With employers completely aware of free before-and-after school program, more employees will be penalized for leaving work early. In addition, teachers will continue to shoulder the responsibilities of this nation’s continued conflict with work and life, while our children continues to be impacted by the effects of their absent parents. While we understand that there is a serious mis-alignment between work and school hours, the solution isn’t longer hours at work for parents and longer hours at school for our kids. This band-aid solution will offer nothing more than a stressful outcome on all sides, further exacerbate the mental health crisis in this country.. While we welcome affordable childcare solutions, we do not welcome lengthy childcare solutions that further places the bottom-line of employers ahead of the well-being of children and families.

Over 1000+ mothers surveyed on the Mother Honestly platform do not support this bill for all the reasons mentioned above. Respectfully, we do not need family-friendly schools, what we need are family-friendly workplaces and policies that offer flexible solutions for employees, paid parental leave, subsidized childcare programs, universal preschools, and work-life balance.