Americans receive tuition free public education from ages five to eighteen. President Biden’s American Families Plan would increase that by four years, adding two years before Kindergarten and two years after high school.

The cost of work related childcare is prohibitive for many families. It costs over $20,000 a year for two children full time. If you doubt that, talk to someone who has two toddlers in daycare five days a week.

Daycare offers no student loans, grants or scholarships. Either a family pays for daycare, or a parent stays home. A parent who stays home not only loses income, but receives less in Social Security later, because what you get depends on how much you’ve paid in. The parent who stayed home will likely never make up the lost income. We could help young families by making public school available at age three.

On the other end, providing tuition free community college for those who want it means every American who wants to could get an associate’s degree. We already provide public education for thirteen years. Providing seventeen years would ease families’ financial burdens, keep more parents in the workforce, and lower student debt. We are a pro-family country, right?