So the reasoning here isn't that kids should spend more time in school... it's that parents get out of work at 5:00, and they don't have a place to put their kids for the two hours in between. What? Why wouldn't you just create more after-school programs instead of making that extra time mandatory for all students? Heck, I'd be all for starting school at 10 and letting it out at 5, because I don't think kids learn well in the morning-- but this is obscenely stupid. If I was still in middle school, this would be the sort of thing that'd make me organize a sit-in.
where does it say anyone's being forced to stay? the schools would simply stay open till 6, teachers who choose to stay get extra compensation. the public school system in my town has something like this; class ends at around 3 and there's an extended daycare program (i volunteered there for a little while) where anyone can sign up for their kids, but they have to pay
