Why not just have school start later? Kids typically get home around 230 in the afternoon as it is.
Because that gives kids more time to work in the fields. In the summer, they work all day long. Oh wait, that made sense in the 19th century. Today kids need the extra time to campaign for the teachers' unions and figure out what sex they are.
FWIW, same logical suggestion was made back in the Carter era. It made a lot of sense. But parents couldn’t trust their little charges to remain home alone for an hour or so between when they left for work and daylight and, even more important, teachers didn’t like driving home during the same rush hour as the taxpaying schlubs.