Growing up in a low-income household where my parents struggled to make ends meet, I took a job as soon as I could at age 15. I considered myself lucky managing to land my first job, one with flexible hours at the Pasco County School district I attended.

My parents always told me to put school first, but when a child sees the stress and struggles their parents go through, they will do whatever they can to support and help.

That’s why I was disheartened to learn that in my state, the Florida legislature just passed a bill this week that would decimate child labor laws to allow sixteen and seventeen-year-olds to work 40-hour work weeks, work overnight, and have fewer breaks while attending high school. 

While bills looking to roll back child labor laws are unpopular and only continue the pipeline of burdening disenfranchised students with decisions between work and school that they shouldn’t have to make — 10 states, led by Republican lawmakers around the country, have considered or passed bills to decrease child protections regarding work.  

Many students and advocates took the long drive to Tallahassee to oppose Florida’s changes to labor laws, citing the difficulties of juggling their class load, school activities, and jobs where they are already working up to 30 hours. 

I can’t help but place myself in the shoes of these students as I’m only a few years older than them. When I was growing up, sometimes bills, such as electricity and water, were paid late because my parents just didn’t have enough. 

As a BCE Student under the on the job training (OJT) course available at Land O’ Lakes High School, I made a mere $8.10 helping the human resources department with employee, retirement, and risk management benefits for staff and faculty at our schools. With my mom being disabled and my dad not making a lot, my check was helpful in assisting with paying bills to stay afloat.

Staff at my job understood that I had to reschedule or not show up on certain days due to being in my senior year and taking dual enrollment classes at my local community college, but not many students were fortunate enough to have jobs like this. I knew many students who worked at other jobs, such as fast food, the mall, or other businesses, who were not provided that flexibility and felt the pressures of having to choose between work and school. 

These new attacks on child labor protections are only making it more difficult for today’s students and exploiting the feeling of responsibility many feel for helping keep their families afloat.  

Forcing this false choice continues to expose the cracks in the American Dream that have been part of the American Mythos for decades. As many low-income children are told growing up, education is the key to getting out of poverty. Disrupting education only looks to keep children within these conditions and continue the cycle of generational poverty. 

The Floridian Restaurant and Lodging Association is a big supporter of this bill because they’re facing a worker shortage in the service and hospitality industries. But instead of doing things to compete with post-pandemic jobs that are more flexible with work-from-home and hybrid schedules — like increasing workers’ well-being, paying higher wages, and addressing mistreatment by management and consumers — they’ve decided it would be more cost-effective to exploit children.

Instead of state legislatures or House Republicans passing laws to roll back labor protections, they should be focused on pushing for policies that help alleviate poverty while also boosting our economy. 

For example, the expanded Child Tax Credit that passed in the U.S. House last month should be taken over the finish line by the Senate to support working-class families in our country. The tax credit would help lift  400,000 children above the poverty line just within the first year. Cities like Washington, DC, worked to support low-income families by providing single mothers $10,800, allowing for more economic success for DC mothers and families. And in places like Denver, Colorado, a guaranteed income program has helped alleviate homelessness in the city, get people into stable jobs, and allow for more financial freedom for those in the disabled community.

If policies like these had been available to families when I was in high school, I may have been able to focus on my studies full-time. We are always emphasizing that children are the future — but these child labor law bills are taking us backward. 

But we’ll keep fighting for the rights, protections, and financial security we need, and grow into the leaders that shape our communities to thrive.