There will be no four-day school weeks in Illinois.
The Illinois House last month approved a measure that would have given financially-strapped school districts the option, but the state Senate on Tuesday killed the bill.
Opponents to the idea said that students get into too much trouble when they're out of the classroom.
"Kids in Chicago need to go to school eight days a week," joked Sen. James Meeks, D-Chicago, head of the Senate Education Committee, according to the Chicago Tribune.
"Most of the bad stuff happens between 3:30 and 6:00" when students are out of class but parents aren’t off work, echoed state Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. "This would certainly magnify that problem."
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union also opposed the measure.
But the bill's sponsor, Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville) said the plan was a way to protect students from classroom cuts.
The State of Illinois faces a budget deficit of $12.8 billion, and districts around the state are cutting teachers and staff.
More than 100 school districts in at least 17 states currently use the four-day system, and dozens more are considering doing the same, the Wall Street Journal recently reported .
