Democrats vying for the White House are promoting an unusual way to slash the cost of college for millions of American students: invest in daycare.

Slightly more than a quarter of undergraduates in the United States are raising children. That’s about 4.8 million degree seekers who’ve got another mouth to feed between classes. Advocates say a little-discussed portion of Hillary Clinton’s  new plan to make college more affordable , the latest design to shrink student debt from liberal lawmakers, could help them graduate with a lighter burden.

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This kind of action is particularly urgent as more students with young children are entering college, said Lindsey Reichlin, a research associate at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Many begin freshman year with more family responsibilities than, say, plans to attend fraternity parties.