As Safe Routes to School programs spread throughout the U.S., so do liability concerns that can squelch the walking and bicycling programs before they start.
"As for walking to school, it's part of the American pastoral, from Tom Sawyer... to Ramona the Pest...
"Fast-forward to the 21st century, where liability insurance for kids who walk or bike to school has become one of the major challenges facing SR2S advocates. In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency funded a $96,000 Portland project to develop a Walking School Bus -- in which groups of kids walk designated routes to school under adult supervision -- at a local elementary school. Organizers spent months mapping safe routes, conducting outreach to parents, and running criminal background checks on senior citizen volunteers, only to have the project collapse in the absence of liability coverage for kids who might become injured or go missing. A senior-citizen-led walking school bus in Larkspur, Calif., met with a similar fate, according to Kallins."
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Thanks to Heidi Schallberg
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