birdwatcher

Relax, parents. Now you can allow your kids to walk, ride a bike, or take a bus to school, without you or your children getting arrested. The recently-signed Every Student Succeeds Act contains a section (858) that protects the rights of kids to walk or go out alone. The act was sponsored by Utah senator Mike Lee, who is a supporter of the Free Range Kids movement, and provides some hope for parents who feel that their kids should be allowed some autonomy to get by own their own.

The inclusion of a section that lets the parents choose what is appropriate is welcome. Though it doesn't replace any state or local laws, such clarification could go help curb the growing trend of cops picking up kids while they play or travel unattended.

(a) IN GENERAL Subject to subsection (b), nothing in this Act shall authorize the Secretary to, or shall be construed to
(1) prohibit a child from traveling to and from school on foot or by car, bus, or bike when the parents of the child have given permission; or expose parents to civil or criminal charges for allowing their child to responsibly and safely travel to and from school by a means the parents believe is age appropriate.

(b) NO PREEMPTION OF STATE OR LOCAL LAWS
Notwithstanding subsection (a), nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt State or local laws.’

For decades, the pathologist, who works at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, appeared as a prosecution witness against parents accused of killing their children.
She argued that a combination of three brain injuries — swelling of the brain, bleeding between the skull and brain and bleeding in the retina — was sufficient to determine that the death resulted from a child being violently shaken.
But more than a decade ago, amid the emergence of research disputing the mainstream theory, Dr Squier had a change of heart, becoming convinced that such symptoms were not conclusive.