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Young students in Florida are at risk when walking to school in the morning before sunrise, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Reporters spoke with 15-year-old Tabitha Freeman, who makes the walk to school every day with a reflective vest and a flashlight. She makes the walk at 6 a.m. along busy roads when it is still pitch black outside. Living within two miles of school, she is not eligible for the school district’s bus service.

“I can’t even see where I’m going sometimes,” says Tabitha. “I don’t like it, but it’s what you have to do to get to school.”

Florida law prohibits middle school children from walking to school along the same roads that many junior high and high school students are forced to walk. This is becoming a more common practice across the state due to budget cuts, despite the risks of a possible pedestrian accident.

“It’s the parent’s responsibility to get the student to school within that area,” says John Davis, Lake County District Chief of Operations. “We’re not telling them to walk.”

Do you think it is the school district’s responsibility to provide the students with safe transportation, or their parents? Or is it acceptable for these kids to walk?

Wooten, Kimbrough & Normand, P.A.—Orlando personal injury attorney.

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