Suburban Georgia Fact of the Day
2026-09-03
Our oldest child started first grade at the local public school earlier this year. Much to her excitement, she’ll be taking the bus now.
The bus picks up and drops off a short walk from our house, 0.2 miles according to Google Maps, with a sidewalk the entire way.
We signed the release for daughter up to be able to get off the bus and walk home by herself, thinking we could teach her to walk it and that she might enjoy the freedom.
Signing this form prompted two calls from the district to make sure we understood what we were signing and were truly comfortable with it. I obviously can’t know this for sure, but in one of the calls they gently indicated to us that we were the only parents who allow this for a child so young.
For clarity, I don’t blame the school here. They’re trying to do right by us and our daughter and if we’re making an unusual choice, calling to confirm is a reasonable thing to do. Still… this is a very restrictive default setting. No wonder 50% of 9-11 year olds don’t get to walk down grocery aisles by themselves!