Child Services Shouldn’t Bother Moms Who Let Their Kids Walk Home From School

The South Carolina mom who wants her kids’ elementary school to allow them to walk home alone could find herself facing an investigation.

Ominously, at the end of a local news story about Jessie Thompson’s quest to get her kids’ school to permit them to enjoy some fresh air, the anchorwoman said, “Social Services could be called if the children are left to walk home on their own.”

“Left” to walk home. As if the mom is abandoning her kids, rather than trusting them.

The story, chronicled here, involves Thompson, a mom of four. Her three youngest, ages 9, 10, and 11, attend Spann Elementary School in Summerville, South Carolina. They already walk alone in that neighborhood—and look both ways before crossing—on their way to extracurriculars. But the principal has said they can’t walk home from school without an adult present. Thompson must come pick up the kids, or the school will put them on the bus.

The school is situated off a four-lane highway, mistakenly identified as a six-lane highway by the TV reporter. (It has extra turning lanes.) “The Thompson family lives on one side of the parkway and Spann Elementary School is on the other,” intoned the reporter as the camera dramatically zoomed out to illustrate the intersection.

It has a crosswalk as well as Walk/Don’t Walk signs. If the school believes n