DECATUR, Ill. –State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, recently advanced legislation out of the House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety Committee to help prevent the misuse of old school buses to abduct students.

“Student safety is a major concern of mine, as a former teacher,” Scherer said. “We teach our children not to get in cars with strangers, but the misuse of a vehicle that children recognize can pose similar dangers.”

House Bill 3293, which has bipartisan cosponsors, requires school buses that are operational but not being used by school districts to transport students to be painted a color other than yellow. Scherer says that the measure will hinder the ability of predators to abduct school children.

“Children associate the color yellow with a school bus, and often have no way of distinguishing an old school bus from the vehicle that takes them to and from school every day,” said Scherer. “This legislation will make it clear which vehicles are no longer being used by school districts so that the groups or individuals who purchased them cannot pick up unsuspecting children.”

For more information, please contact Scherer’s constituent service office at 217-877-9636 or by email at StateRepSue@gmail.com. Scherer represents the 96th District, which includes portions of Christian, Macon and Sangamon counties.