HOUSTON – A bill named for the 11-year-old who was stabbed to death as he walked home from school is now state law.
The Josue Flores Act provides transportation funding for children who live within walking distance to schools in dangerous neighborhoods.
School districts or counties can apply for up to 10 percent of their regular transportation budged to be used for transporting children or funding programs, like Safe Walk Home Northside, which escort children to and from school.
Stella Mireles-Walters, who founded Safe Walk Home Northside, joined with other community leaders to celebrate the new law which they pushed legislators to implement.
"This bill will help Texas students stay alive as they walk through dangerous areas to go to school and come back," she said.
The law takes effect this fall.