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JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (AP) -- Missouri transportation officials are encouraging parents to help their children walk and bicycle to school.

October is "Walk to School" month, and the Missouri Department of Transportation expects more than 30 schools to take part in next Wednesday's walk-to-school day.

One popular approach is the "walking school bus," in which children walk designated routes under adult supervision and pick up other students along the way.

A MoDOT program called Safe Routes to School provides children from kindergarten through eighth grade instruction on safely walking and biking to school.

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