Suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said yesterday in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said, "Parents and children have nothing to fear."

Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said, "There are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although U.S. law enforcement agencies were asked to watch out for kids' safety.

The bulletin, parts of which were read to the Associated Press, did not say how often foreign extremists have sought to acquire licenses to drive school buses, or where. It was sent as part of what officials said was a routine advisory to local law enforcement.

It noted "recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or are licensed to drive them, a counterterror official said. Foreigners under recent investigation include "some with ties to extremist groups" who have been able to "purchase buses and acquire licenses," the bulletin says.

But Homeland Security and the FBI "have no information indicating these individuals are involved in a terrorist plot against the homeland," it says. It also says, "Most attempts by foreign nationals in the United States to acquire school bus licenses to drive them are legitimate."

One counterterror official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the government felt it was likely that the foreigners investigated were merely employed as bus drivers and did not intend to use them as part of any terror plot.

A second official said the government felt it prudent that the backgrounds of all those who come in contact with school children be checked.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said the government has no credible information to suggest terrorists are "involved in buying school buses or seeking licenses to drive them." He said there was no indication of any immediate threat to the country.

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By LARA JAKES JORDAN

The Associated Press