WASHINGTON, D.C. — The cover of a recent U.S. News & World Report issue has proven to be provocative in a way that its editor might not have expected.

The magazine’s Nov. 12 edition depicts a child being engulfed in a cartoonish cloud of exhaust from a school bus. But the cover story is a critique of No Child Left Behind, not school bus emissions.

Still, at least one pupil transportation group found the illustration offensive. The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) wrote a letter of protest to U.S. News & World Report Editor Brian Kelly.

“While we recognize that the photo was probably intended to depict a Congressional ‘smokescreen’ in regard to the debate on No Child Left Behind, the unfortunate result is that it leaves readers with the impression that school buses regularly discharge harmful exhaust that engulfs children,” NSTA President Barry Stock wrote.

Stock explained the pupil transportation industry’s ongoing efforts for cleaner air, such as the new cleaner-burning engines, retrofitting of older buses with emissions-reducing technology and anti-idling programs.

“I do not believe that it was your intention to disparage school buses or to alarm parents into reconsidering their choice of school transportation. Unfortunately, that may be the consequence of the cover photo,” Stock wrote. “In the interest of both accuracy and children’s safety, I ask you to correct the misleading impression you have given readers.”

The controversial cover can be seen here.