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Public Act 094-0439 |
HB3680 Enrolled |
LRB094 05821 LJB 35875 b |
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AN ACT concerning schools.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
29-3 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/29-3) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-3)
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Sec. 29-3. Transportation in school districts. School |
boards
of community consolidated districts, community unit
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districts, consolidated districts, and consolidated high |
school
districts, and combined school districts if the combined |
district
includes any district which was previously required to |
provide
transportation, shall provide free transportation
for |
pupils residing at a distance of one and one-half miles or more |
from
any school to which they are assigned for attendance |
maintained within the
district except for those pupils for whom |
the school board shall certify to
the State Board of Education |
that adequate transportation for the public is
available.
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For the purpose of this Act 1 1/2 miles distance shall be |
from the exit
of the property where the pupil resides to the |
point where pupils are normally
unloaded at the school |
attended; such distance shall be measured by determining
the |
shortest distance on normally traveled roads or streets.
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Such school board may comply with the provisions of this |
Section by
providing free transportation for pupils to and from |
an assigned school
and a pick-up point located not more than |
one and one-half miles from
the home of each pupil assigned to |
such point.
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For the purposes of this Act "adequate transportation for |
the public"
shall be assumed to exist for such pupils as can |
reach school by
walking, one way, along normally traveled roads |
or streets
less than 1
1/2 miles irrespective of the distance |
the
pupil is transported by public transportation.
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In addition to the other requirements of this Section, each |
school board may
provide free transportation for any pupil |
residing within 1 1/2 miles from the
school attended where |
conditions are such that walking, either to or from the
school |
to which a pupil is assigned for attendance or to or from a |
pick-up
point or bus stop, constitutes a serious hazard to the |
safety of the pupil
due to vehicular traffic or rail crossings. |
Such transportation shall not
be provided if adequate |
transportation for the public is available.
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The determination as to what constitutes a serious safety |
hazard shall
be made by the school board, in accordance with |
guidelines promulgated by
the Illinois Department of |
Transportation, in consultation with the State
Superintendent |
of Education. A school board, on written petition of the
parent |
or guardian of a pupil for whom adequate transportation for the |
public
is alleged not to exist because the pupil is required to |
walk along normally
traveled roads or streets where walking is |
alleged to constitute a serious
safety hazard due to vehicular |
traffic or rail crossings, or who is required to
walk between |
the
pupil's home and assigned school or between the pupil's |
home or assigned school
and a pick-up point or bus stop along |
roads or streets where walking is alleged
to constitute a |
serious safety hazard due to vehicular traffic or rail
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crossings, shall conduct a
study and make findings, which the |
Department of Transportation shall review
and approve
or |
disapprove as provided in this Section, to determine whether a |
serious
safety hazard exists as alleged in the petition. The
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Department of Transportation shall review
the findings of the |
school board and shall approve or disapprove the school
board's |
determination that a serious safety hazard exists within 30 |
days
after the school board submits its findings to the |
Department. The school board
shall annually review the |
conditions and determine
certify to the State Superintendent
of |
Education whether or not the hazardous conditions remain |
unchanged. The
State Superintendent of Education may request |
that the Illinois Department
of Transportation verify that the |
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conditions have not changed. No action
shall lie against the |
school board, the State Superintendent of Education
or the |
Illinois Department of Transportation for decisions made in |
accordance
with this Section. The provisions of the |
Administrative Review Law and all
amendments and modifications |
thereof and the rules adopted pursuant thereto
shall apply to |
and govern all proceedings instituted for the judicial
review |
of final administrative decisions of the Department of
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Transportation under this Section.
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(Source: P.A. 90-223, eff. 1-1-98.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, |
2005.
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