Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado

Filed: 4/2/2024

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB5480ham001LRB103 37524 RJT 71594 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5480

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5480 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
529-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/29-5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5)
7    Sec. 29-5. Reimbursement by State for transportation. Any
8school district or State-authorized charter school,
9maintaining a school, transporting resident pupils to another
10school district's vocational program, offered through a joint
11agreement approved by the State Board of Education, as
12provided in Section 10-22.22 or transporting its resident
13pupils to a school which meets the standards for recognition
14as established by the State Board of Education which provides
15transportation meeting the standards of safety, comfort,
16convenience, efficiency and operation prescribed by the State

 

 

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1Board of Education for resident pupils in kindergarten or any
2of grades 1 through 12 who: (a) reside at least 1 1/2 miles as
3measured by the customary route of travel, from the school
4attended; or (b) reside in areas where conditions are such
5that walking constitutes a hazard to the safety of the child
6when determined under Section 29-3; and (c) are transported to
7the school attended from pick-up points at the beginning of
8the school day and back again at the close of the school day or
9transported to and from their assigned attendance centers
10during the school day, shall be reimbursed by the State as
11hereinafter provided in this Section.
12    The State will pay the prorated allowable cost of
13transporting eligible pupils less the real equalized assessed
14valuation as computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of
15Section 18-8.15 in a dual school district maintaining
16secondary grades 9 to 12 inclusive times a qualifying rate of
17.05%; in elementary school districts maintaining grades K to 8
18times a qualifying rate of .06%; and in unit districts
19maintaining grades K to 12, including partial elementary unit
20districts formed pursuant to Article 11E, times a qualifying
21rate of .07%. For a State-authorized charter school, the State
22shall pay the prorated allowable cost of transporting eligible
23pupils less the prior year's prorated assessed valuation based
24on enrollment reported pursuant to subsection (a) of Section
2527A-11 for the previous school year in the charter school
26proportionate to the charter school's school district's

 

 

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1enrollment for the previous school year.
2    To be eligible to receive reimbursement in excess of 4/5
3of the cost to transport eligible pupils, a school district or
4partial elementary unit district formed pursuant to Article
511E shall have a Transportation Fund tax rate of at least .12%.
6A State-authorized charter school's qualifying rate shall be
7the same as the rate that applies to the charter school's
8school district. The Transportation Fund tax rate for a
9partial elementary unit district formed pursuant Article 11E
10shall be the combined elementary and high school rates
11pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section
1218-8.15.
13    If a school district or partial elementary unit district
14formed pursuant to Article 11E does not have a .12%
15Transportation Fund tax rate, the amount of its claim in
16excess of 4/5 of the cost of transporting pupils shall be
17reduced by the sum arrived at by subtracting the
18Transportation Fund tax rate from .12% and multiplying that
19amount by the district's real equalized assessed valuation as
20computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of Section
2118-8.15, provided that in no case shall said reduction result
22in reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost to transport
23eligible pupils. For a State-authorized charter school within
24a school district that does not have a 0.12% Transportation
25Fund tax rate, the State shall pay the prorated allowable cost
26of transporting eligible pupils less the prior year's prorated

 

 

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1assessed valuation based on enrollment reported pursuant to
2subsection (a) of Section 27A-11 for the previous school year
3in the charter school proportionate to the charter school's
4school district's enrollment for the previous school year.
5    A charter school, other than a State-authorized charter
6school, that offers transportation to eligible students shall
7be eligible for reimbursement by the State at the same rate as
8its host district, unless the host district is a school
9district organized under Article 34. A charter school, other
10than a State-authorized charter school, whose host district is
11a school district organized under Article 34 is eligible for
12reimbursement by the State at the rate set forth in the charter
13agreement. A charter school, other than a State-authorized
14charter school, shall make a claim for reimbursement by the
15State through the Pupil Transportation Claim Reimbursement
16System and receive funding reimbursement in the same manner as
17a school district. Notwithstanding any other provision of law
18to the contrary, a charter school, other than a
19State-authorized charter school, that has previously received
20regular transportation grant funding from the State Board of
21Education or is in the process of receiving such funding
22approved in the same fiscal year as the effective date of this
23amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly shall retain any
24awarded funding.
25    The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16
26times the number of eligible pupils transported.

 

 

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1    When calculating the reimbursement for transportation
2costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number
3of pupils enrolled in early education programs from the number
4of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the pupils enrolled in
5the early education programs are transported at the same time
6as other eligible pupils.
7    Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
8school day to an area vocational school or another school
9district's vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the
10school attended, as provided in Sections 10-22.20a and
1110-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5 of the cost
12of transporting eligible pupils.
13    School day means that period of time during which the
14pupil is required to be in attendance for instructional
15purposes.
16    If a pupil is at a location within the school district
17other than his residence for child care purposes at the time
18for transportation to school, that location may be considered
19for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles from the school
20attended.
21    Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend
22any school other than a public school shall show the number of
23such children transported.
24    Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not be
25paid for the transportation of pupils for whom transportation
26costs are claimed for payment under other Sections of this

 

 

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1Act.
2    The allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for
3regular, vocational, and special education pupil
4transportation shall be limited to the sum of the cost of
5physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
6driver; the salaries of full-time or part-time drivers and
7school bus maintenance personnel; employee benefits excluding
8Illinois municipal retirement payments, social security
9payments, unemployment insurance payments and workers'
10compensation insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
11carriers who operate school buses; payments to other school
12districts for pupil transportation services; pre-approved
13contractual expenditures for computerized bus scheduling;
14expenditures for housing assistance and homeless prevention
15under Sections 1-17 and 1-18 of the Education for Homeless
16Children Act that are not in excess of the school district's
17actual costs for providing transportation services and are not
18otherwise claimed in another State or federal grant that
19permits those costs to a parent, a legal guardian, any other
20person who enrolled a pupil, or a homeless assistance agency
21that is part of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
22Act's continuum of care for the area in which the district is
23located; the cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and other supplies
24necessary for the operation of school buses; the cost of
25converting buses' gasoline engines to more fuel efficient
26engines or to engines which use alternative energy sources;

 

 

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1the cost of travel to meetings and workshops conducted by the
2regional superintendent or the State Superintendent of
3Education pursuant to the standards established by the
4Secretary of State under Section 6-106 of the Illinois Vehicle
5Code to improve the driving skills of school bus drivers; the
6cost of maintenance of school buses including parts and
7materials used; expenditures for leasing transportation
8vehicles, except interest and service charges; the cost of
9insurance and licenses for transportation vehicles;
10expenditures for the rental of transportation equipment; plus
11a depreciation allowance of 20% for 5 years for school buses
12and vehicles approved for transporting pupils to and from
13school and a depreciation allowance of 10% for 10 years for
14other transportation equipment so used. Each school year, if a
15school district has made expenditures to the Regional
16Transportation Authority or any of its service boards, a mass
17transit district, or an urban transportation district under an
18intergovernmental agreement with the district to provide for
19the transportation of pupils and if the public transit carrier
20received direct payment for services or passes from a school
21district within its service area during the 2000-2001 school
22year, then the allowable direct cost of transporting pupils
23for regular, vocational, and special education pupil
24transportation shall also include the expenditures that the
25district has made to the public transit carrier. In addition
26to the above allowable costs, school districts shall also

 

 

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1claim all transportation supervisory salary costs, including
2Illinois municipal retirement payments, and all transportation
3related building and building maintenance costs without
4limitation.
5    Special education allowable costs shall also include
6expenditures for the salaries of attendants or aides for that
7portion of the time they assist special education pupils while
8in transit and expenditures for parents and public carriers
9for transporting special education pupils when pre-approved by
10the State Superintendent of Education.
11    Indirect costs shall be included in the reimbursement
12claim for districts which own and operate their own school
13buses. Such indirect costs shall include administrative costs,
14or any costs attributable to transporting pupils from their
15attendance centers to another school building for
16instructional purposes. No school district which owns and
17operates its own school buses may claim reimbursement for
18indirect costs which exceed 5% of the total allowable direct
19costs for pupil transportation.
20    The State Board of Education shall prescribe uniform
21regulations for determining the above standards and shall
22prescribe forms of cost accounting and standards of
23determining reasonable depreciation. Such depreciation shall
24include the cost of equipping school buses with the safety
25features required by law or by the rules, regulations and
26standards promulgated by the State Board of Education, and the

 

 

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1Department of Transportation for the safety and construction
2of school buses provided, however, any equipment cost
3reimbursed by the Department of Transportation for equipping
4school buses with such safety equipment shall be deducted from
5the allowable cost in the computation of reimbursement under
6this Section in the same percentage as the cost of the
7equipment is depreciated.
8    On or before August 15, annually, the chief school
9administrator for the district shall certify to the State
10Superintendent of Education the district's claim for
11reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30 next
12preceding. The State Superintendent of Education shall check
13and approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the
14amounts due for district reimbursement claims. Each fiscal
15year, the State Superintendent of Education shall prepare and
16transmit the first 3 vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th
17day of September, December and March, respectively, and the
18final voucher, no later than June 20.
19    If the amount appropriated for transportation
20reimbursement is insufficient to fund total claims for any
21fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall reduce each
22school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
23proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
24amount appropriated.
25    For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement under
26this Section for any school year beginning July 1, 2016, the

 

 

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1equalized assessed valuation for a school district or partial
2elementary unit district formed pursuant to Article 11E used
3to compute reimbursement shall be the real equalized assessed
4valuation as computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of
5Section 18-8.15.
6    All reimbursements received from the State shall be
7deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
8fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
9    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school
10district receiving a payment under this Section or under
11Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or 14-13.01 of this Code may
12classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
13particular fiscal year or from State aid pursuant to Section
1418-8.15 of this Code as funds received in connection with any
15funding program for which it is entitled to receive funds from
16the State in that fiscal year (including, without limitation,
17any funding program referenced in this Section), regardless of
18the source or timing of the receipt. The district may not
19classify more funds as funds received in connection with the
20funding program than the district is entitled to receive in
21that fiscal year for that program. Any classification by a
22district must be made by a resolution of its board of
23education. The resolution must identify the amount of any
24payments or general State aid to be classified under this
25paragraph and must specify the funding program to which the
26funds are to be treated as received in connection therewith.

 

 

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1This resolution is controlling as to the classification of
2funds referenced therein. A certified copy of the resolution
3must be sent to the State Superintendent of Education. The
4resolution shall still take effect even though a copy of the
5resolution has not been sent to the State Superintendent of
6Education in a timely manner. No classification under this
7paragraph by a district shall affect the total amount or
8timing of money the district is entitled to receive under this
9Code. No classification under this paragraph by a district
10shall in any way relieve the district from or affect any
11requirements that otherwise would apply with respect to that
12funding program, including any accounting of funds by source,
13reporting expenditures by original source and purpose,
14reporting requirements, or requirements of providing services.
15    Any school district with a population of not more than
16500,000 must deposit all funds received under this Article
17into the transportation fund and use those funds for the
18provision of transportation services.
19(Source: P.A. 102-539, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)".