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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 29-5 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/29-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 29-5. Reimbursement by State for transportation. Any | ||||||
8 | school
district, maintaining a school, transporting resident | ||||||
9 | pupils to another
school district's vocational program, | ||||||
10 | offered through a joint agreement
approved by
the State Board | ||||||
11 | of Education, as provided in Section
10-22.22 or transporting | ||||||
12 | its resident pupils to a school which meets the
standards for | ||||||
13 | recognition as established by the State Board of Education
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14 | which provides transportation meeting the standards of safety, | ||||||
15 | comfort,
convenience, efficiency and operation prescribed by | ||||||
16 | the State Board of
Education for resident pupils in | ||||||
17 | kindergarten or any of grades 1 through
12 who: (a) reside at | ||||||
18 | least 1 1/2 miles as measured by the customary route of
travel, | ||||||
19 | from the school attended; or (b) reside in areas where | ||||||
20 | conditions are
such that walking constitutes a hazard to the | ||||||
21 | safety of the child when
determined under Section 29-3; and (c) | ||||||
22 | are transported to the school attended
from pick-up points at | ||||||
23 | the beginning of the school day and back again at the
close of |
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1 | the school day or transported to and from their assigned | ||||||
2 | attendance
centers during the school day, shall be reimbursed | ||||||
3 | by the State as hereinafter
provided in this Section.
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4 | The State will pay the cost of transporting eligible pupils | ||||||
5 | less the
assessed valuation in a dual school district | ||||||
6 | maintaining secondary
grades 9 to 12 inclusive times a | ||||||
7 | qualifying rate of .05%; in elementary
school districts | ||||||
8 | maintaining grades K to 8 times a qualifying rate of
.06%; in | ||||||
9 | unit districts maintaining grades K to 12 times a qualifying
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10 | rate of .07%. To be eligible to receive reimbursement in excess | ||||||
11 | of 4/5
of the cost to transport eligible pupils, a school | ||||||
12 | district shall have a
Transportation Fund tax rate of at least | ||||||
13 | .12%. If a school district
does not have a .12% Transportation | ||||||
14 | Fund tax rate, the amount of its
claim in excess of 4/5 of the | ||||||
15 | cost of transporting pupils shall be
reduced by the sum arrived | ||||||
16 | at by subtracting the Transportation Fund tax
rate from .12% | ||||||
17 | and multiplying that amount by the districts equalized or
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18 | assessed valuation, provided, that in no case shall said | ||||||
19 | reduction
result in reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost | ||||||
20 | to transport
eligible pupils.
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21 | The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16 | ||||||
22 | times the
number of eligible pupils transported.
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23 | When calculating the reimbursement for transportation | ||||||
24 | costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number | ||||||
25 | of pupils enrolled in early education programs or summer school | ||||||
26 | from the number of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the |
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1 | pupils enrolled in the early education programs or summer | ||||||
2 | school are transported at the same time as other eligible | ||||||
3 | pupils. Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that | ||||||
4 | may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head | ||||||
5 | under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to | ||||||
6 | make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions | ||||||
7 | of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, | ||||||
8 | however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to | ||||||
9 | implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
10 | the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to | ||||||
11 | the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House | ||||||
12 | and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the | ||||||
13 | General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those | ||||||
14 | suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action | ||||||
15 | in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this | ||||||
16 | amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be | ||||||
17 | interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other | ||||||
18 | Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise | ||||||
19 | explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
20 | the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning | ||||||
21 | contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative | ||||||
22 | Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the | ||||||
23 | meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | ||||||
24 | Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | ||||||
25 | definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | ||||||
26 | jurisdiction of the Governor. |
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1 | Any such district transporting resident pupils during the | ||||||
2 | school day
to an area vocational school or another school | ||||||
3 | district's vocational
program more than 1 1/2 miles from the | ||||||
4 | school attended, as provided in
Sections 10-22.20a and | ||||||
5 | 10-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5
of the cost | ||||||
6 | of transporting eligible pupils.
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7 | School day means that period of time which the pupil is | ||||||
8 | required to be
in attendance for instructional purposes.
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9 | If a pupil is at a location within the school district | ||||||
10 | other than his
residence for child care purposes at the time | ||||||
11 | for transportation to school,
that location may be considered | ||||||
12 | for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles
from the school | ||||||
13 | attended.
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14 | Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend | ||||||
15 | any school
other than a public school shall show the number of | ||||||
16 | such children
transported.
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17 | Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not be | ||||||
18 | paid for the
transportation of pupils for whom transportation | ||||||
19 | costs are claimed for
payment under other Sections of this Act.
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20 | The allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for | ||||||
21 | regular, vocational,
and special education pupil | ||||||
22 | transportation shall be limited to the sum of
the cost of | ||||||
23 | physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
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24 | driver; the salaries of full or part-time drivers and school | ||||||
25 | bus maintenance
personnel; employee benefits excluding | ||||||
26 | Illinois municipal retirement
payments, social security |
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1 | payments, unemployment insurance payments and
workers' | ||||||
2 | compensation insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
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3 | carriers who operate school buses; payments to other school | ||||||
4 | districts for
pupil transportation services; pre-approved | ||||||
5 | contractual expenditures for
computerized bus scheduling; the | ||||||
6 | cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and other
supplies necessary for | ||||||
7 | the operation of school buses; the cost of
converting buses' | ||||||
8 | gasoline engines to more fuel efficient engines or to
engines | ||||||
9 | which use alternative energy sources; the cost of travel to
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10 | meetings and workshops conducted by the regional | ||||||
11 | superintendent or the
State Superintendent of Education | ||||||
12 | pursuant to the standards established by
the Secretary of State | ||||||
13 | under Section 6-106 of the Illinois Vehicle Code to improve the | ||||||
14 | driving skills of
school bus drivers; the cost of maintenance | ||||||
15 | of school buses including parts
and materials used; | ||||||
16 | expenditures for leasing transportation vehicles,
except | ||||||
17 | interest and service charges; the cost of insurance and | ||||||
18 | licenses for
transportation vehicles; expenditures for the | ||||||
19 | rental of transportation
equipment; plus a depreciation | ||||||
20 | allowance of 20% for 5 years for school
buses and vehicles | ||||||
21 | approved for transporting pupils to and from school and
a | ||||||
22 | depreciation allowance of 10% for 10 years for other | ||||||
23 | transportation
equipment so used.
Each school year, if a school | ||||||
24 | district has made expenditures to the
Regional Transportation | ||||||
25 | Authority or any of its service boards, a mass
transit | ||||||
26 | district, or an urban transportation district under an
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1 | intergovernmental agreement with the district to provide for | ||||||
2 | the
transportation of pupils and if the public transit carrier | ||||||
3 | received direct
payment for services or passes from a school | ||||||
4 | district within its service
area during the 2000-2001 school | ||||||
5 | year, then the allowable direct cost of
transporting pupils for | ||||||
6 | regular, vocational, and special education pupil
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7 | transportation shall also include the expenditures that the | ||||||
8 | district has
made to the public transit carrier.
In addition to | ||||||
9 | the above allowable costs school
districts shall also claim all | ||||||
10 | transportation supervisory salary costs,
including Illinois | ||||||
11 | municipal retirement payments, and all transportation
related | ||||||
12 | building and building maintenance costs without limitation.
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13 | Special education allowable costs shall also include | ||||||
14 | expenditures for the
salaries of attendants or aides for that | ||||||
15 | portion of the time they assist
special education pupils while | ||||||
16 | in transit and expenditures for parents and
public carriers for | ||||||
17 | transporting special education pupils when pre-approved
by the | ||||||
18 | State Superintendent of Education.
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19 | Indirect costs shall be included in the reimbursement claim | ||||||
20 | for districts
which own and operate their own school buses. | ||||||
21 | Such indirect costs shall
include administrative costs, or any | ||||||
22 | costs attributable to transporting
pupils from their | ||||||
23 | attendance centers to another school building for
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24 | instructional purposes. No school district which owns and | ||||||
25 | operates its own
school buses may claim reimbursement for | ||||||
26 | indirect costs which exceed 5% of
the total allowable direct |
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1 | costs for pupil transportation.
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2 | The State Board of Education shall prescribe uniform | ||||||
3 | regulations for
determining the above standards and shall | ||||||
4 | prescribe forms of cost
accounting and standards of determining | ||||||
5 | reasonable depreciation. Such
depreciation shall include the | ||||||
6 | cost of equipping school buses with the
safety features | ||||||
7 | required by law or by the rules, regulations and standards
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8 | promulgated by the State Board of Education, and the Department | ||||||
9 | of
Transportation for the safety and construction of school | ||||||
10 | buses provided,
however, any equipment cost reimbursed by the | ||||||
11 | Department of Transportation
for equipping school buses with | ||||||
12 | such safety equipment shall be deducted
from the allowable cost | ||||||
13 | in the computation of reimbursement under this
Section in the | ||||||
14 | same percentage as the cost of the equipment is depreciated.
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15 | On or before August 15, annually, the chief school | ||||||
16 | administrator for
the district shall certify to the State | ||||||
17 | Superintendent of Education the
district's claim for | ||||||
18 | reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30
next | ||||||
19 | preceding. The State Superintendent of Education shall check | ||||||
20 | and
approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the | ||||||
21 | amounts due for
district reimbursement claims. Each fiscal | ||||||
22 | year, the State
Superintendent of Education shall prepare and | ||||||
23 | transmit the first 3
vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th | ||||||
24 | day of September, December and
March, respectively, and the | ||||||
25 | final voucher, no later than June 20.
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26 | If the amount appropriated for transportation |
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1 | reimbursement is insufficient
to fund total claims for any | ||||||
2 | fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall
reduce each | ||||||
3 | school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
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4 | proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total | ||||||
5 | amount
appropriated.
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6 | For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement under | ||||||
7 | this Section
for any school year beginning July 1, 1998, or | ||||||
8 | thereafter, the
equalized
assessed valuation for a school | ||||||
9 | district used to compute reimbursement
shall be computed in the | ||||||
10 | same manner as it is computed under paragraph (2) of
subsection | ||||||
11 | (G) of Section 18-8.05.
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12 | All reimbursements received from the State shall be | ||||||
13 | deposited into the
district's transportation fund or into the | ||||||
14 | fund from which the allowable
expenditures were made.
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15 | Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school | ||||||
16 | district receiving
a payment under this Section or under | ||||||
17 | Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or
14-13.01 of this Code may | ||||||
18 | classify all or a portion of the funds that it
receives in a | ||||||
19 | particular fiscal year or from general State aid pursuant to
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20 | Section 18-8.05 of this Code
as funds received in connection | ||||||
21 | with any funding program for which it is
entitled to receive | ||||||
22 | funds from the State in that fiscal year (including,
without | ||||||
23 | limitation, any funding program referenced in this Section),
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24 | regardless of the source or timing of the receipt. The district | ||||||
25 | may not
classify more funds as funds received in connection | ||||||
26 | with the funding
program than the district is entitled to |
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1 | receive in that fiscal year for that
program. Any
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2 | classification by a district must be made by a resolution of | ||||||
3 | its board of
education. The resolution must identify the amount | ||||||
4 | of any payments or
general State aid to be classified under | ||||||
5 | this paragraph and must specify
the funding program to which | ||||||
6 | the funds are to be treated as received in
connection | ||||||
7 | therewith. This resolution is controlling as to the
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8 | classification of funds referenced therein. A certified copy of | ||||||
9 | the
resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of | ||||||
10 | Education.
The resolution shall still take effect even though a | ||||||
11 | copy of the resolution has
not been sent to the State
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12 | Superintendent of Education in a timely manner.
No
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13 | classification under this paragraph by a district shall affect | ||||||
14 | the total amount
or timing of money the district is entitled to | ||||||
15 | receive under this Code.
No classification under this paragraph | ||||||
16 | by a district shall
in any way relieve the district from or | ||||||
17 | affect any
requirements that otherwise would apply with respect | ||||||
18 | to
that funding program, including any
accounting of funds by | ||||||
19 | source, reporting expenditures by
original source and purpose,
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20 | reporting requirements,
or requirements of providing services.
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21 | Any school district with a population of not more than | ||||||
22 | 500,000
must deposit all funds received under this Article into | ||||||
23 | the transportation
fund and use those funds for the provision | ||||||
24 | of transportation services.
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25 | (Source: P.A. 93-166, eff. 7-10-03; 93-663, eff. 2-17-04; | ||||||
26 | 93-1022, eff. 8-24-04; 94-875, eff. 7-1-06.)
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