Sen. Adriane Johnson

Filed: 5/13/2024

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB5480sam001LRB103 37524 RJT 73169 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 a prorated equalized assessed valuation times a
24qualifying rate. For purposes of calculating the prorated
25equalized assessed valuation, the State Board of Education
26shall calculate the average of the number of students in

 

 

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1grades kindergarten through 12 reported as enrolled in the
2charter school in the State Board's Student Information System
3on October 1 and March 1 of the immediately preceding school
4year. That value shall be divided by the average of the number
5of students in grades kindergarten through 12 reported as
6enrolled in the charter school's resident district on October
71 and March 1 of the immediately preceding school year. That
8proportion shall be multiplied by the real equalized assessed
9valuation as computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of
10Section 18-8.15 for each State-authorized charter school's
11applicable resident district. A State-authorized charter
12school's qualifying rate shall be the same as the rate that
13applies to the charter school's resident district.
14    To be eligible to receive reimbursement in excess of 4/5
15of the cost to transport eligible pupils, a school district or
16partial elementary unit district formed pursuant to Article
1711E shall have a Transportation Fund tax rate of at least .12%.
18The Transportation Fund tax rate for a partial elementary unit
19district formed pursuant Article 11E shall be the combined
20elementary and high school rates pursuant to paragraph (4) of
21subsection (a) of Section 18-8.15.
22    If a school district or partial elementary unit district
23formed pursuant to Article 11E does not have a .12%
24Transportation Fund tax rate, the amount of its claim in
25excess of 4/5 of the cost of transporting pupils shall be
26reduced by the sum arrived at by subtracting the

 

 

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1Transportation Fund tax rate from .12% and multiplying that
2amount by the district's real equalized assessed valuation as
3computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of Section
418-8.15, provided that in no case shall said reduction result
5in reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost to transport
6eligible pupils. No such adjustment may be applied to a claim
7filed by a State-authorized charter school.
8    Subject to the calculation of equalized assessed
9valuation, an adjustment for an insufficient tax rate, and the
10use of a qualifying rate as provided in this Section, a
11State-authorized charter school may make a claim for
12reimbursement by the State that is calculated in the same
13manner as a school district.
14    The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16
15times the number of eligible pupils transported.
16    When calculating the reimbursement for transportation
17costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number
18of pupils enrolled in early education programs from the number
19of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the pupils enrolled in
20the early education programs are transported at the same time
21as other eligible pupils.
22    Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
23school day to an area vocational school or another school
24district's vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the
25school attended, as provided in Sections 10-22.20a and
2610-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5 of the cost

 

 

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1of transporting eligible pupils.
2    School day means that period of time during which the
3pupil is required to be in attendance for instructional
4purposes.
5    If a pupil is at a location within the school district
6other than his residence for child care purposes at the time
7for transportation to school, that location may be considered
8for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles from the school
9attended.
10    Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend
11any school other than a public school shall show the number of
12such children transported.
13    Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not be
14paid for the transportation of pupils for whom transportation
15costs are claimed for payment under other Sections of this
16Act.
17    The allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for
18regular, vocational, and special education pupil
19transportation shall be limited to the sum of the cost of
20physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
21driver; the salaries of full-time or part-time drivers and
22school bus maintenance personnel; employee benefits excluding
23Illinois municipal retirement payments, social security
24payments, unemployment insurance payments and workers'
25compensation insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
26carriers who operate school buses; payments to other school

 

 

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1districts for pupil transportation services; pre-approved
2contractual expenditures for computerized bus scheduling;
3expenditures for housing assistance and homeless prevention
4under Sections 1-17 and 1-18 of the Education for Homeless
5Children Act that are not in excess of the school district's
6actual costs for providing transportation services and are not
7otherwise claimed in another State or federal grant that
8permits those costs to a parent, a legal guardian, any other
9person who enrolled a pupil, or a homeless assistance agency
10that is part of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
11Act's continuum of care for the area in which the district is
12located; the cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and other supplies
13necessary for the operation of school buses; the cost of
14converting buses' gasoline engines to more fuel efficient
15engines or to engines which use alternative energy sources;
16the cost of travel to meetings and workshops conducted by the
17regional superintendent or the State Superintendent of
18Education pursuant to the standards established by the
19Secretary of State under Section 6-106 of the Illinois Vehicle
20Code to improve the driving skills of school bus drivers; the
21cost of maintenance of school buses including parts and
22materials used; expenditures for leasing transportation
23vehicles, except interest and service charges; the cost of
24insurance and licenses for transportation vehicles;
25expenditures for the rental of transportation equipment; plus
26a depreciation allowance of 20% for 5 years for school buses

 

 

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1and vehicles approved for transporting pupils to and from
2school and a depreciation allowance of 10% for 10 years for
3other transportation equipment so used. Each school year, if a
4school district has made expenditures to the Regional
5Transportation Authority or any of its service boards, a mass
6transit district, or an urban transportation district under an
7intergovernmental agreement with the district to provide for
8the transportation of pupils and if the public transit carrier
9received direct payment for services or passes from a school
10district within its service area during the 2000-2001 school
11year, then the allowable direct cost of transporting pupils
12for regular, vocational, and special education pupil
13transportation shall also include the expenditures that the
14district has made to the public transit carrier. In addition
15to the above allowable costs, school districts shall also
16claim all transportation supervisory salary costs, including
17Illinois municipal retirement payments, and all transportation
18related building and building maintenance costs without
19limitation.
20    Special education allowable costs shall also include
21expenditures for the salaries of attendants or aides for that
22portion of the time they assist special education pupils while
23in transit and expenditures for parents and public carriers
24for transporting special education pupils when pre-approved by
25the State Superintendent of Education.
26    Indirect costs shall be included in the reimbursement

 

 

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1claim for districts which own and operate their own school
2buses. Such indirect costs shall include administrative costs,
3or any costs attributable to transporting pupils from their
4attendance centers to another school building for
5instructional purposes. No school district which owns and
6operates its own school buses may claim reimbursement for
7indirect costs which exceed 5% of the total allowable direct
8costs for pupil transportation.
9    The State Board of Education shall prescribe uniform
10regulations for determining the above standards and shall
11prescribe forms of cost accounting and standards of
12determining reasonable depreciation. Such depreciation shall
13include the cost of equipping school buses with the safety
14features required by law or by the rules, regulations and
15standards promulgated by the State Board of Education, and the
16Department of Transportation for the safety and construction
17of school buses provided, however, any equipment cost
18reimbursed by the Department of Transportation for equipping
19school buses with such safety equipment shall be deducted from
20the allowable cost in the computation of reimbursement under
21this Section in the same percentage as the cost of the
22equipment is depreciated.
23    On or before August 15, annually, the chief school
24administrator for the district shall certify to the State
25Superintendent of Education the district's claim for
26reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30 next

 

 

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1preceding. The State Superintendent of Education shall check
2and approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the
3amounts due for district reimbursement claims. Each fiscal
4year, the State Superintendent of Education shall prepare and
5transmit the first 3 vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th
6day of September, December and March, respectively, and the
7final voucher, no later than June 20.
8    If the amount appropriated for transportation
9reimbursement is insufficient to fund total claims for any
10fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall reduce each
11school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
12proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
13amount appropriated.
14    For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement under
15this Section for any school year beginning July 1, 2016, the
16equalized assessed valuation for a school district or partial
17elementary unit district formed pursuant to Article 11E used
18to compute reimbursement shall be the real equalized assessed
19valuation as computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of
20Section 18-8.15.
21    All reimbursements received from the State shall be
22deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
23fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
24    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school
25district receiving a payment under this Section or under
26Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or 14-13.01 of this Code may

 

 

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1classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
2particular fiscal year or from State aid pursuant to Section
318-8.15 of this Code as funds received in connection with any
4funding program for which it is entitled to receive funds from
5the State in that fiscal year (including, without limitation,
6any funding program referenced in this Section), regardless of
7the source or timing of the receipt. The district may not
8classify more funds as funds received in connection with the
9funding program than the district is entitled to receive in
10that fiscal year for that program. Any classification by a
11district must be made by a resolution of its board of
12education. The resolution must identify the amount of any
13payments or general State aid to be classified under this
14paragraph and must specify the funding program to which the
15funds are to be treated as received in connection therewith.
16This resolution is controlling as to the classification of
17funds referenced therein. A certified copy of the resolution
18must be sent to the State Superintendent of Education. The
19resolution shall still take effect even though a copy of the
20resolution has not been sent to the State Superintendent of
21Education in a timely manner. No classification under this
22paragraph by a district shall affect the total amount or
23timing of money the district is entitled to receive under this
24Code. No classification under this paragraph by a district
25shall in any way relieve the district from or affect any
26requirements that otherwise would apply with respect to that

 

 

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1funding program, including any accounting of funds by source,
2reporting expenditures by original source and purpose,
3reporting requirements, or requirements of providing services.
4    Any school district with a population of not more than
5500,000 must deposit all funds received under this Article
6into the transportation fund and use those funds for the
7provision of transportation services.
8(Source: P.A. 102-539, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)".