Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB0261
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Full Text of HB0261  100th General Assembly

HB0261eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
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, maintaining a school, transporting resident
9pupils to another school district's vocational program,
10offered through a joint agreement approved by the State Board
11of Education, as provided in Section 10-22.22 or transporting
12its resident pupils to a school which meets the standards for
13recognition as established by the State Board of Education
14which provides transportation meeting the standards of safety,
15comfort, convenience, efficiency and operation prescribed by
16the State Board of Education for resident pupils in
17kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12 who: (a) reside at
18least 1 1/2 miles as measured by the customary route of travel,
19from the school attended; or (b) reside in areas where
20conditions are such that walking constitutes a hazard to the
21safety of the child when determined under Section 29-3; and (c)
22are transported to the school attended from pick-up points at
23the beginning of the school day and back again at the close of

 

 

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1the school day or transported to and from their assigned
2attendance centers during the school day, shall be reimbursed
3by the State as hereinafter provided in this Section.
4    The State will pay the cost of transporting eligible pupils
5less the assessed valuation in a dual school district
6maintaining secondary grades 9 to 12 inclusive times a
7qualifying rate of .05%; in elementary school districts
8maintaining grades K to 8 times a qualifying rate of .06%; and
9in unit districts maintaining grades K to 12, including
10optional elementary unit districts and combined high school -
11unit districts, times a qualifying rate of .07%; provided that
12for optional elementary unit districts and combined high school -
13 unit districts, assessed valuation for high school purposes,
14as defined in Article 11E of this Code, must be used. To be
15eligible to receive reimbursement in excess of 4/5 of the cost
16to transport eligible pupils, a school district shall have a
17Transportation Fund tax rate of at least .12%. If a school
18district does not have a .12% Transportation Fund tax rate, the
19amount of its claim in excess of 4/5 of the cost of
20transporting pupils shall be reduced by the sum arrived at by
21subtracting the Transportation Fund tax rate from .12% and
22multiplying that amount by the districts equalized or assessed
23valuation, provided, that in no case shall said reduction
24result in reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost to
25transport eligible pupils.
26    The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16

 

 

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1times the number of eligible pupils transported.
2    When calculating the reimbursement for transportation
3costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number
4of pupils enrolled in early education programs from the number
5of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the pupils enrolled in
6the early education programs are transported at the same time
7as other eligible pupils.
8    Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
9school day to an area vocational school or another school
10district's vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the
11school attended, as provided in Sections 10-22.20a and
1210-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5 of the cost
13of transporting eligible pupils.
14    School day means that period of time which the pupil is
15required to be in attendance for instructional purposes.
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 Act.

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1Department of Transportation for equipping school buses with
2such safety equipment shall be deducted from the allowable cost
3in the computation of reimbursement under this Section in the
4same percentage as the cost of the equipment is depreciated.
5    On or before August 15, annually, the chief school
6administrator for the district shall certify to the State
7Superintendent of Education the district's claim for
8reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30 next
9preceding. The State Superintendent of Education shall check
10and approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the
11amounts due for district reimbursement claims. Each fiscal
12year, the State Superintendent of Education shall prepare and
13transmit the first 3 vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th
14day of September, December and March, respectively, and the
15final voucher, no later than June 20.
16    If the amount appropriated for transportation
17reimbursement is insufficient to fund total claims for any
18fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall reduce each
19school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
20proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
21amount appropriated.
22    For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement under
23this Section for any school year beginning July 1, 1998, or
24thereafter, the equalized assessed valuation for a school
25district used to compute reimbursement shall be computed in the
26same manner as it is computed under paragraph (2) of subsection

 

 

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1(G) of Section 18-8.05.
2    All reimbursements received from the State shall be
3deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
4fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
5    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school
6district receiving a payment under this Section or under
7Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or 14-13.01 of this Code may
8classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
9particular fiscal year or from general State aid pursuant to
10Section 18-8.05 of this Code as funds received in connection
11with any funding program for which it is entitled to receive
12funds from the State in that fiscal year (including, without
13limitation, any funding program referenced in this Section),
14regardless of the source or timing of the receipt. The district
15may not classify more funds as funds received in connection
16with the funding program than the district is entitled to
17receive in that fiscal year for that program. Any
18classification by a district must be made by a resolution of
19its board of education. The resolution must identify the amount
20of any payments or general State aid to be classified under
21this paragraph and must specify the funding program to which
22the funds are to be treated as received in connection
23therewith. This resolution is controlling as to the
24classification of funds referenced therein. A certified copy of
25the resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of
26Education. The resolution shall still take effect even though a

 

 

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1copy of the resolution has not been sent to the State
2Superintendent of Education in a timely manner. No
3classification under this paragraph by a district shall affect
4the total amount or timing of money the district is entitled to
5receive under this Code. No classification under this paragraph
6by a district shall in any way relieve the district from or
7affect any requirements that otherwise would apply with respect
8to that funding program, including any accounting of funds by
9source, reporting expenditures by original source and purpose,
10reporting requirements, or requirements of providing services.
11    Any school district with a population of not more than
12500,000 must deposit all funds received under this Article into
13the transportation fund and use those funds for the provision
14of transportation services.
15(Source: P.A. 95-903, eff. 8-25-08; 96-1264, eff. 1-1-11.)
 
16    Section 10. The Education for Homeless Children Act is
17amended by adding Sections 1-17 and 1-18 as follows:
 
18    (105 ILCS 45/1-17 new)
19    Sec. 1-17. Homeless prevention.
20    (a) If a child is homeless or is at risk of becoming
21homeless, the school district may:
22        (1) provide rental or mortgage assistance in such
23    amount as will allow the child and his or her parent, his
24    or her guardian, or the person who enrolled the child to

 

 

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1    remain permanently in their current living situation or
2    obtain a new living situation;
3        (2) provide financial assistance with respect to
4    unpaid bills, loans, or other financial debts that results
5    in housing being considered inadequate pursuant to Section
6    1-5 of this Act and the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
7    Assistance Act; or
8        (3) provide assistance under both items (1) and (2) of
9    this subsection (a).
10    (b) In order to provide homeless prevention assistance
11under subsection (a) of this Section, a school district shall
12first make an attempt to provide such assistance through a
13homeless assistance agency that is part of the Federal
14McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act's continuum of care for
15the area in which the school district is located. If the
16attempts to secure assistance through the applicable continuum
17of care are unsuccessful, subject to the limitations specified
18in Section 29-5 of the School Code, transportation funds under
19Section 29-5 of the School Code may be used for those purposes.
20    (c) Prior to providing homeless prevention assistance
21pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, a housing plan must
22first be approved in writing by the school district and the
23parent, guardian, or person who enrolled the child.
24    (d) For purposes of this Section:
25    "At risk of becoming homeless" means that documented
26evidence has been provided by the parent, guardian, or person

 

 

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1who enrolled the child that shows that a living situation will,
2within 8 weeks, cease to become fixed, regular, and adequate
3and will result in the child becoming homeless within the
4definition of Section 1-5 of this Act and the Federal
5McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The documented
6evidence shall include, but need not be limited to: foreclosure
7notices, eviction notices, notices indicating that utilities
8will be shut off or discontinued, or written statements from
9the parent, guardian, or person who enrolled the child,
10supplemented by financial documentation, that indicate a loss
11of income that will prevent the maintenance of a permanent
12living situation.
13    "Person who enrolled the child" also means an unaccompanied
14youth.
 
15    (105 ILCS 45/1-18 new)
16    Sec. 1-18. Legislative intent. It is not the intent of this
17amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly to require school
18districts, parents, guardians, or persons who enroll children
19to enter into housing assistance or homeless prevention plans.
20It is the intent of this amendatory Act of the 100th General
21Assembly to permit school districts, parents, guardians, or
22persons who enroll children to voluntarily enter into housing
23assistance or homeless prevention plans when both parties agree
24that those arrangements will be in the best of interest of the
25child and district.
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.