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Public Act 100-1142
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| HB5195 Enrolled | LRB100 20132 AXK 35416 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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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, consolidated high school
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districts, optional elementary unit districts, combined high |
school - unit districts, combined school districts if the |
combined district
includes any district which was previously |
required to provide
transportation, and any newly created |
elementary or high school districts resulting from a high |
school - unit conversion, a unit to dual conversion, or a |
multi-unit conversion if the newly created district includes |
any area that 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
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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 either (i) vehicular traffic or rail |
crossings or (ii) a course or pattern of criminal activity, as |
defined in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism |
Omnibus Prevention Act. Such transportation shall not
be |
provided if adequate transportation for the public is |
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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 regarding vehicular traffic or rail crossings |
or in accordance with guidelines regarding a course or pattern |
of criminal activity, as determined by the local law |
enforcement agency, in consultation with the State
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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 either (i) vehicular traffic or rail crossings or |
(ii) a course or pattern of criminal activity, 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 either (i) |
vehicular traffic or rail
crossings or (ii) a course or pattern |
of criminal activity, shall conduct a
study and make findings, |
which the Department of Transportation, with respect to |
vehicular traffic or rail crossings, or the State Board of |
Education, in consultation with the local law enforcement |
agency, with respect to a course or pattern of criminal |
activity, shall review
and approve
or disapprove as provided in |
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this Section, to determine whether a serious
safety hazard |
exists as alleged in the petition. The
Department of |
Transportation shall review
the findings of the school board |
concerning vehicular traffic or rail crossings 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 of Transportation. |
The State Board of Education, in consultation with the local |
law enforcement agency, shall review the findings of the school |
board concerning a course or pattern of criminal activity 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 State Board. The |
school board
shall annually review the conditions and determine |
whether or not the hazardous conditions remain unchanged. The
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State Superintendent of Education may request that the Illinois |
Department
of Transportation or the local law enforcement |
agency verify that the conditions have not changed. No action
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shall lie against the school board, the State Superintendent of |
Education,
or the Illinois Department of Transportation, the |
State Board of Education, or a local law enforcement agency 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
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shall apply to and govern all proceedings instituted for the |
judicial
review of final administrative decisions of the |
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Department of
Transportation, the State Board of Education, or |
a local law enforcement agency under this Section. At all |
points, except when otherwise mentioned in this Section, the |
local enforcement agency is authorized to determine what |
constitutes a course or pattern of criminal activity.
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The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of |
the 100th General Assembly do not apply to a school district |
organized under Article 34 of this Code. |
(Source: P.A. 94-439, eff. 8-4-05; 95-903, eff. 8-25-08.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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