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Public Act 91-0407
SB648 Enrolled LRB9105854NTsb
AN ACT concerning charter schools, amending named Acts.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.490 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.490 new)
Sec. 5.490. The Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund.
Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing
Sections 27A-4, 27A-5, 27A-6, 27A-8, 27A-9, 27A-11, 27A-12,
and 29-4 and adding Sections 27A-6.5 and 27A-11.5 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
(a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or
amend the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan
in effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
education services.
(b) The total number of charter schools operating under
this Article at any one time shall not exceed 45. Not more
than that 15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in
any city having a population exceeding 500,000; not more than
15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in the
counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that
portion of Cook County that is located outside a city having
a population exceeding 500,000; and not more than 15 charter
schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder of the
State.
For purposes of implementing this Section, the State
Board shall assign a number to each charter submission it
receives under Section 27A-6 for its review and
certification, based on the chronological order in which the
submission is received by it. The State Board shall promptly
notify local school boards when the maximum numbers of
certified charter schools authorized to operate have been
reached.
(c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
school to a charter school.
(d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the
area served by the local school board. However, no more than
50% of the number of resident pupils enrolled in any one
grade in a school district with only a single attendance
center covering that grade may be enrolled in a charter
school at one time.
(e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more
local school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a
single shared charter school, provided that all of the
provisions of this Article are met as to those local school
boards.
(f) No local school board shall require any employee of
the school district to be employed in a charter school.
(g) No local school board shall require any pupil
residing within the geographic boundary of its district to
enroll in a charter school.
(h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment
in a charter school than there are spaces available,
successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However,
priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the
charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter
school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause.
Dual enrollment at both a charter school and a public school
or non-public school shall not be allowed. A pupil who is
suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed
to be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the
school district in which the pupil resides.
(i) (Blank). No charter school established under this
Article may be authorized to open prior to the school year
beginning in the fall of 1996.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; revised 2-24-98.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A
charter school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
(b) A charter school may be established under this
Article by creating a new school or by converting an existing
public school or attendance center to charter school status.
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed
by its board of directors or other governing body in the
manner provided in its charter. The governing body of a
charter school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information
Act and the Open Meetings Act.
(d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
under the laws of the State of Illinois.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of
each charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by
an outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school.
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article and its charter. A charter school is exempt
from all other State laws and regulations in the School Code
governing public schools and local school board policies,
except the following:
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code
regarding criminal background investigations of
applicants for employment;
(2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code
regarding discipline of students;
(3) The Local Governmental and Governmental
Employees Tort Immunity Act;
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
(5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
and
(6) The Illinois School Student Records Act; and.
(7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding
school report cards.
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college, or any other public
or for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of
a school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a
school district may charge a charter school reasonable rent
for the use of the district's buildings, grounds, and
facilities. Any services for which a charter school
contracts with a school district shall be provided by the
district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
contracts with a local school board or with the governing
body of a State college or university or public community
college shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is
established by converting an existing school or attendance
center to charter school status be required to pay rent for
space that is deemed available, as negotiated and provided in
the charter agreement, in school district facilities.
However, all other costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district facilities that are used by the charter
school shall be subject to negotiation between the charter
school and the local school board and shall be set forth in
the charter.
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
or grade level.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-6)
Sec. 27A-6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and
regulations.
(a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding
contract and agreement between the charter school and a local
school board under the terms of which the local school board
authorizes the governing body of the charter school to
operate the charter school on the terms specified in the
contract.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
the certified charter may not waive or release the charter
school from the State goals, standards, and assessments
established pursuant to Section 2-3.64.
(c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a
material revision to a previously certified contract or a
renewal shall be made with the approval of both the local
school board and the governing body of the charter school.
(c-5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on
how both parties will address minor violations of the
contract.
(d) The proposed contract between the governing body of
a proposed charter school and the local school board as
described in Section 27A-7 must be submitted to and certified
by the State Board before it can take effect. If the State
Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for
consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the
modifications must be consented to by both the governing body
of the charter school and the local school board, and
resubmitted to the State Board for its certification. If the
proposed contract is resubmitted in a form that is not
consistent with this Article, the State Board may refuse to
certify the charter.
The State Board shall assign a number to each submission
or resubmission in chronological order of receipt, and shall
determine whether the proposed contract is consistent with
the provisions of this Article. If the proposed contract
complies, the State Board shall so certify.
(e) No material revision to a previously certified
contract or a renewal shall be effective unless and until the
State Board certifies that the revision or renewal is
consistent with the provisions of this Article.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-6.5 new)
Sec. 27A-6.5. Charter school referendum.
(a) No charter shall be approved under this Section that
would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
school to a charter school or whose proposal has not been
certified by the State Board.
(b) A local school board shall, whenever petitioned to
do so by 5% or more of the voters of a school district or
districts identified in a charter school proposal, order
submitted to the voters thereof at a regularly scheduled
election the question of whether a new charter school shall
be established, which proposal has been certified by the
State Board to be in compliance with the provisions of this
Article, and the secretary shall certify the proposition to
the proper election authorities for submission in accordance
with the general election law. The proposition shall be in
substantially the following form:
"FOR the establishment of (name of proposed charter
school) under charter school proposal (charter school
proposal number).
AGAINST the establishment of (name of proposed
charter school) under charter school proposal (charter
school proposal number)".
(c) Before circulating a petition to submit the question
of whether to establish a charter school to the voters under
subsection (b) of this Section, the governing body of a
proposed charter school that desires to establish a new
charter school by referendum shall submit the charter school
proposal to the State Board in the form of a proposed
contract to be entered into between the State Board and the
governing body of the proposed charter school, as provided
under Section 27A-6, together with written notice of the
intent to have a new charter school established by
referendum. The contract shall comply with the provisions of
this Article.
If the State Board finds that the proposed contract
complies with the provisions of this Article, it shall
immediately certify that the proposed contract complies with
the provisions of this Article and direct the local school
board to notify the proper election authorities that the
question of whether to establish a new charter school shall
be submitted for referendum.
(d) If the State Board finds that the proposal fails to
comply with the provisions of this Article, it shall refuse
to certify the proposal and provide written explanation,
detailing its reasons for refusal, to the local school board
and to the individuals or organizations submitting the
proposal. The State Board shall also notify the local school
board and the individuals or organizations submitting the
proposal that the proposal may be amended and resubmitted
under the same provisions required for an original
submission.
(e) If a majority of the votes cast upon the proposition
in each school district designated in the charter school
proposal is in favor of establishing a charter school, the
local school board shall notify the State Board of the
passage of the proposition in favor of establishing a charter
school and the State Board shall approve the charter within 7
days after the State Board of Elections has certified that a
majority of the votes cast upon the proposition is in favor
of establishing a charter school. The State Board shall be
the chartering entity for charter schools established by
referendum under this Section.
(105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
(a) This Section does not apply to a charter school
established by referendum under Section 27A-6.5. In
evaluating any charter school proposal submitted to it, the
local school board shall give preference to proposals that:
(1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil,
parental, community, business, and school personnel
support;
(2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil
achievement and demonstrate feasible plans for attaining
those levels of achievement; and
(3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial
proportion of at-risk children; provided that nothing in
the Charter Schools Law shall be construed as intended to
limit the establishment of charter schools to those that
serve a substantial portion of at-risk children or to in
any manner restrict, limit, or discourage the
establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve
other pupil populations under a nonexclusive,
nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
(b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter
school by converting an existing public school or attendance
center to charter school status, evidence that the proposed
formation of the charter school has received majority support
from certified teachers and from parents and guardians in the
school or attendance center affected by the proposed charter,
and, if applicable, from a local school council, shall be
demonstrated by a petition in support of the charter school
signed by certified teachers and a petition in support of the
charter school signed by parents and guardians and, if
applicable, by a vote of the local school council held at a
public meeting. In the case of all other proposals to
establish a charter school, evidence of sufficient support to
fill the number of pupil seats set forth in the proposal may
be demonstrated by a petition in support of the charter
school signed by parents and guardians of students eligible
to attend the charter school. In all cases, the individuals,
organizations, or entities who initiate the proposal to
establish a charter school may elect, in lieu of including
any petition referred to in this subsection as a part of the
proposal submitted to the local school board, to demonstrate
that the charter school has received the support referred to
in this subsection by other evidence and information
presented at the public meeting that the local school board
is required to convene under this Section.
(c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school
proposal, the local school board shall convene a public
meeting to obtain information to assist the board in its
decision to grant or deny the charter school proposal.
(d) Notice of the public meeting required by this
Section shall be published in a community newspaper published
in the school district in which the proposed charter is
located and, if there is no such newspaper, then in a
newspaper published in the county and having circulation in
the school district. The notices shall be published not more
than 10 days nor less than 5 days before the meeting and
shall state that information regarding a charter school
proposal will be heard at the meeting. Copies of the notice
shall also be posted at appropriate locations in the school
or attendance center proposed to be established as a charter
school, the public schools in the school district, and the
local school board office.
(e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local
school board shall vote, in a public meeting, to either grant
or deny the charter school proposal.
(f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under
subsection (e), the local school board shall file a report
with the State Board granting or denying the proposal. Within
14 days of receipt of the local school board's report, the
State Board shall determine whether the approved charter
proposal is consistent with the provisions of this Article
and, if the approved proposal complies, certify the proposal
pursuant to Section 27A-6.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
(a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than
5 3 and not more than 10 5 school years. A charter may be
renewed in incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years.
(b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
local school board or State Board, as the chartering entity,
shall contain:
(1) A report on the progress of the charter school
in achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
standards, content standards, and other terms of the
initial approved charter proposal; and
(2) A financial statement that discloses the costs
of administration, instruction, and other spending
categories for the charter school that is understandable
to the general public and that will allow comparison of
those costs to other schools or other comparable
organizations, in a format required by the State Board.
(c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
school board or State Board, as the chartering entity,
clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
following, or otherwise failed to comply with the
requirements of this law:
(1) Committed a material violation of any of the
conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
charter.
(2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress
toward achievement of the content standards or pupil
performance standards identified in the charter.
(3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
fiscal management.
(4) Violated any provision of law from which the
charter school was not exempted.
(d) (Blank).
(e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
revoke or not to renew a charter shall be provided to the
State Board. The State Board may reverse a local board's
decision if the State Board finds that the charter school or
charter school proposal (i) is in compliance with this
Article, and (ii) is in the best interests of the students it
is designed to serve. The State Board may condition the
granting of an appeal on the acceptance by the charter school
of funding in an amount less than that requested in the
proposal submitted to the local school board. Final decisions
of the State Board shall be subject to judicial review under
the Administrative Review Law.
(f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
the State Board on appeal reverses a local board's decision
or if a charter school is approved by referendum, the State
Board shall act as the authorized chartering entity for the
charter school. The State Board shall approve and certify
the charter and shall perform all functions under this
Article otherwise performed by the local school board. The
State Board shall report the aggregate number of charter
school pupils resident in a school district to that district
and shall notify the district of the amount of funding to be
paid by the State Board to the charter school enrolling such
students. The State Board shall withhold from funds
otherwise due the district the funds authorized by this
Article to be paid to the charter school and shall pay such
amounts to the charter school.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-11)
Sec. 27A-11. Local financing.
(a) For purposes of the School Code, pupils enrolled in
a charter school shall be included in the pupil enrollment of
the school district within which the pupil resides. Each
charter school (i) shall determine the school district in
which each pupil who is enrolled in the charter school
resides, (ii) shall report the aggregate number of pupils
resident of a school district who are enrolled in the charter
school to the school district in which those pupils reside,
and (iii) shall maintain accurate records of daily attendance
that shall be deemed sufficient to file claims under Section
18-8 notwithstanding any other requirements of that Section
regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification.
(b) Except for a charter school established by
referendum under Section 27A-6.5, as part of a charter school
contract, the charter school and the local school board shall
agree on funding and any services to be provided by the
school district to the charter school. Agreed funding that a
charter school is to receive from the local school board for
a school year shall be paid in equal quarterly installments
with the payment of the installment for the first quarter
being made not later than July 1, unless the charter
establishes a different payment schedule.
All services centrally or otherwise provided by the
school district including, but not limited to, rent, food
services, custodial services, maintenance, curriculum, media
services, libraries, transportation, and warehousing shall be
subject to negotiation between a charter school and the local
school board and paid for out of the revenues negotiated
pursuant to this subsection (b); provided that the local
school board shall not attempt, by negotiation or otherwise,
to obligate a charter school to provide pupil transportation
for pupils for whom a district is not required to provide
transportation under the criteria set forth in subsection
(a)(13) of Section 27A-7.
In no event shall the funding be less than 75% or more
than 125% of the school district's per capita student tuition
multiplied by the number of students residing in the district
who are enrolled in the charter school.
It is the intent of the General Assembly that funding and
service agreements under this subsection (b) shall be neither
a financial incentive nor a financial disincentive to the
establishment of a charter school.
The charter school may set and collect reasonable fees.
Fees collected from students enrolled at a charter school
shall be retained by the charter school.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this Section, the
proportionate share of State and federal resources generated
by students with disabilities or staff serving them shall be
directed to charter schools enrolling those students by their
school districts or administrative units. The proportionate
share of moneys generated under other federal or State
categorical aid programs shall be directed to charter schools
serving students eligible for that aid.
(d)(1) The governing body of a charter school is
authorized to accept gifts, donations, or grants of any kind
made to the charter school and to expend or use gifts,
donations, or grants in accordance with the conditions
prescribed by the donor; however, a gift, donation, or grant
may not be accepted by the governing body if it is subject to
any condition contrary to applicable law or contrary to the
terms of the contract between the charter school and the
local school board. Charter schools shall be encouraged to
solicit and utilize community volunteer speakers and other
instructional resources when providing instruction on the
Holocaust and other historical events.
(2) From amounts appropriated to the State Board for
purposes of this subsection (d)(2), the State Board may make
loans to charter schools established under this Article to be
used by those schools to defer their start-up costs of
acquiring textbooks and laboratory and other equipment
required for student instruction. Any such loan shall be made
to a charter school at the inception of the term of its
charter, under terms established by the State Board, and
shall be repaid by the charter school over the term of its
charter. A local school board is not responsible for the
repayment of the loan.
(e) (Blank). No later than January 1, 1997, the State
Board shall issue a report to the General Assembly and the
Governor describing the charter schools certified under this
Article, their geographic locations, their areas of focus,
and the numbers of school children served by them.
(f) The State Board shall provide technical assistance
to persons and groups preparing or revising charter
applications.
(g) At the non-renewal or revocation of its charter,
each charter school shall refund to the local board of
education all unspent funds.
(h) A charter school is authorized to incur temporary,
short term debt to pay operating expenses in anticipation of
receipt of funds from the local school board.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98;
90-757, eff. 8-14-98.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-11.5 new)
Sec. 27A-11.5. State financing. The State Board of
Education shall make the following funds available to school
districts and charter schools:
(1) From a separate appropriation made to the State
Board for purposes of this subdivision (1), the State
Board shall make transition impact aid available to
school districts that approve a new charter school or
that have funds withheld by the State Board to fund a new
charter school that is chartered by the State Board. The
amount of the aid shall equal 90% of the per capita
funding paid to the charter school during the first year
of its initial charter term, 65% of the per capita
funding paid to the charter school during the second year
of its initial term, and 35% of the per capita funding
paid to the charter school during the third year of its
initial term. This transition impact aid shall be paid
to the local school board in equal quarterly
installments, with the payment of the installment for the
first quarter being made by August 1st immediately
preceding the first, second, and third years of the
initial term. The district shall file an application for
this aid with the State Board in a format designated by
the State Board. If the appropriation is insufficient in
any year to pay all approved claims, the impact aid shall
be prorated. Transition impact aid shall be paid
beginning in the 1999-2000 school year for charter
schools that are in the first, second, or third year of
their initial term. If House Bill 230 of the 91st
General Assembly becomes law, transition impact aid shall
not be paid for any charter school that is proposed and
created by one or more boards of education, as authorized
under the provisions of House Bill 230 of the 91st
General Assembly.
(2) From a separate appropriation made for the
purpose of this subdivision (2), the State Board shall
make grants to charter schools to pay their start-up
costs of acquiring educational materials and supplies,
textbooks, furniture, and other equipment needed during
their initial term. The State Board shall annually
establish the time and manner of application for these
grants, which shall not exceed $250 per student enrolled
in the charter school.
(3) The Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund is
created as a special fund in the State treasury. Federal
funds, such other funds as may be made available for
costs associated with the establishment of charter
schools in Illinois, and amounts repaid by charter
schools that have received a loan from the Charter
Schools Revolving Loan Fund shall be deposited into the
Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund, and the moneys in
the Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund shall be
appropriated to the State Board and used to provide
interest-free loans to charter schools. These funds
shall be used to pay start-up costs of acquiring
educational materials and supplies, textbooks, furniture,
and other equipment needed in the initial term of the
charter school and for acquiring and remodeling a
suitable physical plant, within the initial term of the
charter school. Loans shall be limited to one loan per
charter school and shall not exceed $250 per student
enrolled in the charter school. A loan shall be repaid
by the end of the initial term of the charter school.
The State Board may deduct amounts necessary to repay the
loan from funds due to the charter school or may require
that the local school board that authorized the charter
school deduct such amounts from funds due the charter
school and remit these amounts to the State Board,
provided that the local school board shall not be
responsible for repayment of the loan. The State Board
may use up to 3% of the appropriation to contract with a
non-profit entity to administer the loan program.
(4) A charter school may apply for and receive,
subject to the same restrictions applicable to school
districts, any grant administered by the State Board that
is available for school districts.
(105 ILCS 5/27A-12)
Sec. 27A-12. Evaluation; annual report. The State Board
shall compile annual evaluations of charter schools received
from local school boards and shall prepare an annual report
on charter schools. The State Board shall review information
regarding the regulations and policies from which charter
schools were released to determine if the exemption assisted
or impeded the charter schools in meeting their stated goals
and objectives. Each annual report shall include suggested
changes in State law necessary to strengthen or change
charter schools.
On or before the second Wednesday of January, 1998, and
on or before the second Wednesday of January of each
subsequent calendar year, the State Board shall issue a
report to the General Assembly and the Governor on its
findings for the school year ending in the preceding calendar
year.
In preparing the annual report required by this Section,
the State Board (i) shall compare the performance of charter
school pupils with the performance of ethnically and
economically comparable groups of pupils in other public
schools who are enrolled in academically comparable courses,
(ii) shall review information regarding the regulations and
policies from which charter schools were released to
determine if the exemptions assisted or impeded the charter
schools in meeting their stated goals and objectives, and
(iii) shall include suggested changes in State law necessary
to strengthen charter schools.
In addition, the State Board shall undertake and report
on periodic evaluations of charter schools that include
evaluations of student academic achievement, the extent to
which charter schools are accomplishing their missions and
goals, the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, and
the need for changes in the approval process for charter
schools.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
(105 ILCS 5/29-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-4)
Sec. 29-4. Pupils attending a charter school or nonpublic
other than a public school. The school board of any school
district that provides any school bus or conveyance for
transporting pupils to and from the public schools shall
afford transportation, without cost, for children who attend
a charter school or any school other than a public school,
who reside at least 1 1/2 miles from the school attended, and
who reside on or along the highway constituting the regular
route of such public school bus or conveyance, such
transportation to extend from some point on the regular route
nearest or most easily accessible to their homes to and from
the school attended, or to or from a point on such regular
route which is nearest or most easily accessible to the
school attended by such children. Nothing herein shall be
construed to prevent high school districts from transporting
public or non-public elementary school pupils on a regular
route where deemed appropriate. The elementary district in
which such pupils reside shall enter into a contractual
agreement with the high school district providing the
service, make payments accordingly, and make claims to the
State in the amount of such contractual payments. The person
in charge of any charter school or school other than a public
school shall certify on a form to be provided by the State
Superintendent of Education, the names and addresses of
pupils transported and when such pupils were in attendance at
the school. If any such children reside within 1 1/2 miles
from the school attended, the school board shall afford such
transportation to such children on the same basis as it
provides transportation for its own pupils residing within
that distance from the school attended.
Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude a school
district from operating separate regular bus routes, subject
to the limitations of this Section, for the benefit of
children who attend a charter school or any school other than
a public school where the operation of such routes is safer,
more economical and more efficient than if such school
district were precluded from operating separate regular bus
routes.
If a school district is required by this Section to
afford transportation without cost for any child who is not a
resident of the district, the school district providing such
transportation is entitled to reimbursement from the school
district in which the child resides for the cost of
furnishing that transportation, including a reasonable
allowance for depreciation on each vehicle so used. The
school district where the child resides shall reimburse the
district providing the transportation for such costs, by the
10th of each month or on such less frequent schedule as may
be agreed to by the 2 school districts.
(Source: P.A. 81-1050.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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