Public Act 93-0166
HB2836 Enrolled LRB093 08382 NHT 08601 b
AN ACT concerning schools.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
Section 29-5 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/29-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5)
Sec. 29-5. Reimbursement by State for transportation.
Any school district, maintaining a school, transporting
resident pupils to another school district's vocational
program, offered through a joint agreement approved by the
State Board of Education, as provided in Section 10-22.22 or
transporting its resident pupils to a school which meets the
standards for recognition as established by the State Board
of Education which provides transportation meeting the
standards of safety, comfort, convenience, efficiency and
operation prescribed by the State Board of Education for
resident pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12
who: (a) reside at least 1 1/2 miles as measured by the
customary route of travel, from the school attended; or (b)
reside in areas where conditions are such that walking
constitutes a hazard to the safety of the child when
determined under Section 29-3; and (c) are transported to the
school attended from pick-up points at the beginning of the
school day and back again at the close of the school day or
transported to and from their assigned attendance centers
during the school day, shall be reimbursed by the State as
hereinafter provided in this Section.
The State will pay the cost of transporting eligible
pupils less the assessed valuation in a dual school district
maintaining secondary grades 9 to 12 inclusive times a
qualifying rate of .05%; in elementary school districts
maintaining grades K to 8 times a qualifying rate of .06%; in
unit districts maintaining grades K to 12 times a qualifying
rate of .07%. To be eligible to receive reimbursement in
excess of 4/5 of the cost to transport eligible pupils, a
school district shall have a Transportation Fund tax rate of
at least .12%. If a school district does not have a .12%
Transportation Fund tax rate, the amount of its claim in
excess of 4/5 of the cost of transporting pupils shall be
reduced by the sum arrived at by subtracting the
Transportation Fund tax rate from .12% and multiplying that
amount by the districts equalized or assessed valuation,
provided, that in no case shall said reduction result in
reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost to transport
eligible pupils.
The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16
times the number of eligible pupils transported.
Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
school day to an area vocational school or another school
district's vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the
school attended, as provided in Sections 10-22.20a and
10-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5 of the
cost of transporting eligible pupils.
School day means that period of time which the pupil is
required to be in attendance for instructional purposes.
If a pupil is at a location within the school district
other than his residence for child care purposes at the time
for transportation to school, that location may be considered
for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles from the school
attended.
Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend
any school other than a public school shall show the number
of such children transported.
Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not be
paid for the transportation of pupils for whom transportation
costs are claimed for payment under other Sections of this
Act.
The allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for
regular, vocational, and special education pupil
transportation shall be limited to the sum of the cost of
physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
driver; the salaries of full or part-time drivers and school
bus maintenance personnel; employee benefits excluding
Illinois municipal retirement payments, social security
payments, unemployment insurance payments and workers'
compensation insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
carriers who operate school buses; payments to other school
districts for pupil transportation services; pre-approved
contractual expenditures for computerized bus scheduling; the
cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and other supplies necessary
for the operation of school buses; the cost of converting
buses' gasoline engines to more fuel efficient engines or to
engines which use alternative energy sources; the cost of
travel to meetings and workshops conducted by the regional
superintendent or the State Superintendent of Education
pursuant to the standards established by the Secretary of
State under Section 6-106 of the Illinois Vehicle Code to
improve the driving skills of school bus drivers; the cost of
maintenance of school buses including parts and materials
used; expenditures for leasing transportation vehicles,
except interest and service charges; the cost of insurance
and licenses for transportation vehicles; expenditures for
the rental of transportation equipment; plus a depreciation
allowance of 20% for 5 years for school buses and vehicles
approved for transporting pupils to and from school and a
depreciation allowance of 10% for 10 years for other
transportation equipment so used. In addition to the above
allowable costs school districts shall also claim all
transportation supervisory salary costs, including Illinois
municipal retirement payments, and all transportation related
building and building maintenance costs without limitation.
Special education allowable costs shall also include
expenditures for the salaries of attendants or aides for that
portion of the time they assist special education pupils
while in transit and expenditures for parents and public
carriers for transporting special education pupils when
pre-approved by the State Superintendent of Education.
Indirect costs shall be included in the reimbursement
claim for districts which own and operate their own school
buses. Such indirect costs shall include administrative
costs, or any costs attributable to transporting pupils from
their attendance centers to another school building for
instructional purposes. No school district which owns and
operates its own school buses may claim reimbursement for
indirect costs which exceed 5% of the total allowable direct
costs for pupil transportation.
The State Board of Education shall prescribe uniform
regulations for determining the above standards and shall
prescribe forms of cost accounting and standards of
determining reasonable depreciation. Such depreciation shall
include the cost of equipping school buses with the safety
features required by law or by the rules, regulations and
standards promulgated by the State Board of Education, and
the Department of Transportation for the safety and
construction of school buses provided, however, any equipment
cost reimbursed by the Department of Transportation for
equipping school buses with such safety equipment shall be
deducted from the allowable cost in the computation of
reimbursement under this Section in the same percentage as
the cost of the equipment is depreciated.
On or before July 10, annually, the chief school
administrator for board clerk or the secretary of the
district shall certify to the regional superintendent of
schools upon forms prescribed by the State Superintendent of
Education the district's claim for reimbursement for the
school year ended on June 30 next preceding. The regional
superintendent of schools shall check all transportation
claims to ascertain compliance with the prescribed standards
and upon his approval shall certify not later than July 25 to
the State Superintendent of Education the regional report of
claims for reimbursements. The State Superintendent of
Education shall check and approve the claims and prepare the
vouchers showing the amounts due for district reimbursement
claims. Beginning with the 1977 fiscal year, the State
Superintendent of Education shall prepare and transmit the
first 3 vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th day of
September, December and March, respectively, and the final
voucher, no later than June 15.
If the amount appropriated for transportation
reimbursement is insufficient to fund total claims for any
fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall reduce each
school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
amount appropriated.
For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement
under this Section for any school year beginning July 1,
1998, or thereafter, the equalized assessed valuation for a
school district used to compute reimbursement shall be
computed in the same manner as it is computed under paragraph
(2) of subsection (G) of Section 18-8.05.
All reimbursements received from the State shall be
deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school
district receiving a payment under this Section or under
Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02a, or 14-13.01 of this Code may
classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
particular fiscal year or from general State aid pursuant to
Section 18-8.05 of this Code as funds received in connection
with any funding program for which it is entitled to receive
funds from the State in that fiscal year (including, without
limitation, any funding program referenced in this Section),
regardless of the source or timing of the receipt. The
district may not classify more funds as funds received in
connection with the funding program than the district is
entitled to receive in that fiscal year for that program.
Any classification by a district must be made by a resolution
of its board of education. The resolution must identify the
amount of any payments or general State aid to be classified
under this paragraph and must specify the funding program to
which the funds are to be treated as received in connection
therewith. This resolution is controlling as to the
classification of funds referenced therein. A certified copy
of the resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of
Education. The resolution shall still take effect even though
a copy of the resolution has not been sent to the State
Superintendent of Education in a timely manner. No
classification under this paragraph by a district shall
affect the total amount or timing of money the district is
entitled to receive under this Code. No classification
under this paragraph by a district shall in any way relieve
the district from or affect any requirements that otherwise
would apply with respect to that funding program, including
any accounting of funds by source, reporting expenditures by
original source and purpose, reporting requirements, or
requirements of providing services.
Any school district with a population of not more than
500,000 must deposit all funds received under this Article
into the transportation fund and use those funds for the
provision of transportation services.
(Source: P.A. 91-96, eff. 7-9-99; 92-568, eff. 6-26-02.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.