093_HB0763sam001

 










                                     LRB093 05523 NHT 19950 a

 1                     AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 763

 2        AMENDMENT NO.     .  Amend House Bill  763  by  replacing
 3    everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 4        "Section   5.   The  School  Code  is amended by changing
 5    Section 29-5 as follows:

 6        (105 ILCS 5/29-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5)
 7        Sec. 29-5.  Reimbursement by  State  for  transportation.
 8    Any  school  district,  maintaining  a  school,  transporting
 9    resident  pupils  to  another  school  district's  vocational
10    program,  offered  through  a joint agreement approved by the
11    State Board of Education, as provided in Section 10-22.22  or
12    transporting  its resident pupils to a school which meets the
13    standards for recognition as established by the  State  Board
14    of   Education  which  provides  transportation  meeting  the
15    standards of safety,  comfort,  convenience,  efficiency  and
16    operation  prescribed  by  the  State  Board of Education for
17    resident pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12
18    who: (a) reside at least 1  1/2  miles  as  measured  by  the
19    customary  route  of travel, from the school attended; or (b)
20    reside in  areas  where  conditions  are  such  that  walking
21    constitutes  a  hazard  to  the  safety  of  the  child  when
22    determined under Section 29-3; and (c) are transported to the
 
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 1    school  attended  from pick-up points at the beginning of the
 2    school day and back again at the close of the school  day  or
 3    transported  to  and  from  their assigned attendance centers
 4    during the school day, shall be reimbursed by  the  State  as
 5    hereinafter provided in this Section.
 6        The  State  will  pay  the  cost of transporting eligible
 7    pupils less the assessed valuation in a dual school  district
 8    maintaining  secondary  grades  9  to  12  inclusive  times a
 9    qualifying rate  of  .05%;  in  elementary  school  districts
10    maintaining grades K to 8 times a qualifying rate of .06%; in
11    unit  districts maintaining grades K to 12 times a qualifying
12    rate of .07%. To be  eligible  to  receive  reimbursement  in
13    excess  of  4/5  of  the cost to transport eligible pupils, a
14    school district shall have a Transportation Fund tax rate  of
15    at  least  .12%.   If  a school district does not have a .12%
16    Transportation Fund tax rate, the  amount  of  its  claim  in
17    excess  of  4/5  of  the cost of transporting pupils shall be
18    reduced  by  the  sum   arrived   at   by   subtracting   the
19    Transportation  Fund  tax rate from .12% and multiplying that
20    amount by the  districts  equalized  or  assessed  valuation,
21    provided,  that  in  no  case  shall said reduction result in
22    reimbursement of less than  4/5  of  the  cost  to  transport
23    eligible pupils.
24        The  minimum  amount  to be received by a district is $16
25    times the number of eligible pupils transported.
26        Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
27    school day to an area vocational  school  or  another  school
28    district's  vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the
29    school  attended,  as  provided  in  Sections  10-22.20a  and
30    10-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State  for  4/5  of  the
31    cost of transporting eligible pupils.
32        School  day  means that period of time which the pupil is
33    required to be in attendance for instructional purposes.
34        If a pupil is at a location within  the  school  district
 
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 1    other  than his residence for child care purposes at the time
 2    for transportation to school, that location may be considered
 3    for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles from  the  school
 4    attended.
 5        Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend
 6    any  school  other than a public school shall show the number
 7    of such children transported.
 8        Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not  be
 9    paid for the transportation of pupils for whom transportation
10    costs  are  claimed  for payment under other Sections of this
11    Act.
12        The allowable direct  cost  of  transporting  pupils  for
13    regular,    vocational,    and    special   education   pupil
14    transportation shall be limited to the sum  of  the  cost  of
15    physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
16    driver;  the salaries of full or part-time drivers and school
17    bus  maintenance  personnel;  employee   benefits   excluding
18    Illinois   municipal  retirement  payments,  social  security
19    payments,  unemployment  insurance  payments   and   workers'
20    compensation  insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
21    carriers who operate school buses; payments to  other  school
22    districts  for  pupil  transportation  services; pre-approved
23    contractual expenditures for computerized bus scheduling; the
24    cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and  other  supplies  necessary
25    for  the  operation  of  school buses; the cost of converting
26    buses' gasoline engines to more fuel efficient engines or  to
27    engines  which  use  alternative  energy sources; the cost of
28    travel to meetings and workshops conducted  by  the  regional
29    superintendent  or  the  State  Superintendent  of  Education
30    pursuant  to  the  standards  established by the Secretary of
31    State under Section 6-106 of the  Illinois  Vehicle  Code  to
32    improve the driving skills of school bus drivers; the cost of
33    maintenance  of  school  buses  including parts and materials
34    used;  expenditures  for  leasing  transportation   vehicles,
 
                            -4-      LRB093 05523 NHT 19950 a
 1    except  interest  and  service charges; the cost of insurance
 2    and licenses for transportation  vehicles;  expenditures  for
 3    the  rental  of transportation equipment; plus a depreciation
 4    allowance of 20% for 5 years for school  buses  and  vehicles
 5    approved  for  transporting  pupils  to and from school and a
 6    depreciation  allowance  of  10%  for  10  years  for   other
 7    transportation  equipment  so  used.  Each  school year, if a
 8    school  district  has  made  expenditures  to  the   Regional
 9    Transportation Authority or any of its service boards, a mass
10    transit  district,  or an urban transportation district under
11    an intergovernmental agreement with the district  to  provide
12    for  the  transportation  of pupils and if the public transit
13    carrier received direct payment for services or passes from a
14    school district within its service area during the  2000-2001
15    school  year,  then the allowable direct cost of transporting
16    pupils for regular, vocational, and special  education  pupil
17    transportation  shall  also include the expenditures that the
18    district has made to the public transit carrier. In  addition
19    to  the  above  allowable  costs  school districts shall also
20    claim all transportation supervisory salary costs,  including
21    Illinois    municipal    retirement    payments,    and   all
22    transportation  related  building  and  building  maintenance
23    costs without limitation.
24        Special education  allowable  costs  shall  also  include
25    expenditures for the salaries of attendants or aides for that
26    portion  of  the  time  they  assist special education pupils
27    while in transit and  expenditures  for  parents  and  public
28    carriers  for  transporting  special  education  pupils  when
29    pre-approved by the State Superintendent of Education.
30        Indirect  costs  shall  be  included in the reimbursement
31    claim for districts which own and operate  their  own  school
32    buses.   Such  indirect  costs  shall  include administrative
33    costs, or any costs attributable to transporting pupils  from
34    their  attendance  centers  to  another  school  building for
 
                            -5-      LRB093 05523 NHT 19950 a
 1    instructional purposes.  No school district  which  owns  and
 2    operates  its  own  school  buses may claim reimbursement for
 3    indirect costs which exceed 5% of the total allowable  direct
 4    costs for pupil transportation.
 5        The  State  Board  of  Education  shall prescribe uniform
 6    regulations for determining the  above  standards  and  shall
 7    prescribe   forms   of   cost  accounting  and  standards  of
 8    determining reasonable depreciation. Such depreciation  shall
 9    include  the  cost  of equipping school buses with the safety
10    features required by law or by  the  rules,  regulations  and
11    standards  promulgated  by  the State Board of Education, and
12    the  Department  of  Transportation  for   the   safety   and
13    construction of school buses provided, however, any equipment
14    cost  reimbursed  by  the  Department  of  Transportation for
15    equipping school buses with such safety  equipment  shall  be
16    deducted  from  the  allowable  cost  in  the  computation of
17    reimbursement under this Section in the  same  percentage  as
18    the cost of the equipment is depreciated.
19        On   or  before  July  10,  annually,  the  chief  school
20    administrator for the district shall certify to the  regional
21    superintendent  of schools upon forms prescribed by the State
22    Superintendent  of  Education  the   district's   claim   for
23    reimbursement  for  the  school  year  ended  on June 30 next
24    preceding.  The  regional  superintendent  of  schools  shall
25    check  all transportation claims to ascertain compliance with
26    the prescribed standards and upon his approval shall  certify
27    not  later  than  July  25  to  the  State  Superintendent of
28    Education the regional report of claims  for  reimbursements.
29    The State Superintendent of Education shall check and approve
30    the  claims  and prepare the vouchers showing the amounts due
31    for district reimbursement claims.  Beginning with  the  1977
32    fiscal  year,  the  State  Superintendent  of Education shall
33    prepare and transmit the first 3 vouchers to the  Comptroller
34    on   the   30th   day   of  September,  December  and  March,
 
                            -6-      LRB093 05523 NHT 19950 a
 1    respectively, and the final voucher, no later than June 15.
 2        If   the   amount   appropriated    for    transportation
 3    reimbursement  is  insufficient  to fund total claims for any
 4    fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall  reduce  each
 5    school  district's  allowable  costs  and  flat  grant amount
 6    proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
 7    amount appropriated.
 8        For purposes  of  calculating  claims  for  reimbursement
 9    under  this  Section  for  any  school year beginning July 1,
10    1998, or thereafter, the equalized assessed valuation  for  a
11    school  district  used  to  compute  reimbursement  shall  be
12    computed in the same manner as it is computed under paragraph
13    (2) of subsection (G) of Section 18-8.05.
14        All  reimbursements  received  from  the  State  shall be
15    deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
16    fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
17        Notwithstanding any other provision of  law,  any  school
18    district  receiving  a  payment  under  this Section or under
19    Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02a,  or  14-13.01  of  this  Code  may
20    classify  all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
21    particular fiscal year or from general State aid pursuant  to
22    Section  18-8.05 of this Code as funds received in connection
23    with any funding program for which it is entitled to  receive
24    funds  from the State in that fiscal year (including, without
25    limitation, any funding program referenced in this  Section),
26    regardless  of  the  source  or  timing  of the receipt.  The
27    district may not classify more funds  as  funds  received  in
28    connection  with  the  funding  program  than the district is
29    entitled to receive in that fiscal  year  for  that  program.
30    Any classification by a district must be made by a resolution
31    of  its board of education.  The resolution must identify the
32    amount of any payments or general State aid to be  classified
33    under  this paragraph and must specify the funding program to
34    which the funds are to be treated as received  in  connection
 
                            -7-      LRB093 05523 NHT 19950 a
 1    therewith.    This   resolution  is  controlling  as  to  the
 2    classification of funds referenced therein.  A certified copy
 3    of the resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of
 4    Education. The resolution shall still take effect even though
 5    a copy of the resolution has  not  been  sent  to  the  State
 6    Superintendent   of   Education  in  a  timely  manner.    No
 7    classification under  this  paragraph  by  a  district  shall
 8    affect  the  total  amount or timing of money the district is
 9    entitled to receive under  this  Code.     No  classification
10    under  this  paragraph by a district shall in any way relieve
11    the district from or affect any requirements  that  otherwise
12    would  apply  with respect to that funding program, including
13    any accounting of funds by source, reporting expenditures  by
14    original  source  and  purpose,  reporting  requirements,  or
15    requirements of providing services.
16        Any  school  district  with a population of not more than
17    500,000 must deposit all funds received  under  this  Article
18    into  the  transportation  fund  and  use those funds for the
19    provision of transportation services.
20    (Source: P.A. 92-568, eff. 6-26-02; 93-166, eff. 7-10-03.)

21        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
22    becoming law.".