Full Text of HB5159 102nd General Assembly
HB5159 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 HB5159 Introduced 1/27/2022, by Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 105 ILCS 5/29-3 | from Ch. 122, par. 29-3 |
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Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Requires school boards for various school districts to cover the transit fees for 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 districts. Makes conforming changes. Effective July 1, 2023.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 29-3 as follows:
| 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/29-3) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-3)
| 7 | | Sec. 29-3. Transportation in school districts. School | 8 | | boards
of community consolidated districts, community unit
| 9 | | districts, consolidated districts, consolidated high school
| 10 | | districts, optional elementary unit districts, combined high | 11 | | school - unit districts, combined school districts if the | 12 | | combined district
includes any district which was previously | 13 | | required to provide
transportation, and any newly created | 14 | | elementary or high school districts resulting from a high | 15 | | school - unit conversion, a unit to dual conversion, or a | 16 | | multi-unit conversion if the newly created district includes | 17 | | any area that was previously required to provide | 18 | | transportation shall provide , or cover the transit fees of, | 19 | | free transportation
for pupils residing at a distance of one | 20 | | and one-half miles or more from
any school to which they are | 21 | | assigned for attendance maintained within the
district , except | 22 | | for those pupils for whom the school board shall certify to
the | 23 | | State Board of Education that adequate transportation for the |
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| 1 | | public is
available .
| 2 | | For the purpose of this Act 1 1/2 miles distance shall be | 3 | | from the exit
of the property where the pupil resides to the | 4 | | point where pupils are normally
unloaded at the school | 5 | | attended; such distance shall be measured by determining
the | 6 | | shortest distance on normally traveled roads or streets.
| 7 | | Such school board may comply with the provisions of this | 8 | | Section by
providing free transportation for pupils to and | 9 | | from an assigned school
and a pick-up point located not more | 10 | | than one and one-half miles from
the home of each pupil | 11 | | assigned to such point.
| 12 | | For the purposes of this Act "adequate transportation for | 13 | | the public"
shall be assumed to exist for such pupils as can | 14 | | reach school by
walking, one way, along normally traveled | 15 | | roads or streets
less than 1
1/2 miles irrespective of the | 16 | | distance the
pupil is transported by public transportation.
| 17 | | In addition to the other requirements of this Section, | 18 | | each school board may
provide free transportation for any | 19 | | pupil residing within 1 1/2 miles from the
school attended | 20 | | where conditions are such that walking, either to or from the
| 21 | | school to which a pupil is assigned for attendance or to or | 22 | | from a pick-up
point or bus stop, constitutes a serious hazard | 23 | | to the safety of the pupil
due to either (i) vehicular traffic | 24 | | or rail crossings or (ii) a course or pattern of criminal | 25 | | activity, as defined in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang | 26 | | Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act. Such transportation shall |
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| 1 | | not
be provided if adequate transportation for the public is | 2 | | available.
| 3 | | The determination as to what constitutes a serious safety | 4 | | hazard shall
be made by the school board, in accordance with | 5 | | guidelines promulgated by
the Illinois Department of | 6 | | Transportation regarding vehicular traffic or rail crossings | 7 | | or in accordance with guidelines regarding a course or pattern | 8 | | of criminal activity, as determined by the local law | 9 | | enforcement agency, in consultation with the State
| 10 | | Superintendent of Education. A school board, on written | 11 | | petition of the
parent or guardian of a pupil for whom adequate | 12 | | transportation for the public
is alleged not to exist because | 13 | | the pupil is required to walk along normally
traveled roads or | 14 | | streets where walking is alleged to constitute a serious
| 15 | | safety hazard due to either (i) vehicular traffic or rail | 16 | | crossings or (ii) a course or pattern of criminal activity, or | 17 | | who is required to
walk between the
pupil's home and assigned | 18 | | school or between the pupil's home or assigned school
and a | 19 | | pick-up point or bus stop along roads or streets where walking | 20 | | is alleged
to constitute a serious safety hazard due to either | 21 | | (i) vehicular traffic or rail
crossings or (ii) a course or | 22 | | pattern of criminal activity, shall conduct a
study and make | 23 | | findings, which the Department of Transportation, with respect | 24 | | to vehicular traffic or rail crossings, or the State Board of | 25 | | Education, in consultation with the local law enforcement | 26 | | agency, with respect to a course or pattern of criminal |
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| 1 | | activity, shall review
and approve
or disapprove as provided | 2 | | in this Section, to determine whether a serious
safety hazard | 3 | | exists as alleged in the petition. The
Department of | 4 | | Transportation shall review
the findings of the school board | 5 | | concerning vehicular traffic or rail crossings and shall | 6 | | approve or disapprove the school
board's determination that a | 7 | | serious safety hazard exists within 30 days
after the school | 8 | | board submits its findings to the Department of | 9 | | Transportation. The State Board of Education, in consultation | 10 | | with the local law enforcement agency, shall review the | 11 | | findings of the school board concerning a course or pattern of | 12 | | criminal activity and shall approve or disapprove the school | 13 | | board's determination that a serious safety hazard exists | 14 | | within 30 days after the school board submits its findings to | 15 | | the State Board. The school board
shall annually review the | 16 | | conditions and determine whether or not the hazardous | 17 | | conditions remain unchanged. The
State Superintendent of | 18 | | Education may request that the Illinois Department
of | 19 | | Transportation or the local law enforcement agency verify that | 20 | | the conditions have not changed. No action
shall lie against | 21 | | the school board, the State Superintendent of Education,
the | 22 | | Illinois Department of Transportation, the State Board of | 23 | | Education, or a local law enforcement agency for decisions | 24 | | made in accordance
with this Section. The provisions of the | 25 | | Administrative Review Law and all
amendments and modifications | 26 | | thereof and the rules adopted pursuant thereto
shall apply to |
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| 1 | | and govern all proceedings instituted for the judicial
review | 2 | | of final administrative decisions of the Department of
| 3 | | Transportation, the State Board of Education, or a local law | 4 | | enforcement agency under this Section. At all points, except | 5 | | when otherwise mentioned in this Section, the local | 6 | | enforcement agency is authorized to determine what constitutes | 7 | | a course or pattern of criminal activity.
| 8 | | The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of | 9 | | the 100th General Assembly do not apply to a school district | 10 | | organized under Article 34 of this Code. | 11 | | (Source: P.A. 100-1142, eff. 11-28-18.)
| 12 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | 13 | | 2023.
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