Full Text of HB0987 096th General Assembly
HB0987 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB0987
Introduced 2/10/2009, by Rep. Kevin A. McCarthy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/29-2 |
from Ch. 122, par. 29-2 |
105 ILCS 5/29-3 |
from Ch. 122, par. 29-3 |
105 ILCS 5/29-4 |
from Ch. 122, par. 29-4 |
105 ILCS 5/29-5.2 |
from Ch. 122, par. 29-5.2 |
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Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Provides that a school board shall provide free transportation for pupils residing at a distance of one mile (instead of one and one-half miles) or more from school. Makes related changes in provisions concerning transportation of pupils less than that distance from school, pupils attending a charter school or nonpublic school, and reimbursement of a custodian of a qualifying pupil for transportation expenses paid by the custodian. Effective July 1, 2009.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
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A BILL FOR
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HB0987 |
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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 Sections | 5 |
| 29-2, 29-3, 29-4, and 29-5.2 as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 5/29-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-2)
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| Sec. 29-2. Transportation of pupils less than one mile and | 8 |
| one-half miles from school.
School boards may provide | 9 |
| transportation for pupils living less than one mile
and | 10 |
| one-half miles as measured by the customary route of travel | 11 |
| from the
school attended and may make a charge for such | 12 |
| transportation in an amount
of not to exceed the cost thereof, | 13 |
| which shall include a reasonable
allowance for depreciation of | 14 |
| the vehicles so used. | 15 |
| (Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
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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 | 18 |
| 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 | 21 |
| school - unit districts, combined school districts if the | 22 |
| combined district
includes any district which was previously |
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| required to provide
transportation, and any newly created | 2 |
| elementary or high school districts resulting from a high | 3 |
| school - unit conversion, a unit to dual conversion, or a | 4 |
| multi-unit conversion if the newly created district includes | 5 |
| any area that was previously required to provide transportation | 6 |
| shall provide free transportation
for pupils residing at a | 7 |
| distance of one mile and one-half miles or more from
any school | 8 |
| to which they are assigned for attendance maintained within the
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| district, except for those pupils for whom the school board | 10 |
| shall certify to
the State Board of Education that adequate | 11 |
| transportation for the public is
available.
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| For the purpose of this Act one mile 1 1/2 miles distance | 13 |
| shall be from the exit
of the property where the pupil resides | 14 |
| to the point where pupils are normally
unloaded at the school | 15 |
| attended; such distance shall be measured by determining
the | 16 |
| shortest distance on normally traveled roads or streets.
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| Such school board may comply with the provisions of this | 18 |
| Section by
providing free transportation for pupils to and from | 19 |
| an assigned school
and a pick-up point located not more than | 20 |
| one mile and one-half miles from
the home of each pupil | 21 |
| assigned to such point.
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| For the purposes of this Act "adequate transportation for | 23 |
| the public"
shall be assumed to exist for such pupils as can | 24 |
| reach school by
walking, one way, along normally traveled roads | 25 |
| or streets
less than one mile 1
1/2 miles irrespective of the | 26 |
| distance the
pupil is transported by public transportation.
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| In addition to the other requirements of this Section, each | 2 |
| school board may
provide free transportation for any pupil | 3 |
| residing within one mile 1 1/2 miles from the
school attended | 4 |
| where conditions are such that walking, either to or from the
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| school to which a pupil is assigned for attendance or to or | 6 |
| from a pick-up
point or bus stop, constitutes a serious hazard | 7 |
| to the safety of the pupil
due to vehicular traffic or rail | 8 |
| crossings. Such transportation shall not
be provided if | 9 |
| adequate transportation for the public is available.
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| The determination as to what constitutes a serious safety | 11 |
| hazard shall
be made by the school board, in accordance with | 12 |
| guidelines promulgated by
the Illinois Department of | 13 |
| Transportation, in consultation with the State
Superintendent | 14 |
| of Education. A school board, on written petition of the
parent | 15 |
| or guardian of a pupil for whom adequate transportation for the | 16 |
| public
is alleged not to exist because the pupil is required to | 17 |
| walk along normally
traveled roads or streets where walking is | 18 |
| alleged to constitute a serious
safety hazard due to vehicular | 19 |
| traffic or rail crossings, or who is required to
walk between | 20 |
| the
pupil's home and assigned school or between the pupil's | 21 |
| home or assigned school
and a pick-up point or bus stop along | 22 |
| roads or streets where walking is alleged
to constitute a | 23 |
| serious safety hazard due to vehicular traffic or rail
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| crossings, shall conduct a
study and make findings, which the | 25 |
| Department of Transportation shall review
and approve
or | 26 |
| disapprove as provided in this Section, to determine whether a |
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| serious
safety hazard exists as alleged in the petition. The
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| Department of Transportation shall review
the findings of the | 3 |
| school board and shall approve or disapprove the school
board's | 4 |
| determination that a serious safety hazard exists within 30 | 5 |
| days
after the school board submits its findings to the | 6 |
| Department. The school board
shall annually review the | 7 |
| conditions and determine whether or not the hazardous | 8 |
| conditions remain unchanged. The
State Superintendent of | 9 |
| Education may request that the Illinois Department
of | 10 |
| Transportation verify that the conditions have not changed. No | 11 |
| action
shall lie against the school board, the State | 12 |
| Superintendent of Education
or the Illinois Department of | 13 |
| Transportation for decisions made in accordance
with this | 14 |
| Section. The provisions of the Administrative Review Law and | 15 |
| all
amendments and modifications thereof and the rules adopted | 16 |
| pursuant thereto
shall apply to and govern all proceedings | 17 |
| instituted for the judicial
review of final administrative | 18 |
| decisions of the Department of
Transportation under this | 19 |
| Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-439, eff. 8-4-05; 95-903, eff. 8-25-08.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/29-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-4)
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| Sec. 29-4. Pupils attending a charter school or nonpublic | 23 |
| school. The school
board of any school district that provides | 24 |
| any school bus or conveyance
for transporting pupils to and | 25 |
| from the public schools shall afford
transportation, without |
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| cost, for children who attend a charter school or
any school | 2 |
| other
than a public school, who reside at least one mile 1 1/2 | 3 |
| miles from the school
attended, and who reside on or along the | 4 |
| highway constituting the
regular route of such public school | 5 |
| bus or conveyance, such
transportation to extend from some | 6 |
| point on the regular route nearest or
most easily accessible to | 7 |
| their homes to and from the school attended,
or to or from a | 8 |
| point on such regular route which is nearest or most
easily | 9 |
| accessible to the school attended by such children. Nothing
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| herein shall be construed to prevent high school districts from
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| transporting public or non-public elementary school pupils on a | 12 |
| regular
route where deemed appropriate. The elementary | 13 |
| district in which such
pupils reside shall enter into a | 14 |
| contractual agreement with the high
school district providing | 15 |
| the service, make payments accordingly, and
make claims to the | 16 |
| State in the amount of such contractual payments.
The person in | 17 |
| charge of any charter school or school other than a public
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| school shall
certify on a form to be provided by the State | 19 |
| Superintendent of Education,
the names and addresses of pupils | 20 |
| transported and when such
pupils were in attendance at the | 21 |
| school. If any such children reside
within one mile 1 1/2 miles | 22 |
| from the school attended, the school board shall
afford such | 23 |
| transportation to such children on the same basis as it
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| provides transportation for its own pupils residing within that | 25 |
| distance
from the school attended.
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| Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude a school |
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| district from
operating separate regular bus routes, subject to | 2 |
| the limitations of
this Section, for the benefit of children | 3 |
| who attend a charter school or
any school other
than a public | 4 |
| school where the operation of such routes is safer, more
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| economical and more efficient than if such school district were
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| precluded from operating separate regular bus routes.
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| If a school district is required by this Section to afford
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| transportation without cost for any child who is not a resident | 9 |
| of the
district, the school district providing such | 10 |
| transportation is entitled
to reimbursement from the school | 11 |
| district in which the child resides for
the cost of furnishing | 12 |
| that transportation, including a reasonable
allowance for | 13 |
| depreciation on each vehicle so used. The school district
where | 14 |
| the child resides shall reimburse the district providing the
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| transportation for such costs, by the 10th of each month or on | 16 |
| such less
frequent schedule as may be agreed to by the 2 school | 17 |
| districts.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-407, eff. 8-3-99.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/29-5.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5.2)
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| Sec. 29-5.2. Reimbursement of transportation.
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| (a) Reimbursement. A
custodian of a qualifying pupil shall | 22 |
| be entitled to reimbursement in
accordance with procedures | 23 |
| established by the State Board of Education for
qualified | 24 |
| transportation expenses paid by such custodian during the | 25 |
| school
year.
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| (b) Definitions. As used in this Section:
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| (1) "Qualifying pupil" means an individual referred to in | 3 |
| subsection
(c), as well as an individual who:
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| (A) is a resident of the State of Illinois; and
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| (B) is under the age of 21 at the close of the school year | 6 |
| for which
reimbursement is sought; and
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| (C) during the school year for which reimbursement is | 8 |
| sought was a
full-time pupil enrolled in a kindergarten through | 9 |
| 12th grade educational
program at a school which was a distance | 10 |
| of one mile 1 1/2 miles or more from the
residence of such | 11 |
| pupil; and
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| (D) did not live within one mile 1 1/2 miles from the | 13 |
| school in which the pupil
was enrolled or have access to | 14 |
| transportation provided entirely at public
expense to and from | 15 |
| that school and a point within one mile 1 1/2 miles of the
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| pupil's residence, measured in a manner consistent with Section | 17 |
| 29-3.
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| (2) "Qualified transportation expenses" means costs | 19 |
| reasonably incurred
by the custodian to transport, for the | 20 |
| purposes of attending regularly
scheduled day-time classes, a | 21 |
| qualifying pupil between such qualifying
pupil's residence and | 22 |
| the school at which such qualifying pupil is
enrolled, as | 23 |
| limited in subsection (e) of this Section, and shall include
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| automobile expenses at the standard mileage rate allowed by the | 25 |
| United States
Internal Revenue Service as reimbursement for | 26 |
| business transportation
expense, as well as payments to mass |
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| transit carriers, private carriers,
and contractual fees for | 2 |
| transportation.
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| (3) "School" means a public or nonpublic elementary or | 4 |
| secondary school
in Illinois, attendance at which satisfies the | 5 |
| requirements of Section 26-1.
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| (4) One mile and one-half miles distance. For the purposes | 7 |
| of this Section, one mile 1
1/2 miles distance shall be | 8 |
| measured in a manner consistent with Section 29-3.
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| (5) Custodian. The term "custodian" shall mean, with | 10 |
| respect to a
qualifying pupil, an Illinois resident who is the | 11 |
| parent, or parents,
or legal guardian of such qualifying pupil.
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| (c) An individual, resident of the State of Illinois, who | 13 |
| is under
the age of 21 at the close of the
school year for which | 14 |
| reimbursement is sought and who, during that school
year, was a | 15 |
| full time pupil enrolled in a kindergarten through 12th grade
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| educational program at a school which was within one mile 1 1/2 | 17 |
| miles of the pupil's
residence, measured in a manner consistent | 18 |
| with Section 29-3, is a
"qualifying pupil" within the meaning | 19 |
| of this Section if: (i) such pupil
did not have access to | 20 |
| transportation provided entirely at public expense
to and from | 21 |
| that school and the pupil's residence, and (ii) conditions were
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| such that walking would have constituted a serious hazard to | 23 |
| the safety of
the pupil due to vehicular traffic. The | 24 |
| determination of what constitutes
a serious safety hazard | 25 |
| within the meaning of this subsection shall in each
case be | 26 |
| made by the Department of Transportation in accordance with
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| guidelines which the Department, in consultation with the State
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| Superintendent of Education, shall promulgate. Each custodian | 3 |
| intending to
file an application for reimbursement under | 4 |
| subsection (d) for expenditures
incurred or to be incurred with | 5 |
| respect to a pupil asserted to be a
qualified pupil as an | 6 |
| individual referred to in this subsection shall first
file with | 7 |
| the appropriate regional superintendent, on forms provided by | 8 |
| the
State Board of Education, a request for a determination | 9 |
| that a serious
safety hazard within the meaning of this | 10 |
| subsection (c) exists with respect
to such pupil. Custodians | 11 |
| shall file such forms with the appropriate
regional | 12 |
| superintendents not later than February 1 of the school year | 13 |
| for
which reimbursement will be sought for transmittal by the | 14 |
| regional
superintendents to the Department of Transportation | 15 |
| not later than February
15; except that any custodian who | 16 |
| previously received a determination
that a serious safety | 17 |
| hazard exists need not resubmit such a request for 4
years but | 18 |
| instead may certify on their application for reimbursement to | 19 |
| the State
Board of Education referred to in subsection (d), | 20 |
| that the conditions found
to be hazardous, as previously | 21 |
| determined by the Department, remain
unchanged. The Department | 22 |
| shall make its determination on all requests so
transmitted to | 23 |
| it within 30 days, and shall thereupon forward notice of
each | 24 |
| determination which it has made to the appropriate regional
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| superintendent for immediate transmittal to the custodian | 26 |
| affected thereby.
The determination of the Department relative |
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| to what constitutes a serious
safety hazard within the meaning | 2 |
| of subsection (c) with respect to any
pupil shall be deemed an | 3 |
| "administrative decision" as defined in Section
3-101 of the | 4 |
| Administrative Review Law; and the Administrative Review Law
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| and all amendments and modifications thereof and rules adopted | 6 |
| pursuant
thereto shall apply to and govern all proceedings | 7 |
| instituted for the
judicial review of final administrative | 8 |
| decisions of the Department of
Transportation under this | 9 |
| subsection.
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| (d) Request for reimbursement. A custodian, including a
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| custodian for a pupil asserted to be a qualified pupil as an | 12 |
| individual
referred to in subsection (c), who applies in | 13 |
| accordance
with procedures established by the State Board of | 14 |
| Education shall be
reimbursed in accordance with the dollar | 15 |
| limits set out in this Section.
Such procedures shall require | 16 |
| application no later than June 30 of each
year, documentation | 17 |
| as to eligibility, and adequate evidence of
expenditures; | 18 |
| except that for reimbursement sought pursuant to subsection
(c) | 19 |
| for the 1985-1986 school year, such procedures shall require
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| application within 21 days after the determination of the | 21 |
| Department of
Transportation with respect to that school year | 22 |
| is transmitted by the
regional superintendent to the affected | 23 |
| custodian. In the absence of
contemporaneous records, an | 24 |
| affidavit by
the custodian may be accepted as evidence of an | 25 |
| expenditure. If the amount
appropriated for such reimbursement | 26 |
| for any year is less than the amount
due each custodian, it |
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| shall be apportioned on the basis of the requests
approved. | 2 |
| Regional Superintendents shall be reimbursed for such costs of
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| administering the program, including costs incurred in | 4 |
| administering the
provisions of subsection (c), as the State | 5 |
| Board of Education determines are
reasonable and necessary.
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| (e) Dollar limit on amount of reimbursement. Reimbursement | 7 |
| to custodians
for transportation expenses incurred during the | 8 |
| 1985-1986 school year,
payable in fiscal year 1987, shall be | 9 |
| equal to the lesser of (1) the actual
qualified transportation | 10 |
| expenses, or (2) $50 per pupil. Reimbursement to
custodians for | 11 |
| transportation expenses incurred during the 1986-1987 school
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| year, payable in fiscal year 1988, shall be equal to the lesser | 13 |
| of (1) the
actual qualified transportation expenses, or (2) | 14 |
| $100 per pupil. For
reimbursements of qualified transportation | 15 |
| expenses incurred in 1987-1988
and thereafter, the amount of | 16 |
| reimbursement shall not exceed the prior
year's State | 17 |
| reimbursement per pupil for transporting pupils as required by
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| Section 29-3 and other provisions of this Article.
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| (f) Rules and regulations. The State Board of Education
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| shall adopt rules to implement this Section.
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| (g) The provisions of this amendatory Act of 1986 shall | 22 |
| apply according to
their terms to the entire 1985-1986 school | 23 |
| year, including any portion of
that school year which elapses | 24 |
| prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act, and to each | 25 |
| subsequent school year.
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| (h) The chief administrative officer of each school shall |
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| notify
custodians of qualifying pupils that reimbursements are | 2 |
| available.
Notification shall occur by the first Monday in | 3 |
| November of the school year
for which reimbursement is | 4 |
| available.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | 7 |
| 2009.
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