093_HB0763enr

 
HB0763 Enrolled                      LRB093 05523 NHT 05614 b

 1        AN ACT relating to schools.

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

12        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
13    becoming law.