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.