97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB0656

 

Introduced 2/8/2011, by Sen. John J. Cullerton

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/29-5  from Ch. 122, par. 29-5

    Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning State reimbursement for transportation.


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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,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
529-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/29-5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5)
7    Sec. 29-5. Reimbursement by State for transportation. Any
8school district, maintaining a school, transporting resident
9pupils to another school district's vocational program,
10offered through a joint agreement approved by the the State
11Board of Education, as provided in Section 10-22.22 or
12transporting its resident pupils to a school which meets the
13standards for recognition as established by the State Board of
14Education which provides transportation meeting the standards
15of safety, comfort, convenience, efficiency and operation
16prescribed by the State Board of Education for resident pupils
17in kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12 who: (a) reside
18at least 1 1/2 miles as measured by the customary route of
19travel, from the school attended; or (b) reside in areas where
20conditions are such that walking constitutes a hazard to the
21safety of the child when determined under Section 29-3; and (c)
22are transported to the school attended from pick-up points at
23the beginning of the school day and back again at the close of

 

 

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1the school day or transported to and from their assigned
2attendance centers during the school day, shall be reimbursed
3by the State as hereinafter provided in this Section.
4    The State will pay the cost of transporting eligible pupils
5less the assessed valuation in a dual school district
6maintaining secondary grades 9 to 12 inclusive times a
7qualifying rate of .05%; in elementary school districts
8maintaining grades K to 8 times a qualifying rate of .06%; and
9in unit districts maintaining grades K to 12, including
10optional elementary unit districts and combined high school -
11unit districts, times a qualifying rate of .07%; provided that
12for optional elementary unit districts and combined high school -
13 unit districts, assessed valuation for high school purposes,
14as defined in Article 11E of this Code, must be used. To be
15eligible to receive reimbursement in excess of 4/5 of the cost
16to transport eligible pupils, a school district shall have a
17Transportation Fund tax rate of at least .12%. If a school
18district does not have a .12% Transportation Fund tax rate, the
19amount of its claim in excess of 4/5 of the cost of
20transporting pupils shall be reduced by the sum arrived at by
21subtracting the Transportation Fund tax rate from .12% and
22multiplying that amount by the districts equalized or assessed
23valuation, provided, that in no case shall said reduction
24result in reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost to
25transport eligible pupils.
26    The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16

 

 

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1times the number of eligible pupils transported.
2    When calculating the reimbursement for transportation
3costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number
4of pupils enrolled in early education programs from the number
5of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the pupils enrolled in
6the early education programs are transported at the same time
7as other eligible pupils.
8    Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
9school day to an area vocational school or another school
10district's vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the
11school attended, as provided in Sections 10-22.20a and
1210-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5 of the cost
13of transporting eligible pupils.
14    School day means that period of time which the pupil is
15required to be in attendance for instructional purposes.
16    If a pupil is at a location within the school district
17other than his residence for child care purposes at the time
18for transportation to school, that location may be considered
19for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles from the school
20attended.
21    Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend
22any school other than a public school shall show the number of
23such children transported.
24    Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not be
25paid for the transportation of pupils for whom transportation
26costs are claimed for payment under other Sections of this Act.

 

 

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1    The allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for
2regular, vocational, and special education pupil
3transportation shall be limited to the sum of the cost of
4physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
5driver; the salaries of full or part-time drivers and school
6bus maintenance personnel; employee benefits excluding
7Illinois municipal retirement payments, social security
8payments, unemployment insurance payments and workers'
9compensation insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
10carriers who operate school buses; payments to other school
11districts for pupil transportation services; pre-approved
12contractual expenditures for computerized bus scheduling; the
13cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and other supplies necessary for
14the operation of school buses; the cost of converting buses'
15gasoline engines to more fuel efficient engines or to engines
16which use alternative energy sources; the cost of travel to
17meetings and workshops conducted by the regional
18superintendent or the State Superintendent of Education
19pursuant to the standards established by the Secretary of State
20under Section 6-106 of the Illinois Vehicle Code to improve the
21driving skills of school bus drivers; the cost of maintenance
22of school buses including parts and materials used;
23expenditures for leasing transportation vehicles, except
24interest and service charges; the cost of insurance and
25licenses for transportation vehicles; expenditures for the
26rental of transportation equipment; plus a depreciation

 

 

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1allowance of 20% for 5 years for school buses and vehicles
2approved for transporting pupils to and from school and a
3depreciation allowance of 10% for 10 years for other
4transportation equipment so used. Each school year, if a school
5district has made expenditures to the Regional Transportation
6Authority or any of its service boards, a mass transit
7district, or an urban transportation district under an
8intergovernmental agreement with the district to provide for
9the transportation of pupils and if the public transit carrier
10received direct payment for services or passes from a school
11district within its service area during the 2000-2001 school
12year, then the allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for
13regular, vocational, and special education pupil
14transportation shall also include the expenditures that the
15district has made to the public transit carrier. In addition to
16the above allowable costs school districts shall also claim all
17transportation supervisory salary costs, including Illinois
18municipal retirement payments, and all transportation related
19building and building maintenance costs without limitation.
20    Special education allowable costs shall also include
21expenditures for the salaries of attendants or aides for that
22portion of the time they assist special education pupils while
23in transit and expenditures for parents and public carriers for
24transporting special education pupils when pre-approved by the
25State Superintendent of Education.
26    Indirect costs shall be included in the reimbursement claim

 

 

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1for districts which own and operate their own school buses.
2Such indirect costs shall include administrative costs, or any
3costs attributable to transporting pupils from their
4attendance centers to another school building for
5instructional purposes. No school district which owns and
6operates its own school buses may claim reimbursement for
7indirect costs which exceed 5% of the total allowable direct
8costs for pupil transportation.
9    The State Board of Education shall prescribe uniform
10regulations for determining the above standards and shall
11prescribe forms of cost accounting and standards of determining
12reasonable depreciation. Such depreciation shall include the
13cost of equipping school buses with the safety features
14required by law or by the rules, regulations and standards
15promulgated by the State Board of Education, and the Department
16of Transportation for the safety and construction of school
17buses provided, however, any equipment cost reimbursed by the
18Department of Transportation for equipping school buses with
19such safety equipment shall be deducted from the allowable cost
20in the computation of reimbursement under this Section in the
21same percentage as the cost of the equipment is depreciated.
22    On or before August 15, annually, the chief school
23administrator for the district shall certify to the State
24Superintendent of Education the district's claim for
25reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30 next
26preceding. The State Superintendent of Education shall check

 

 

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1and approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the
2amounts due for district reimbursement claims. Each fiscal
3year, the State Superintendent of Education shall prepare and
4transmit the first 3 vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th
5day of September, December and March, respectively, and the
6final voucher, no later than June 20.
7    If the amount appropriated for transportation
8reimbursement is insufficient to fund total claims for any
9fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall reduce each
10school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
11proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
12amount appropriated.
13    For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement under
14this Section for any school year beginning July 1, 1998, or
15thereafter, the equalized assessed valuation for a school
16district used to compute reimbursement shall be computed in the
17same manner as it is computed under paragraph (2) of subsection
18(G) of Section 18-8.05.
19    All reimbursements received from the State shall be
20deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
21fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
22    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school
23district receiving a payment under this Section or under
24Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or 14-13.01 of this Code may
25classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
26particular fiscal year or from general State aid pursuant to

 

 

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1Section 18-8.05 of this Code as funds received in connection
2with any funding program for which it is entitled to receive
3funds from the State in that fiscal year (including, without
4limitation, any funding program referenced in this Section),
5regardless of the source or timing of the receipt. The district
6may not classify more funds as funds received in connection
7with the funding program than the district is entitled to
8receive in that fiscal year for that program. Any
9classification by a district must be made by a resolution of
10its board of education. The resolution must identify the amount
11of any payments or general State aid to be classified under
12this paragraph and must specify the funding program to which
13the funds are to be treated as received in connection
14therewith. This resolution is controlling as to the
15classification of funds referenced therein. A certified copy of
16the resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of
17Education. The resolution shall still take effect even though a
18copy of the resolution has not been sent to the State
19Superintendent of Education in a timely manner. No
20classification under this paragraph by a district shall affect
21the total amount or timing of money the district is entitled to
22receive under this Code. No classification under this paragraph
23by a district shall in any way relieve the district from or
24affect any requirements that otherwise would apply with respect
25to that funding program, including any accounting of funds by
26source, reporting expenditures by original source and purpose,

 

 

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1reporting requirements, or requirements of providing services.
2    Any school district with a population of not more than
3500,000 must deposit all funds received under this Article into
4the transportation fund and use those funds for the provision
5of transportation services.
6(Source: P.A. 95-903, eff. 8-25-08; 96-1264, eff. 1-1-11.)