Section 120.210  Custodians Eligible for Reimbursement

a)         This Subpart establishes the procedures for reimbursing custodians for qualified transportation expenses as provided in Section 29-5.2 of the School Code.

b)         The custodian must complete a claim form, provided by the State Board of Education, no later than June 30 of each year.  The claim form will be available at each school attendance center for which the State Board of Education has a mailing address on file.

1)         In cases where a qualifying pupil resides within 1½ miles of the pupil's school but for whom walking constitutes a serious hazard to the safety of the pupil due to vehicular traffic, the custodian must first request a determination of a serious safety hazard from the Illinois Department of Transportation, except that any custodian who previously received a determination that a serious safety hazard exists need not resubmit a request for four years.

2)         The custodian's request for a determination of a serious safety hazard must be completed on a form provided by the regional superintendent of schools for the county or educational service center area in which the custodian resides and must be returned to that regional superintendent by February 1 of the school year for which reimbursement will be sought, except that custodians resident of the City of Chicago shall contact the State Board of Education to obtain the form and shall return it to the State Board's Springfield office by February 1 of the school year for which reimbursement will be sought.

c)         The custodian shall certify on the claim form provided by the State Board of Education that:

1)         the custodian is the parent or legal guardian of the pupils for whom expenses are being claimed;

2)         during the school year for which reimbursement is being claimed, the pupils attended regularly scheduled day-time classes as full-time students in a kindergarten through grade 12 program at the public or nonpublic school;

3)         the pupils:

A)        resided 1½ miles or more from the school attended and did not have access to transportation to and from school provided entirely at public expense; or

B)        lived within 1½ miles from the school attended; the Illinois Department of Transportation has determined, within the last four years, that walking would constitute a serious hazard to the safety of the pupils due to vehicular traffic; the hazardous conditions remain unchanged; and the pupils did not have access to transportation to and from school provided entirely at public expense; or

C)        lived within 1½ miles from the school attended, which is a public school in a school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code, and must walk or otherwise travel along a safe passage route, as designated by the school board, to reach school or return home; and

4)         the custodian paid the amount claimed to transport the pupils to and from school during the school year for which the claim is being submitted.

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10026, effective June 30, 2015)