Public Act 096-1264
 
HB4879 EnrolledLRB096 15867 MJR 31109 b



    AN ACT concerning education.

 
    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%; and 
in unit districts maintaining grades K to 12, including 
optional elementary unit districts and combined high school - 
unit districts, times a qualifying
rate of .07%; provided that 
for optional elementary unit districts and combined high school -
 unit districts, assessed valuation for high school purposes, 
as defined in Article 11E of this Code, must be used. 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.


    When calculating the reimbursement for transportation 
costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number 
of pupils enrolled in early education programs from the number 
of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the pupils enrolled in 
the early education programs are transported at the same time 
as other eligible pupils.

    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.
Each school year, if a school 
district has made expenditures to the
Regional Transportation 
Authority or any of its service boards, a mass
transit 
district, or an urban transportation district under an

intergovernmental agreement with the district to provide for 
the
transportation of pupils and if the public transit carrier 
received direct
payment for services or passes from a school 
district within its service
area during the 2000-2001 school 
year, then the allowable direct cost of
transporting pupils for 
regular, vocational, and special education pupil

transportation shall also include the expenditures that the 
district has
made to the public transit carrier.
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 August 15, annually, the chief school 
administrator for
the district shall certify to the State 
Superintendent of Education the
district's claim for 
reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30
next 
preceding.  The State Superintendent of Education shall check 
and
approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the 
amounts due for
district reimbursement claims. Each 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 20.


    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, 14-7.02b, 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. 94-875, eff. 7-1-06; 95-903, eff. 8-25-08.)