Bill Text: IL HB3662 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Requires the Chicago Board of Education to provide free transportation to and from a pupil's assigned school and a pick-up point for any pupil who must walk or otherwise travel along a safe passage route, as designated by the Board, to reach school or return home. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-08-26 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-1057 [HB3662 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HB3662-Amended.html
Bill Title: Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Requires the Chicago Board of Education to provide free transportation to and from a pupil's assigned school and a pick-up point for any pupil who must walk or otherwise travel along a safe passage route, as designated by the Board, to reach school or return home. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-08-26 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-1057 [HB3662 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HB3662-Amended.html
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3662
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3662 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 29-5.2 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/29-5.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-5.2)
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7 | Sec. 29-5.2. Reimbursement of transportation.
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8 | (a) Reimbursement. A
custodian of a qualifying pupil shall | ||||||
9 | be entitled to reimbursement in
accordance with procedures | ||||||
10 | established by the State Board of Education for
qualified | ||||||
11 | transportation expenses paid by such custodian during the | ||||||
12 | school
year.
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13 | (b) Definitions. As used in this Section:
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14 | (1) "Qualifying pupil" means an individual referred to in | ||||||
15 | subsection
(c), as well as an individual who:
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16 | (A) is a resident of the State of Illinois; and
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1 | (B) is under the age of 21 at the close of the school year | ||||||
2 | for which
reimbursement is sought; and
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3 | (C) during the school year for which reimbursement is | ||||||
4 | sought was a
full-time pupil enrolled in a kindergarten through | ||||||
5 | 12th grade educational
program at a school which was a distance | ||||||
6 | of 1 1/2 miles or more from the
residence of such pupil; and
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7 | (D) did not live within 1 1/2 miles from the school in | ||||||
8 | which the pupil
was enrolled or have access to transportation | ||||||
9 | provided entirely at public
expense to and from that school and | ||||||
10 | a point within 1 1/2 miles of the
pupil's residence, measured | ||||||
11 | in a manner consistent with Section 29-3.
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12 | (2) "Qualified transportation expenses" means costs | ||||||
13 | reasonably incurred
by the custodian to transport, for the | ||||||
14 | purposes of attending regularly
scheduled day-time classes, a | ||||||
15 | qualifying pupil between such qualifying
pupil's residence and | ||||||
16 | the school at which such qualifying pupil is
enrolled, as | ||||||
17 | limited in subsection (e) of this Section, and shall include
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18 | automobile expenses at the standard mileage rate allowed by the | ||||||
19 | United States
Internal Revenue Service as reimbursement for | ||||||
20 | business transportation
expense, as well as payments to mass | ||||||
21 | transit carriers, private carriers,
and contractual fees for | ||||||
22 | transportation.
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23 | (3) "School" means a public or nonpublic elementary or | ||||||
24 | secondary school
in Illinois, attendance at which satisfies the | ||||||
25 | requirements of Section 26-1.
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26 | (4) One and one-half miles distance. For the purposes of |
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1 | this Section, 1
1/2 miles distance shall be measured in a | ||||||
2 | manner consistent with Section 29-3.
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3 | (5) Custodian. The term "custodian" shall mean, with | ||||||
4 | respect to a
qualifying pupil, an Illinois resident who is the | ||||||
5 | parent, or parents,
or legal guardian of such qualifying pupil.
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6 | (c) An individual, resident of the State of Illinois, who | ||||||
7 | is under
the age of 21 at the close of the
school year for which | ||||||
8 | reimbursement is sought and who, during that school
year, was a | ||||||
9 | full time pupil enrolled in a kindergarten through 12th grade
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10 | educational program at a school which was within 1 1/2 miles of | ||||||
11 | the pupil's
residence, measured in a manner consistent with | ||||||
12 | Section 29-3, is a
"qualifying pupil" within the meaning of | ||||||
13 | this Section if (i) such pupil attends public school in a | ||||||
14 | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code and | ||||||
15 | must walk or otherwise travel along a safe passage route, as | ||||||
16 | designated by
the school board, to reach school or return home | ||||||
17 | or
(ii) : (i) such pupil
did not have access to transportation | ||||||
18 | provided entirely at public expense
to and from that school and | ||||||
19 | the pupil's residence , and (ii) conditions were
such that | ||||||
20 | walking would have constituted a serious hazard to the safety | ||||||
21 | of
the pupil due to vehicular traffic. The determination of | ||||||
22 | what constitutes
a serious safety hazard within the meaning of | ||||||
23 | this subsection shall in each
case be made by the Department of | ||||||
24 | Transportation in accordance with
guidelines which the | ||||||
25 | Department, in consultation with the State
Superintendent of | ||||||
26 | Education, shall promulgate. Each custodian intending to
file |
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1 | an application for reimbursement under subsection (d) for | ||||||
2 | expenditures
incurred or to be incurred with respect to a pupil | ||||||
3 | asserted to be a
qualified pupil as an individual referred to | ||||||
4 | in this subsection shall first
file with the appropriate | ||||||
5 | regional superintendent, on forms provided by the
State Board | ||||||
6 | of Education, a request for a determination that a serious
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7 | safety hazard within the meaning of this subsection (c) exists | ||||||
8 | with respect
to such pupil. Custodians shall file such forms | ||||||
9 | with the appropriate
regional superintendents not later than | ||||||
10 | February 1 of the school year for
which reimbursement will be | ||||||
11 | sought for transmittal by the regional
superintendents to the | ||||||
12 | Department of Transportation not later than February
15; except | ||||||
13 | that any custodian who previously received a determination
that | ||||||
14 | a serious safety hazard exists need not resubmit such a request | ||||||
15 | for 4
years but instead may certify on their application for | ||||||
16 | reimbursement to the State
Board of Education referred to in | ||||||
17 | subsection (d), that the conditions found
to be hazardous, as | ||||||
18 | previously determined by the Department, remain
unchanged. The | ||||||
19 | Department shall make its determination on all requests so
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20 | transmitted to it within 30 days, and shall thereupon forward | ||||||
21 | notice of
each determination which it has made to the | ||||||
22 | appropriate regional
superintendent for immediate transmittal | ||||||
23 | to the custodian affected thereby.
The determination of the | ||||||
24 | Department relative to what constitutes a serious
safety hazard | ||||||
25 | within the meaning of subsection (c) with respect to any
pupil | ||||||
26 | shall be deemed an "administrative decision" as defined in |
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1 | Section
3-101 of the Administrative Review Law; and the | ||||||
2 | Administrative Review Law
and all amendments and modifications | ||||||
3 | thereof and rules adopted pursuant
thereto shall apply to and | ||||||
4 | govern all proceedings instituted for the
judicial review of | ||||||
5 | final administrative decisions of the Department of
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6 | Transportation under this subsection.
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7 | (d) Request for reimbursement. A custodian, including a
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8 | custodian for a pupil asserted to be a qualified pupil as an | ||||||
9 | individual
referred to in subsection (c), who applies in | ||||||
10 | accordance
with procedures established by the State Board of | ||||||
11 | Education shall be
reimbursed in accordance with the dollar | ||||||
12 | limits set out in this Section.
Such procedures shall require | ||||||
13 | application no later than June 30 of each
year, documentation | ||||||
14 | as to eligibility, and adequate evidence of
expenditures; | ||||||
15 | except that for reimbursement sought pursuant to subsection
(c) | ||||||
16 | for the 1985-1986 school year, such procedures shall require
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17 | application within 21 days after the determination of the | ||||||
18 | Department of
Transportation with respect to that school year | ||||||
19 | is transmitted by the
regional superintendent to the affected | ||||||
20 | custodian. In the absence of
contemporaneous records, an | ||||||
21 | affidavit by
the custodian may be accepted as evidence of an | ||||||
22 | expenditure. If the amount
appropriated for such reimbursement | ||||||
23 | for any year is less than the amount
due each custodian, it | ||||||
24 | shall be apportioned on the basis of the requests
approved. | ||||||
25 | Regional Superintendents shall be reimbursed for such costs of
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26 | administering the program, including costs incurred in |
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1 | administering the
provisions of subsection (c), as the State | ||||||
2 | Board of Education determines are
reasonable and necessary.
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3 | (e) Dollar limit on amount of reimbursement. Reimbursement | ||||||
4 | to custodians
for transportation expenses incurred during the | ||||||
5 | 1985-1986 school year,
payable in fiscal year 1987, shall be | ||||||
6 | equal to the lesser of (1) the actual
qualified transportation | ||||||
7 | expenses, or (2) $50 per pupil. Reimbursement to
custodians for | ||||||
8 | transportation expenses incurred during the 1986-1987 school
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9 | year, payable in fiscal year 1988, shall be equal to the lesser | ||||||
10 | of (1) the
actual qualified transportation expenses, or (2) | ||||||
11 | $100 per pupil. For
reimbursements of qualified transportation | ||||||
12 | expenses incurred in 1987-1988
and thereafter, the amount of | ||||||
13 | reimbursement shall not exceed the prior
year's State | ||||||
14 | reimbursement per pupil for transporting pupils as required by
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15 | Section 29-3 and other provisions of this Article.
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16 | (f) Rules and regulations. The State Board of Education
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17 | shall adopt rules to implement this Section.
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18 | (g) The provisions of this amendatory Act of 1986 shall | ||||||
19 | apply according to
their terms to the entire 1985-1986 school | ||||||
20 | year, including any portion of
that school year which elapses | ||||||
21 | prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act, and to each | ||||||
22 | subsequent school year.
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23 | (h) The chief administrative officer of each school shall | ||||||
24 | notify
custodians of qualifying pupils that reimbursements are | ||||||
25 | available.
Notification shall occur by the first Monday in | ||||||
26 | November of the school year
for which reimbursement is |
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1 | available.
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2 | (Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)".
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