Bill Text: IL HB5480 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed


Bill Title: Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code concerning reimbursement by the State for transportation. Provides that a State-authorized charter school shall be reimbursed by the State. Sets forth provisions concerning how much the State must pay. Provides that a charter school, other than a State-authorized charter school, that offers transportation to eligible students shall be eligible for reimbursement by the State at the same rate as its host district, unless the host district is the Chicago school district, in which case the charter school is eligible for reimbursement by the State at the rate set forth in the charter agreement. Sets forth how the charter school shall make a reimbursement claim. Provides that a charter school, other than a State-authorized charter school, that has previously received regular transportation grant funding from the State Board of Education or is in the process of receiving such funding approved in the same fiscal year as the effective date of the amendatory Act shall retain any awarded funding.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-17 - Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB5480 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5480-Engrossed.html

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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 or State-authorized charter school,
9maintaining a school, transporting resident pupils to another
10school district's vocational program, offered through a joint
11agreement approved by the State Board of Education, as
12provided in Section 10-22.22 or transporting its resident
13pupils to a school which meets the standards for recognition
14as established by the State Board of Education which provides
15transportation meeting the standards of safety, comfort,
16convenience, efficiency and operation prescribed by the State
17Board of Education for resident pupils in kindergarten or any
18of grades 1 through 12 who: (a) reside at least 1 1/2 miles as
19measured by the customary route of travel, from the school
20attended; or (b) reside in areas where conditions are such
21that walking constitutes a hazard to the safety of the child
22when determined under Section 29-3; and (c) are transported to
23the school attended from pick-up points at the beginning of

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1the school day and back again at the close of the school day or
2transported to and from their assigned attendance centers
3during the school day, shall be reimbursed by the State as
4hereinafter provided in this Section.
5 The State will pay the prorated allowable cost of
6transporting eligible pupils less the real equalized assessed
7valuation as computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of
8Section 18-8.15 in a dual school district maintaining
9secondary grades 9 to 12 inclusive times a qualifying rate of
10.05%; in elementary school districts maintaining grades K to 8
11times a qualifying rate of .06%; and in unit districts
12maintaining grades K to 12, including partial elementary unit
13districts formed pursuant to Article 11E, times a qualifying
14rate of .07%. For a State-authorized charter school, the State
15shall pay the prorated allowable cost of transporting eligible
16pupils less the prior year's prorated assessed valuation based
17on enrollment reported pursuant to subsection (a) of Section
1827A-11 for the previous school year in the charter school
19proportionate to the charter school's school district's
20enrollment for the previous school year.
21 To be eligible to receive reimbursement in excess of 4/5
22of the cost to transport eligible pupils, a school district or
23partial elementary unit district formed pursuant to Article
2411E shall have a Transportation Fund tax rate of at least .12%.
25A State-authorized charter school's qualifying rate shall be
26the same as the rate that applies to the charter school's

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1school district. The Transportation Fund tax rate for a
2partial elementary unit district formed pursuant Article 11E
3shall be the combined elementary and high school rates
4pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section
518-8.15.
6 If a school district or partial elementary unit district
7formed pursuant to Article 11E does not have a .12%
8Transportation Fund tax rate, the amount of its claim in
9excess of 4/5 of the cost of transporting pupils shall be
10reduced by the sum arrived at by subtracting the
11Transportation Fund tax rate from .12% and multiplying that
12amount by the district's real equalized assessed valuation as
13computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of Section
1418-8.15, provided that in no case shall said reduction result
15in reimbursement of less than 4/5 of the cost to transport
16eligible pupils. For a State-authorized charter school within
17a school district that does not have a 0.12% Transportation
18Fund tax rate, the State shall pay the prorated allowable cost
19of transporting eligible pupils less the prior year's prorated
20assessed valuation based on enrollment reported pursuant to
21subsection (a) of Section 27A-11 for the previous school year
22in the charter school proportionate to the charter school's
23school district's enrollment for the previous school year.
24 A State-authorized charter school, that offers
25transportation to eligible students shall be eligible for
26reimbursement by the State at the same rate as its host

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1district, unless the host district is a school district
2organized under Article 34. A State-authorized charter school,
3whose host district is a school district organized under
4Article 34 is eligible for reimbursement by the State at the
5rate set forth in the charter agreement. A State-authorized
6charter school, shall make a claim for reimbursement by the
7State through the Pupil Transportation Claim Reimbursement
8System and receive funding reimbursement in the same manner as
9a school district. Notwithstanding any other provision of law
10to the contrary, a State-authorized charter school that has
11previously received regular transportation grant funding from
12the State Board of Education or is in the process of receiving
13such funding approved in the same fiscal year as the effective
14date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly
15shall retain any awarded funding.
16 The minimum amount to be received by a district is $16
17times the number of eligible pupils transported.
18 When calculating the reimbursement for transportation
19costs, the State Board of Education may not deduct the number
20of pupils enrolled in early education programs from the number
21of pupils eligible for reimbursement if the pupils enrolled in
22the early education programs are transported at the same time
23as other eligible pupils.
24 Any such district transporting resident pupils during the
25school day to an area vocational school or another school
26district's vocational program more than 1 1/2 miles from the

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1school attended, as provided in Sections 10-22.20a and
210-22.22, shall be reimbursed by the State for 4/5 of the cost
3of transporting eligible pupils.
4 School day means that period of time during which the
5pupil is required to be in attendance for instructional
6purposes.
7 If a pupil is at a location within the school district
8other than his residence for child care purposes at the time
9for transportation to school, that location may be considered
10for purposes of determining the 1 1/2 miles from the school
11attended.
12 Claims for reimbursement that include children who attend
13any school other than a public school shall show the number of
14such children transported.
15 Claims for reimbursement under this Section shall not be
16paid for the transportation of pupils for whom transportation
17costs are claimed for payment under other Sections of this
18Act.
19 The allowable direct cost of transporting pupils for
20regular, vocational, and special education pupil
21transportation shall be limited to the sum of the cost of
22physical examinations required for employment as a school bus
23driver; the salaries of full-time or part-time drivers and
24school bus maintenance personnel; employee benefits excluding
25Illinois municipal retirement payments, social security
26payments, unemployment insurance payments and workers'

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1compensation insurance premiums; expenditures to independent
2carriers who operate school buses; payments to other school
3districts for pupil transportation services; pre-approved
4contractual expenditures for computerized bus scheduling;
5expenditures for housing assistance and homeless prevention
6under Sections 1-17 and 1-18 of the Education for Homeless
7Children Act that are not in excess of the school district's
8actual costs for providing transportation services and are not
9otherwise claimed in another State or federal grant that
10permits those costs to a parent, a legal guardian, any other
11person who enrolled a pupil, or a homeless assistance agency
12that is part of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
13Act's continuum of care for the area in which the district is
14located; the cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and other supplies
15necessary for the operation of school buses; the cost of
16converting buses' gasoline engines to more fuel efficient
17engines or to engines which use alternative energy sources;
18the cost of travel to meetings and workshops conducted by the
19regional superintendent or the State Superintendent of
20Education pursuant to the standards established by the
21Secretary of State under Section 6-106 of the Illinois Vehicle
22Code to improve the driving skills of school bus drivers; the
23cost of maintenance of school buses including parts and
24materials used; expenditures for leasing transportation
25vehicles, except interest and service charges; the cost of
26insurance and licenses for transportation vehicles;

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

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

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1Superintendent of Education the district's claim for
2reimbursement for the school year ending on June 30 next
3preceding. The State Superintendent of Education shall check
4and approve the claims and prepare the vouchers showing the
5amounts due for district reimbursement claims. Each fiscal
6year, the State Superintendent of Education shall prepare and
7transmit the first 3 vouchers to the Comptroller on the 30th
8day of September, December and March, respectively, and the
9final voucher, no later than June 20.
10 If the amount appropriated for transportation
11reimbursement is insufficient to fund total claims for any
12fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall reduce each
13school district's allowable costs and flat grant amount
14proportionately to make total adjusted claims equal the total
15amount appropriated.
16 For purposes of calculating claims for reimbursement under
17this Section for any school year beginning July 1, 2016, the
18equalized assessed valuation for a school district or partial
19elementary unit district formed pursuant to Article 11E used
20to compute reimbursement shall be the real equalized assessed
21valuation as computed under paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of
22Section 18-8.15.
23 All reimbursements received from the State shall be
24deposited into the district's transportation fund or into the
25fund from which the allowable expenditures were made.
26 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school

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1district receiving a payment under this Section or under
2Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or 14-13.01 of this Code may
3classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a
4particular fiscal year or from State aid pursuant to Section
518-8.15 of this Code as funds received in connection with any
6funding program for which it is entitled to receive funds from
7the State in that fiscal year (including, without limitation,
8any funding program referenced in this Section), regardless of
9the source or timing of the receipt. The district may not
10classify more funds as funds received in connection with the
11funding program than the district is entitled to receive in
12that fiscal year for that program. Any classification by a
13district must be made by a resolution of its board of
14education. The resolution must identify the amount of any
15payments or general State aid to be classified under this
16paragraph and must specify the funding program to which the
17funds are to be treated as received in connection therewith.
18This resolution is controlling as to the classification of
19funds referenced therein. A certified copy of the resolution
20must be sent to the State Superintendent of Education. The
21resolution shall still take effect even though a copy of the
22resolution has not been sent to the State Superintendent of
23Education in a timely manner. No classification under this
24paragraph by a district shall affect the total amount or
25timing of money the district is entitled to receive under this
26Code. No classification under this paragraph by a district

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