Bill Text: IL HB3517 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Provides that if reimbursement by the State is distributed on a prorated basis, then a school district may charge the pupil's parent or legal guardian for the percentage difference between the full reimbursement claim and the prorated distribution amount. Provides that school districts may not charge the parent or legal guardian of a low-income eligible pupil for transportation costs. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB3517 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB3517-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB3517 Introduced , by Rep. Nick Sauer SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/29-5 from Ch. 122, par. 29-5
Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Provides that if reimbursement by the State is distributed on a prorated basis, then a school district may charge the pupil's parent or legal guardian for the percentage difference between the full reimbursement claim and the prorated distribution amount. Provides that school districts may not charge the parent or legal guardian of a low-income eligible pupil for transportation costs. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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,

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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.
If reimbursement under this Section is distributed on a
prorated basis, then the school district may charge the pupil's
parent or legal guardian for the percentage difference between
the full reimbursement claim and the prorated distribution
amount. However, school districts may not charge the parent or
legal guardian of a low-income eligible pupil, as defined under
subsection (H) of Section 18-8.05 of this Code, for
transportation costs.
(Source: P.A. 95-903, eff. 8-25-08; 96-1264, eff. 1-1-11.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.