HB 5967 — SCH CD-TRANSPORTATION-DISTANCE

*LRB09815893NHT50938b* HB5967 98THEngrossed GENERALLRB098 ASSEMBLY15893 StateNHT of50938 Illinoisb andAN 2014ACT HB5967concerning byeducation. Rep.

Joe Sosnowski SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

ILCS 5/29-2 from Ch.

122, par.

29-2 ILCS 5/29-3 from Ch.

122, par.

29-3 ILCS 5/29-4 from Ch.

122, par.

29-4 ILCS 5/29-5 from Ch.

122, par.

29-5 ILCS 5/29-5.2 from Ch.

122, par.

29-5.2 Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code.

Provides that a school board shall provide free transportation for pupils residing at a distance of 2 miles (instead of one and one-half miles) or more from school.

Makes related changes in provisions concerning the transportation of pupils less than that distance from school, pupils attending a charter school or nonpublic school, reimbursement by the State for transportation, and reimbursement of a custodian of a qualifying pupil for transportation expenses paid by the custodian.

Effective July 1, 2014.

LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY A BILL FOR HB5967 LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b AN ACT concerning education.

School boards of community consolidated districts, community unit districts, consolidated districts, consolidated high school districts, optional elementary unit districts, combined high school - unit districts, combined school districts if the combined district includes any district which was previously HB5967 Engrossed - 2 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b required to provide transportation, and any newly created elementary or high school districts resulting from a high school - unit conversion, a unit to dual conversion, or a multi-unit conversion if the newly created district includes any area that was previously required to provide transportation shall provide free transportation for pupils residing at a distance of 2 one and one-half miles or more from any school to which they are assigned for attendance maintained within the district, except for those pupils for whom the school board shall certify to the State Board of Education that adequate transportation for the public is available.

HB5967 Engrossed - 3 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b In addition to the other requirements of this Section, each school board may provide free transportation for any pupil residing within 2 1 1/2 miles from the school attended where conditions are such that walking, either to or from the school to which a pupil is assigned for attendance or to or from a pick-up point or bus stop, constitutes a serious hazard to the safety of the pupil due to vehicular traffic or rail crossings.

A school board, on written petition of the parent or guardian of a pupil for whom adequate transportation for the public is alleged not to exist because the pupil is required to walk along normally traveled roads or streets where walking is alleged to constitute a serious safety hazard due to vehicular traffic or rail crossings, or who is required to walk between the pupil's home and assigned school or between the pupil's home or assigned school and a pick-up point or bus stop along roads or streets where walking is alleged to constitute a serious safety hazard due to vehicular traffic or rail crossings, shall conduct a study and make findings, which the Department of Transportation shall review and approve or disapprove as provided in this Section, to determine whether a HB5967 Engrossed - 4 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b serious safety hazard exists as alleged in the petition.

The school board of any school district that provides any school bus or conveyance for transporting pupils to and from the public schools shall afford transportation, without HB5967 Engrossed - 5 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b cost, for children who attend a charter school or any school other than a public school, who reside at least 2 1 1/2 miles from the school attended, and who reside on or along the highway constituting the regular route of such public school bus or conveyance, such transportation to extend from some point on the regular route nearest or most easily accessible to their homes to and from the school attended, or to or from a point on such regular route which is nearest or most easily accessible to the school attended by such children.

Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude a school HB5967 Engrossed - 6 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b district from operating separate regular bus routes, subject to the limitations of this Section, for the benefit of children who attend a charter school or any school other than a public school where the operation of such routes is safer, more economical and more efficient than if such school district were precluded from operating separate regular bus routes.

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 HB5967 Engrossed - 7 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b 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:

To be eligible to receive reimbursement in excess of 4/5 of the cost HB5967 Engrossed - 8 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b to transport eligible pupils, a school district shall have a Transportation Fund tax rate of at least .12%.

HB5967 Engrossed - 9 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b 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 2 1 1/2 miles from the school attended.

the cost of converting buses' gasoline engines to more fuel efficient engines or to engines HB5967 Engrossed - 10 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b which use alternative energy sources;

In addition to HB5967 Engrossed - 11 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b 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.

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 HB5967 Engrossed - 12 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b 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.

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 HB5967 Engrossed - 13 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b 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.

A certified copy of HB5967 Engrossed - 14 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b the resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of Education.

HB5967 Engrossed - 15 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b (1) "Qualifying pupil" means an individual referred to in subsection (c), as well as an individual who:

(3) "School" means a public or nonpublic elementary or HB5967 Engrossed - 16 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b secondary school in Illinois, attendance at which satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1.

Each custodian intending to file an application for reimbursement under HB5967 Engrossed - 17 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b subsection (d) for expenditures incurred or to be incurred with respect to a pupil asserted to be a qualified pupil as an individual referred to in this subsection shall first file with the appropriate regional superintendent, on forms provided by the State Board of Education, a request for a determination that a serious safety hazard within the meaning of this subsection (c) exists with respect to such pupil.

The determination of the Department relative to what constitutes a serious safety hazard within the meaning of subsection (c) with respect to any pupil shall be deemed an "administrative decision" as defined in Section 3-101 of the HB5967 Engrossed - 18 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b Administrative Review Law;

Regional Superintendents shall be reimbursed for such costs of administering the program, including costs incurred in HB5967 Engrossed - 19 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b administering the provisions of subsection (c), as the State Board of Education determines are reasonable and necessary.

Notification shall occur by the first Monday in November of the school year for which reimbursement is HB5967 Engrossed - 20 - LRB098 15893 NHT 50938 b available.