Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
Each school district that files a claim for State
reimbursement for pupil transportation shall be subject to the requirements of
this Subpart A in order to be eligible for such reimbursement. Pupil
transportation services eligible for reimbursement are listed below:
a) Regular Pupil Transportation Services for
Pupils in Kindergarten or Any of Grades 1 through 12
1) Transportation services provided for
pupils residing at a distance of 11/2 miles or more from the attendance center
to which they are assigned.
A)
The
distance shall be measured from the exit of the property where the pupil
resides to the point where pupils are normally unloaded at the attendance
center to which they are assigned (Section 29-3 of the School Code
[105 ILCS
5/29-3]).
B)
If a pupil is at a location within
the school district other than his/her residence for child care purposes at the
time for transportation to and/or from school, that location may be considered
for purposes of determining the 11/2 miles from the school attended
(Section 29-5 of the School Code). A district that chooses to consider
locations other than individual students' residences shall adopt a written
policy establishing this practice. At the district's discretion, its policy may
limit pick-up and drop-off to students in day care locations along the
district's regular routes, or it may extend services via newly established
routes. In either case, the district shall not discriminate among types of
locations where day care is provided, which may include, but need not be
limited to, the premises of licensed providers, the homes of relatives, or the
homes of neighbors, any of which must be located within the district's
boundaries.
C) A school
board may comply with the provisions of this Section by providing free
transportation for pupils to and from an assigned school and a pick-up point
located not more than one and one-half miles from the home of each pupil
assigned to such point (Section 29-3 of the School Code).
2) Transportation services
provided for pupils residing within a distance of 11/2 miles from the
attendance center to which they are assigned from pickup points at the
beginning of the school day and back again at the close of the school day,
effective on the date that the Illinois Department of Transportation grants
written approval pursuant to 92 Ill. Adm. Code 556 (Rules on Transporting
Pupils Where Walking Constitutes a Serious Safety Hazard) that a serious safety
hazard exists due to vehicular traffic, for specific areas and specific
ages.
3) Transportation services
provided for nonpublic school pupils when pupil transportation services for the
nonpublic school pupils are provided on the same basis as the transportation
services for public school pupils as provided in Section 29-4 of the School
Code.
4) Transportation services
provided to a pupil who is required to be transported but is also required for
disciplinary reasons to serve a detention period either before or after the
regular school day.
5)
Transportation which is provided prior to or following voluntary,
extracurricular and/or cocurricular activities, including sport practices, club
meetings, drama rehearsals, or choral and band practices where such activities
are scheduled before or after the school day, qualifies as transportation
provided at the beginning or end of the school day and is therefore subject to
reimbursement with respect to students who are required to be
transported.
6) Transportation
services provided for pupils between attendance centers during the school day.
This includes transportation of vocational pupils between attendance centers or
a building or other trades skill development site of less than one and one-half
miles.
b) Vocational
pupil transportation services provided during the school day for vocational
pupils transported one and one-half miles or more one way from their assigned
attendance center to a vocational program located at:
1) An area vocational center;
2) Another school district; or
3) A building or other trades skill
development site.
c)
Special education pupil transportation services, including field trips,
provided for special education pupils in accordance with Sections 14-7.02 and
14-13.01(b) of the School Code [105
ILCS 5/14-7.02 and 14 -13.01(b)] and with 23 Ill. Adm.
Code 226 (Special Education). This includes field trips (community based
instruction) when approved by the district's state approved director of special
education as defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226.
d) Transportation provided to any student in
connection with a field trip:
1) that occurs
during a day of student attendance included on the official school calendar of
the school district;
2) whose hours
are part of the claimable clock hours on the General State Aid Claim (i.e., the
destination of the trip is considered to be the assigned attendance center for
all students enrolled in the class);
3) that is provided free of charge to the
pupil;
4) that is part of the
school's curriculum for which pupils earn credit for graduation; and
5) that is not listed in Section
120.40(a)(1)
or (2) of this Part.
e) During a gubernatorial declaration of a
disaster under Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act [20
ILCS 3305], to ensure the continuity of education, including the provision of
any direct or related service for the health and well-being of all public
school students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, all transportation costs
incurred that are beyond transporting students, such as costs paid by a local
education agency for all employees related to the provision of transportation
or a transportation provider under a written agreement, regardless of any
service that may be provided, or costs related to the distribution of food,
distribution and pick-up of student assignments and work, and use of vehicles
to provide wi-fi and other similar costs, shall be allowable and reimbursed by
the formula under Section 29-5 of the School Code.
