Illinois Administrative Code › Title 23 - EDUCATION AND CULTURAL RESOURCES › Part 120 - PUPIL TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENT › Subpart A - SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENT › Section 120.10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
"Buildings" - A district leased, leased/purchased or owned
				  structure or portion of a structure whose primary purpose is to house pupil
				  transportation vehicles and/or equipment used for servicing the district's
				  pupil transportation vehicles, such as a school bus storage building or pupil
				  transportation maintenance garage.
"Chief mechanic" - The person who directly supervises the
				  school district's mechanics and maintenance personnel for pupil transportation
				  vehicles and who also performs the duties of school bus mechanic when
				  necessary.
"Contract" - A written agreement between two parties, for a
				  specific period of time and amount for compensation, that is enforceable by
				  law.
"Contractual pupil transportation service" - Pupil
				  transportation services provided for a set fee under a contract with an
				  independent carrier.
"District owned and operated pupil transportation service" -
				  Pupil transportation service provided by a school district that owns and
				  operates the approved safety inspected vehicle(s), exercises managerial control
				  over facilities and personnel used in the pupil transportation service, and
				  also employs and supervises the school bus driver(s).
"Equipment" - Items, other than vehicles, costing $2,500 or
				  more and having a useful life of more than one year.
"Independent Carrier" - An individual (other than a student),
				  partnership, corporation, firm, organization, association or other legal entity
				  not subject to control by a school district, which enters into a contract with
				  a school district to provide pupil transportation services. An entity does not
				  qualify as an independent carrier if its contract with the district requires
				  that it do one or more of the following:
employ existing school district drivers, mechanics, and
				  administrative and clerical personnel;
pay salaries as stipulated by the school district;
employ or discharge employees solely at the discretion of the
				  school district;
employ specific types and numbers of administrative
				  personnel.
"Lease" - A written contract between two parties whereby the
				  lessee agrees to pay the lessor a specified sum of money for the use of the
				  lessor's transportation equipment, building, land and/or vehicles for a
				  specific period of time with no option to purchase.
"Lease/purchase agreement" - A written contract between two
				  parties whereby the lessee agrees to pay the lessor a specified sum of money
				  for the use of the lessor's transportation equipment, building, land and/or
				  vehicles for a specific period of time, and the contract contains a clause
				  permitting the lessee the option to purchase the equipment and/or vehicles at a
				  specified price within a specified period of time.
"Local Education Agency" ("LEA") - A public educational
				  agency at the local level that operates schools or contracts for educational
				  services. This includes school districts, school districts providing services
				  under a joint agreement pursuant to Section 10-22.31a of the School Code
				  [105 ILCS
				  5/10-22.31a ], educational service regions pursuant to
				  Section 3A-1 of the School Code [105
				  ILCS 5/3A-1 ], intermediate service centers pursuant
				  to Section 2-3.62 of the School Code [105 ILCS
				  5/2-3.62 ], and governing boards formed pursuant to
				  Section 10-22.20a, 10-22.31, or 3-15.14 of the School Code [105 ILCS
				  5/10-22.20a, 10 -22.31, or 3-15.14].
"Materials, parts, and supplies" - Items costing less than
				  $2,500 or having a useful life of one year or less.
"Principal cost or capital cost" -
For purchased vehicles, equipment, land and/or buildings the
				  principal cost is the cash cost (list price less any discount, revenue from
				  sale of district-owned item, and/or trade-in allowance) plus the prior year's
				  undepreciated balance of the traded/sold district-owned vehicle, equipment,
				  land or building, excluding all financing charges whether explicit or implicit,
				  minus any insurance proceeds.
For leased or leased/purchased vehicles, equipment, land
				  and/or buildings the principal cost is the lesser of the fair market value of
				  the vehicle, equipment, land and/or building at the time of acquisition or the
				  lease payment minus finance charges.
"Prorated cost" - A cost incurred for multiple functions. In
				  accounting for such cost, the total cost shall be prorated on the required
				  basis among the appropriate account function codes.
"Pupil transportation vehicles" - School buses and other
				  vehicles meeting the requirements set forth in Section 1-182 of the Illinois
				  Vehicle Code [625 ILCS 5/1-182 ] for
				  transporting pupils.
"School bus driver" - A person who possesses a valid school
				  bus driver's permit, and drives a pupil transportation vehicle, including
				  Division I vehicles identified in the Illinois Vehicle Code, such as taxi cabs,
				  limousines, cars, and minivans, to transport pupils.
"School bus maintenance personnel" - Individuals whose duties
				  are to maintain the district owned or operated pupil transportation
				  vehicles.
"School Day" - That period of time which the pupil is
				  required to be in attendance at school for instructional purposes. (Section
				  29-5 of the School Code [105
				  ILCS 5/29-5 ]).
"Site improvement" - Any addition or improvement to a site
				  leased, leased/purchased, or owned that is directly related to the district
				  pupil transportation services, including but not limited to, underground fuel
				  storage tanks and communication towers.
"Transportation Fund" - An accounting entity as described in
				  Section 17-8 of the School Code [105
				  ILCS 5/17-8 ], to account for revenue and expenditures
				  related to pupil transportation services.
"Transportation related building and building maintenance
				  costs" - The portion of depreciation of buildings and site improvements and
				  costs of operation and maintenance of buildings and site improvements directly
				  related to a school district's pupil transportation program. These costs are
				  chargeable to and paid from the Educational Fund or Operations and Maintenance
				  Fund as prescribed in Section 17-7 of the School Code [105 ILCS
				  5/17-7 ].
"Transportation supervisory personnel" - Personnel employed
				  by the LEA responsible for all the following functions with respect to either
				  the entire territory of the LEA or a portion of the LEA:
Overall planning of the transportation program, including the
				  development and presentation of recommendations to the board of education
				  concerning contracting, leasing, and/or purchasing related to transportation
				  services, and the preparation and establishment of procedures and policies
				  related to crisis intervention, discipline, and general operation of the
				  transportation service.
Total responsibility for the development of all
				  transportation routes.
Monitoring and modification of the established transportation
				  services, routes, and procedures to ensure an efficient, safe operational
				  program. (This should not be confused with bus driver education.)
Ensuring that sufficient, properly trained maintenance staff
				  and bus drivers meeting the requirements of Section 6-106.1 of the Illinois
				  Vehicle Code [625 ILCS
				  5/6-106.1] are available to provide the established
				  transportation services.
Provision of safety training to drivers, staff, and students
				  for crisis situations (e.g., accidents, vehicle breakdowns).
"Transportation supervisory salary costs" - That portion of
				  the salary and allowable employee benefits of school district employee(s) who
				  are documented as supervising a school district's pupil transportation programs
				  (Regular, Vocational, Special Education and Nonreimbursable). For districts
				  that do not employ a full or part-time transportation supervisor, a
				  superintendent's/director of special education's salary and related employee
				  benefits shall be prorated as detailed in Section
				  120.80(b)(3)
				  of this Part. These salary and related employee benefit costs shall be paid
				  from the Transportation Fund.
"Useful life" - The period of time during which an item is
				  expected to be functional for pupil transportation services.