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Reimbursement for Transportation
Parents/guardians who must provide transportation to and from school because free transportation is not available for their children may be eligible to receive money from the state to help offset some of the cost (i.e., bus fare, mileage reimbursement). Parents/guardians who can answer yes to all of the following questions may be eligible to receive reimbursement for providing such transportation.
- Is the pupil under the age of 21 at the close of the school year?
- Is the pupil a full-time student (Kindergarten through 12th grade)?
- Does the pupil live 1.5 miles or more from the school, or live less than 1.5 miles from the school but must be transported due to a serious safety hazard approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation (see following paragraphs)?
- Does the pupil attend a school within Illinois that meets Illinois compulsory attendance laws?
- Did the parent/guardian incur transportation expenses resulting from transporting the pupil to and from school?
Parents/guardians who live in the State of Illinois and can answer yes to these questions may file a claim at the school where the student is enrolled by June 29. Claim applications are available at the school from February-June.
Parents/guardians whose students live less than 1.5 miles from the school must have already verified that a safety hazard due to vehicular traffic exists by completing an application for Determination of Serious Safety Hazard, which is available at the Office of Regional Superintendent of Schools for the county in which the student lives, except for those who live in the City of Chicago. Residents of the City of Chicago must have received and submitted applications from the Illinois State Board of Education (100 N. First Street, Springfield, IL 62777) by February 1. The Regional Superintendent of Schools is required to send the application to the Illinois Department of Transportation within 15 days. The Illinois Department of Transportation reviews and either approves or denies the application and returns it to the Regional Superintendent of Schools within 30 days. Upon receipt of the reviewed application, the Regional Superintendent of Schools will mail it to the parent(s)/guardian(s) who requested the safety hazard be approved. If the safety hazard is approved, the parent(s)/guardian(s) must go to the school the pupil attends and complete the claim form. Parents/guardians who have received approval of a safety hazard during or after the 1999-2000 school year and whose children attend the same school and live at the same address do not have to reapply for safety hazard verification.
Once all claims are completed at the school, claim forms are sent to the Illinois State Board of Education. If a claim is approved, the parent(s)/guardian(s) should receive a check directly from the state for the lesser of the following two options: the cost of transporting the child/children, or the average per pupil reimbursement paid to public schools for transporting regular education pupils. If insufficient funds are appropriated by the General Assembly, all claims will be prorated.
In the event a dispute regarding the validity of a claim of reimbursement arises, each party shall submit to the State Superintendent of Education a written statement including the reasons for the dispute and any documentation supporting their respective positions. This shall be done by October 1 of the year in which the dispute occurs. Failure of either party to comply with this requirement will automatically validate the position of the other party, provided that the complying party’s claim is otherwise in conformance with this action.
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