Article 10. Allowances For Transportation of California Education Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 24. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 10.

(a) Apportionments made pursuant to this article shall only be made for home-to-school transportation and special education transportation, as defined in this section.
  (b) As used in this article, "home-to-school transportation" includes all of the following:
  (1) The transportation of pupils between their homes and the regular full-time day school they attend, as provided by a school district or county superintendent of schools.
  (2) The payment of moneys by a school district or county superintendent of schools to parents or guardians of pupils made in lieu of providing for the transportation of pupils between their homes and the regular full-time day schools they attend.
  (3) Providing board and lodging to pupils by a school district or county superintendent of schools made in lieu of providing for the transportation of pupils between their homes and the regular full-time day schools they attend.
  (4) The transportation of pupils between the regular full-time day schools they would attend and the regular full-time occupational training classes they attend, as provided by a regional occupational center or program.
  (5) The transportation of individuals with exceptional needs as specified in their individualized education programs, who do not receive special education transportation as defined in subdivision (d).
  (6) The payment of moneys by a school district or county superintendent of schools for the replacement or acquisition of schoolbuses.
  (c) For purposes of this article, the computation of the allowances provided to a regional occupational center or program shall be subject to all of the following:
  (1) A regional occupational center or program shall receive no allowance for 50 percent of the total transportation costs.
  (2) A regional occupational center or program shall be eligible for a transportation allowance only if the total transportation costs exceed 10 percent of the total operational budget of the regional occupational center or program.
  (3) A regional occupational center or program eligible for a transportation allowance pursuant to paragraph (2) shall receive an amount equal to one-third of the transportation costs subject to reimbursement.
  (d) As used in this article, "special education transportation" means either of the following:
  (1) The transportation of severely disabled special day class pupils, and orthopedically impaired pupils who require a vehicle with a wheelchair lift, who received transportation in the prior fiscal year, as specified in their individualized education program.
  (2) A vehicle that was used to transport special education pupils.

(a) For the 1992-93 fiscal year, from Section A of the State School Fund, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall apportion to each school district or county superintendent of schools, as appropriate, an amount computed pursuant to this section. School districts and county superintendents of schools that provide transportation services by means of a joint powers agreement, a cooperative pupil transportation program, or a consortium shall receive transportation allowances pursuant to this section.
  (b) For the 1992-93 fiscal year, each school district or county office of education shall receive a home-to-school transportation apportionment equal to the transportation allowance received in the prior fiscal year reduced by the amount of the special education transportation allowance identified pursuant to Section 41851.5.
  (c) For the 1993-94 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, each school district or county office of education shall receive the same home-to-school transportation allowance received in the prior fiscal year, but in no event shall that home-to-school transportation allowance exceed the prior year's approved home-to-school transportation costs, increased by the amount provided in the Budget Act.
  (d) For the 1993-94 and each fiscal year thereafter, each county unified school district for which the county board of education serves as the governing board that meets all of the following criteria shall receive an apportionment in addition to the amount received pursuant to subdivision (c) of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000):
  (1) Over 50 percent of the pupils enrolled in the school district require home-to-school transportation services.
  (2) Total enrollment of the school district is less than 3,500.
  (3) Total miles driven each fiscal year for home-to-school transportation exceeds 350,000.
  (4) The school district received an apportionment pursuant to this subdivision in the 2000-01 and 2001-02 fiscal years.
  (e) If, in any fiscal year, a county unified school district operates one or more necessary small schools pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 42280) of Chapter 7 that the district did not operate in the 1994-95 fiscal year, that district may not receive an apportionment pursuant to subdivision (d) in that fiscal year or in any subsequent fiscal year.
  (f) If a later enacted statute amends subdivision (b) of Section 42280 or amends or adds any other provision of law authorizing a county unified school district that has 3,001 or more units of average daily attendance to be designated as a small school district for the purposes of Article 4 (commencing with Section 42280) of Chapter 7, subdivision (d) shall become inoperative on the date that the later enacted statute becomes operative.
  (g) Each county unified school district that receives an additional apportionment pursuant to subdivision (d) shall report, by September 1 of each year, commencing with September 1, 1995, on the amount of revenues received and the funds expended for the home-to-school transportation program in the prior fiscal year. The report shall be submitted to the fiscal committees and education policy committees of the Legislature and to the Legislative Analyst.

(a) For the 1989-90 fiscal year, from Section A of the State School Fund, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall apportion to each school district or county superintendent of schools, as appropriate, an amount computed pursuant to this section. School districts and county superintendents of schools that provide transportation services by means of a joint powers agreement, a cooperative pupil transportation program, or a consortium shall receive transportation allowances pursuant to this section.
  (b) For the 1989-90 fiscal year, each school district, joint powers agency, cooperative pupil transportation program, or consortium shall receive a transportation apportionment equal to the greater of the following:
  (1) Sixty-five percent of the prior year's approved transportation costs.
  (2) The prior year's transportation allowance.
  (c) For the 1989-90 fiscal year, each county office of education shall receive a transportation apportionment equal to the greater of the following:
  (1) Eighty percent of the prior year's approved transportation costs.
  (2) The prior year's transportation allowance.
  (d) In the event that funds appropriated for the purposes of this section are not sufficient to fully fund the formula established by that section, the amounts apportioned shall be reduced on a proportionate basis.

For purposes of this article:
  (a) "Approved costs of home-to-school transportation" means the approved home-to-school transportation expense determined pursuant to the Annual Report of Pupil Transportation as utilized by the State Department of Education.
  (b) "Approved costs of special education transportation" means the approved special education transportation expense determined pursuant to the Annual Report of Pupil Transportation as utilized by the State Department of Education.

No later than December 31, 1992, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop and disseminate nonprescriptive guidelines for use by individualized education program teams during their annual reviews pursuant to Section 56343. The guidelines shall clarify when special education transportation services, as defined in Section 41850, are required. The guidelines shall be developed in accordance with Section 33308.5 and shall be exemplary in nature.

(a) For the 1992-93 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, from Section A of the State School Fund, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall apportion to each school district or county superintendent of schools, as appropriate, an amount computed pursuant to this section. School districts and county superintendents of schools that provide special education transportation services by means of a joint powers agreement, a cooperative pupil transportation program, or a consortium shall receive special education transportation allowances pursuant to this section.
  (b) For the 1992-93 fiscal year, each school district or county office of education shall receive a special education transportation allowance equal to the lesser of the following:
  (1) The prior year's approved special education transportation costs identified pursuant to Section 41850.
  (2) That portion of the prior year's transportation allowance that the school district or county superintendent of schools designates as a special education transportation allowance.
  (c) For the 1993-94 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, each school district or county office of education shall receive a special education transportation allowance received in the prior fiscal year, but in no event shall that special education transportation allowance exceed the prior year's approved special education transportation costs, increased by the amount provided in the annual Budget Act.

For the purpose of receiving an allowance pursuant to this section, a school district, county superintendent, or joint powers agency which transfers any part of its pupil transportation service to another entity shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the proportion of the costs in the fiscal year prior to the transfer that are attributable to the part of the service transferred. In determining the allowance for the fiscal years subsequent to the transfer, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, prior to the application of any cost-of-living adjustment, shall reduce the allowance of the entity transferring the service in proportion to the costs reported, and, if appropriate, increase or establish the allowance of the entity assuming the transferred service by that amount.

(a) Any school district or county superintendent of schools that receives a transportation apportionment in the 1984-85 fiscal year, or any fiscal year thereafter, shall establish a restricted pupil transportation account within its general fund. The district or county superintendent shall deposit in the restricted pupil transportation account all transportation apportionments received pursuant to this article in any fiscal year and any other funds at the option of the district or county superintendent. Any funds remaining in the restricted pupil transportation account at the end of the fiscal year may remain in the restricted pupil transportation account for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years or may be transferred to the pupil transportation equipment fund.
  (b) Any school district or county superintendent of schools may establish a pupil transportation equipment fund. The fund shall receive all state and local funds designated for acquisition, rehabilitation, or replacement of pupil transportation equipment. Funds deposited in the pupil transportation equipment fund shall be used exclusively for acquisition, rehabilitation and replacement of pupil transportation equipment, except as provided in Section 41853.

If a school district or county superintendent of schools decides to discontinue its transportation services, any unencumbered funds remaining in the restricted home-to-school transportation account after transportation services are discontinued shall be transferred to the general fund of the district or county superintendent. In the fiscal year in which the funds are transferred, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall reduce the state apportionment pursuant to Section 2558 or 42238 to the district or county superintendent by the amount of the funds transferred from the restricted home-to-school transportation account to the general fund of the district or county superintendent, exclusive of reimbursements for prior year expenditures to Section 41851.5.

This article shall become operative July 1, 1984.

(a) For the 1996-97 fiscal year, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall provide a home-to-school transportation allowance of three million twelve thousand dollars ($3,012,000) to school districts and county superintendents of schools that provide transportation services by means of a joint powers authority in lieu of the amount that would otherwise have been provided pursuant to the provisions of this article and Article 10.5 (commencing with Section 41860), if the joint powers authority meets the following conditions as of June 30, 1996:
  (1) The joint powers authority provides pupils of member school districts with home-to-school transportation on school buses that are operated by the joint powers authority.
  (2) The joint powers authority provides school transportation services to at least six other school districts in the area who are not members of the joint powers authority.
  (3) The joint powers authority provides maintenance services for vehicles owned and operated by the member school districts, other school districts in the area, fire districts, and vehicles owned by cities or counties.
  (4) The cost per mile of home-to-school transportation services provided by the joint powers authority to member districts for the 1994-95 school year did not exceed the statewide average cost per mile for home-to-school transportation for all school districts in the state for the 1994-95 school year.
  (b) For the 1997-98 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, the home-to-school school transportation allowance shall revert to the 1995-96 level.

For purposes of this article and Article 10.5 (commencing with Section 41860), the home-to-school transportation allowance received by the Oakland Unified School District in the 1996-97 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter shall be computed as if the home-to-school transportation aid received by the school district in the 1995-96 fiscal year was two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000). The amounts allocated to the Oakland Unified School District pursuant to this section shall be contingent upon approval of the district's home-to-school transportation costs and shall not exceed those costs.