53F-2-520. Rural school transportation reimbursement.
| (1) |
As used in this section:
Terms Used In Utah Code 53F-2-520- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- LEA governing board: means a local school board or charter school governing board. See Utah Code 53F-2-102
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (a) |
“Eligible LEA” means a school district or a charter school:
| (i) |
that is located in a county of the fourth, fifth, or sixth class, as defined in Section 17-50-501; and |
| (ii) |
in which:
| (A) |
for a fiscal year other than fiscal year 2021 or 2022, at least 65% of the students enrolled in the school district or charter school qualify for free or reduced price lunch; or |
| (B) |
for fiscal year 2021 or 2022, at least 65% of the students enrolled in the school district or charter school qualified for free or reduced price lunch in fiscal year 2019. |
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| (b) |
“Eligible school” means a school:
| (i) |
in an eligible LEA; and |
| (ii) |
that the eligible LEA has provided transportation to and from for a regular school day for students for at least five years. |
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| (c) |
“LEA governing board” means:
| (i) |
the local school board of a school district that is an eligible LEA; or |
| (ii) |
the charter school governing board of a charter school that is an eligible LEA. |
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| (2) |
An LEA governing board may annually submit a request to the state board to receive reimbursement for an expense that:
| (a) |
the LEA governing board incurs transporting a student to or from an eligible school for the regular school day; and |
| (b) |
the LEA governing board does not pay using state funding for pupil transportation described in Section 53F-2-402 or 53F-2-403. |
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| (3) |
| (a) |
Subject to legislative appropriations, and except as provided in Subsection (3)(b), the state board shall reimburse an LEA governing board for an expense included in a request described in Subsection (2). |
| (b) |
If the legislative appropriation for this section is insufficient to fund an expense in a request received under Subsection (2), the state board may reduce an LEA governing board’s reimbursement in accordance with the rules described in Subsection (4). |
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| (4) |
In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the state board shall make rules that establish:
| (a) |
requirements for information an LEA governing board shall include in a reimbursement request described in Subsection (2); |
| (b) |
a deadline by which an LEA governing board shall submit a request described in Subsection (2); and |
| (c) |
a formula for reducing an LEA governing board’s allocation under Subsection (3). |
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| (5) |
Nothing in this section affects a school district’s allocation for pupil transportation under Sections 53F-2-402 and 53F-2-403. |
Amended by Chapter 303, 2021 General Session
