92 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 51, § 014 - Special Education Transportation
014.01 The board of
education shall furnish one of the following types of services to children with
disabilities who are residents of the school district:
014.01A Provide transportation for any child
with a disability who is forced to leave the school district temporarily
because of lack of educational services; and
014.01B Provide transportation within the
school district for any child with a disability who is enrolled in a special
education program of the district when either:
014.01B1 The child is required to attend a
facility other than what would be the normal school of attendance of the child
to receive appropriate special education services; or
014.01B2 The nature of the child's disability
is such that special education transportation is required.
014.01C The board of education shall provide
transportation for all children with disabilities birth to age five including
children birth to age five who are wards of the court.
014.01D Transportation for Parentally-Placed
Non-Public School Children
014.01D1 If
necessary for the child to benefit from or participate in the services provided
under this Chapter, a parentally-placed nonpublic school child with a
disability must be provided transportation:
014.01D1a From the child's school or the
child's home to a site other than the nonpublic school; and
014.01D1b From the service site to the
nonpublic school, or to the child's home, depending on the timing of the
services.
014.01D2 School
districts or approved cooperatives are not required to provide transportation
from the child's home to the nonpublic school.
014.01D3 The cost of transportation may be
included in calculating whether the school district or approved cooperative has
met the requirement of 92 NAC 51-012.08.
014.02 Responsibility for Transportation
014.02A The board of education shall be
responsible to provide for the transportation expenses of children with
disabilities who are residents of the school district under Neb. Rev. Stat.
§
79-1129 by:
014.02A1 Paying a parent for transporting his
or her child for actual miles traveled and claimed; or
014.02A2 Operating vehicles for the purpose
of transporting children with disabilities; or
014.02A3 Contracting for transportation
services for children with disabilities; or
014.02A4 Purchasing services from a common
carrier; or
014.02A5 Arranging for
such other transportation as is proper and necessary to transport children with
disabilities.
014.02B The
board of education shall select an efficient and effective means of
transportation for the child with a disability at a reasonable cost.
014.02C The board of education shall not
provide for the transportation expenses of children with a disability who are
residents of the school districts under Rev. Stat. §
79-1129 if such children are able
to use regular transportation services provided by the district unless:
014.02C1 Alteration of the routes of such
regular transportation is required to transport children with a disability;
or
014.02C2 Alteration is required
of the equipment or vehicles used in such regular transportation in order to
accommodate children with a disability.
014.02D The board of education shall provide
for expenses equal to the statutory amount for each mile or fraction thereof
traveled between the place of residence and the program of attendance when a
parent transports his or her child(ren) with a disability. (Refer to Neb. Rev.
Stat. §§
79-1129 and 81-1176.)
014.02E Except when a parent is transporting
only his or her child, the board of education shall require that the driver and
vehicle meet the standards required by 92 NAC 91 and 92.
014.02F For students with disabilities
participating in the Option Enrollment Program under Neb. Rev. Stat.
§§
79-232 to
79-246, the transportation
services included on the student's lEP shall be provided by the district from
which the student optioned. The Department shall reimburse the district from
which the student optioned for the cost of transportation in accordance with
Section 014.
014.03
Allowable Expenses
014.03A The school district
or approved cooperative shall provide for the transportation expenses of
children with a disability transported by the parents of such children, upon
receipt of claims submitted to the board of education by such parents. Such
claims shall be documented and subject to audit. The claims shall:
014.03A1 State the names of the children
transported, the dates they were transported, the mileage incurred in such
transportation; and
014.03A2
Contain a statement that the claim is a true and correct report of mileage;
and
014.03A3 Include the signature
of the parent.
014.03B
The school district or approved cooperative shall not be relieved of the
obligation to provide transportation for an eligible child with a disability
because of the inability or unwillingness of the child's parents to provide
transportation. No eligible child with a disability may be denied or have
limitations placed on the child's receipt of special education services
required by an lEP as a result of the inability or unwillingness of parents to
provide transportation.
014.03C The
school district or approved cooperative shall provide for the expenses or the
equivalent costs for transportation from the child's legal residence (the
residence of the parent(s)) or the Nebraska Department of Education approved
residential placement, to the child's program.
014.03D A school district or approved
cooperative may apply to the Department of Health and Human Services for
reimbursement of transportation costs for the school age student who was made a
ward of the state or court prior to his or her arrival in that school
district.
014.03E When the school
district or approved cooperative provides for transportation expenses under
Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1129 for children with a
disability who are residents of the school district by utilizing vehicles
operated by the school district, it shall include those transportation expenses
below which are directly related to the vehicles used to transport special
education children:
014.03E1 Salaries and
fixed charges of drivers and necessary aides;
014.03E2 Vehicle operational
supplies;
014.03E3 Vehicle repairs
and maintenance;
014.03E4 Vehicle
lease costs;
014.03E5 Vehicle
insurance related to the transportation of children with a
disability;
014.03E6 Documented
administrative expenses of those engaged or employed for the purpose of
supervising the transportation of children with a disability, their assistants,
and clerical personnel but not including expenses for those engaged in general
school or special education administration;
014.03E7 Such depreciation as is allowed in
92 NAC 51-014.04;
014.03E8 Those
expenses attributable to an alteration of routes;
014.03E9 Those expenses attributable to
alterations in equipment of vehicles, which must be depreciated; and
014.03E10 Facility expenses relating to the
maintenance of vehicles used for transporting children with a disability.
Transportation facility expense for purposes other than maintenance are not
allowable reimbursable items. Maintenance includes such activities as repair,
cleaning, greasing, fueling, and inspecting vehicles for safety. If a facility
is used for purposes other than maintenance of vehicles used to transport
children with a disability, expenses must be listed separately so that only
those costs attributed to the maintenance of special education vehicles are
included.
014.03F If
income is derived from a transportation service provided under Neb. Rev. Stat.
§
79-1129 such income shall be used
to offset expenses listed above to the extent of such income.
014.03G The Nebraska Department of Education
shall allow a per mile cost for operating vehicles by using the categories of
allowable expenses in 92 NAC 51-014.03 divided by the actual mileage the
vehicle was driven for each fiscal year or the mileage rate provided in Neb.
Rev. Stat. §
81-1176. This procedure may be
used in lieu of 92 NAC 51-014.03E.
014.03H The costs used must be adequately
documented by the school district for review by the Nebraska Department of
Education.
014.03I Detailed mileage
logs must be maintained by the school district or approved cooperative and be
available for review by the Nebraska Department of Education.
014.03J Undocumented expenses or mileage will
not be allowed.
014.04
Depreciation
014.04A The school district or
approved cooperative shall claim as a depreciation deduction a reasonable
allowance for depreciation of:
014.04A1
Vehicles owned by the district, or portion of vehicles, or other capital assets
owned by the district used in the transportation of children with a disability
under Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1129; and
014.04A2 Other capital expenditures required
in the alteration of vehicles used in the transportation of children with a
disability under Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1129.
014.04B An allowance for depreciation shall
be based on a reasonable useful life span of an item at the time of acquisition
or for previous district owed vehicles, the fair market value of the item when
placed into special education service so that the amount set aside each year
for depreciation plus the estimated salvage value, will, at the end of the
useful life of the item, equal the cost of the item.
014.04B1 It shall be presumed that the
reasonable period of depreciation for a new conventional school bus is seven
years and that of a new small vehicle is three years.
014.04B2 If any school district or approved
cooperative determines that the periods of depreciation set forth above are not
reasonable because of the type of vehicles in use, the school district or
approved cooperative may request alternate periods of depreciation for such
vehicles, along with supporting reasoning in an application to the Nebraska
Department of Education.
014.04B3
Capital expenditures in excess of two thousand dollars ($2000) require a
depreciation schedule approved by NDE.
014.04B4 The allowance for depreciation must
be claimed in the fiscal year in which the vehicle was used.
014.04B5 When equipment is used for purposes
other than for special education transportation, the school district or
approved cooperative shall only claim the applicable prorated portion for
special education payment.
014.04C When a depreciable item is disposed
of or used for a purpose other than the transportation of children with a
disability under Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1129, the fair market value of
such item shall be considered its actual salvage value.
014.04C1 Any actual salvage in excess of
estimated salvage value shall be set off against any payments due to the board
under Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1129 and
79-1144.
014.04C2 When the actual salvage value is
less than the estimated salvage value, then an expense for such difference
shall be allowable under 92 NAC 51-014.04B.
014.04C3 When vehicles are not disposed of in
a cash sale, recognized retail book values, such as the Used Car Guide of the
National Automobile Dealers Association shall be evidence of fair market value
unless a board of education demonstrates that it is not appropriate to use such
recognized book values on a particular vehicle because of the condition or type
of the vehicle in question.
014.04C4 A depreciation schedule shall be
maintained by the district or approved cooperative as long as they own the
vehicle.
014.05
Other Conditions
014.05A The fiscal year for
school age and early childhood special education (Below Age Five)
transportation shall be from September 1 to August 31.
014.05B Based on claim forms submitted
reflecting the allowable costs of transporting children with disabilities, the
Nebraska Department of Education will reimburse each school district or
approved cooperative a pro rata amount determined by the State Board of
Education from appropriations for special education approved by the
Legislature. For early childhood special education (Below Age Five)
transportation, refer to 92 NAC 51-014.05H. Transportation claim forms shall be
submitted on or before September 30 of each year according to the provisions of
92 NAC 51-011.04C3 and 011.04C4. Forms are available at the Nebraska Department
of Education.
014.05C Reimbursement
to a school district or approved cooperative whose Special Education
Transportation Final Claim Form is submitted to the Nebraska Department of
Education after the due date shall be subject to the procedures specified in 92
NAC 51-004.14.
014.05D All
transportation claims shall be documented and are subject to audit.
014.05E For payment for costs associated with
the transportation of children below the age of five with a disability who are
wards of the court, refer to 92 NAC 51-014.05H.
014.05F Supplementary amendments to any
Special Education School Age Transportation Final Claim Form previously
approved by the Nebraska Department of Education may be submitted to the
Nebraska Department of Education for review and approval within three years of
the original due date. Approved amendments may be submitted by the Nebraska
Department of Education to the Legislature for consideration of a supplemental
appropriation.
014.05G Payments
authorized by Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1144 shall be made only to a
school district or approved cooperative.
014.05H IDEA Base flow-through allocation (92
NAC 51-012.02) and the IDEA Enrollment and Poverty Allocation (92 NAC
51-012.06) are to be used to fund costs for transporting children with
disabilities below the age of five.
014.05I Expenditure of IDEA Allocations shall
be in accordance with 92 NAC 51-012.06C3, 012.06C4, and 012.06C5.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.