LOS ANGELES—Four school districts across the state, including the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), are set to benefit from a federal grants program to invest in electrical school buses, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Jan. 8.
The agency announced the selection of 67 applicants throughout the country to receive nearly $1 billion through its Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition. In total, California was awarded $88 million that will support L.A. Unified, Kern High School District, Porterville Unified School District, and San Diego Unified School District.
The program is intended to help grantees purchase more than 2,700 clean school buses in 280 school districts, serving over 7 million students across 37 states.
“Every school day, 25 million children ride our nation’s largest form of mass transit: the school bus. The vast majority of those buses run on diesel, exposing students, teachers, and bus drivers to toxic air pollution,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement.
She added, “As part of our work to tackle the climate crisis, the historic funding we are announcing today is an investment in our children, their health, and their education.”
Additionally, the program is intended to strengthen the economy by investing in American manufacturing and workforce.
The Clean School Bus Program—created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and modeled after the Clean Commute for Kids Act that Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced in 2021—is expected to provide $5 billion over five years to support the transition to zero-emission and low- emission school buses.
Over 400,000 public school buses travel more than 4.3 billion miles each year to help 23.5 million children get to and from school, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“A successful day of learning for our students starts with a diesel-free commute each morning,” Mr. Padilla said in a statement. “I’ve seen firsthand the harmful health and respiratory impacts polluted air from outdated buses can cause our children, having grown up riding diesel-powered school buses in Pacoima.”
“Modernizing our bus system is a crucial investment in our children, our health, and our environment,” he added.
According to Padilla’s office, through the funding, LAUSD is expected to acquire 50 electrical buses; Kern High School District is expected to acquire 39 buses; Porterville Unified is expected to purchase 35 buses; and San Diego Unified is expected to purchase 30 buses.
Two third-party companies that contract with California school districts to provide bus services also received grants.
Zum Services, Inc., received funding for buses for the Los Angeles Unified, San Francisco Unified, Alameda Unified, and Oakland Unified School Districts. Also, First Student, Inc. received funding for buses for Long Beach Unified School District, Palm Springs Unified School District, Riverside Unified School District, Fallbrook Union, Orange County Department of Education, and Los Angeles County Office of Education.
Prioritized school districts in low-income, rural, and tribal communities make up approximately 86 percent of the projects selected for funding, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Today we’re once again accelerating the transition to electric and low-emission school buses in America, helping to secure a healthier future where all our children can breathe cleaner air,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement.
Grantees will work with their EPA Regional Project Officers to finalize project plans and purchase their awarded new buses and eligible infrastructure. EPA is also partnering with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to provide grantees with technical assistance to ensure the implementation.
EPA is currently accepting applications for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program until Jan. 31. EPA encourages applicants not selected for the 2023 Clean School Bus Grant Program—and those that did not apply— to participate in current and future funding rounds.
