California schools can apply for funding to get zero-emission school buses

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — California school districts have the opportunity to apply for funding for zero-emission school buses, the governor of California announced Tuesday.

Governor Gavin Newson’s Office has announced school districts and other educational entities can apply to replace old diesel-powered school buses with zero-emission buses through Sept. 30, 2024.

The new program will distribute $500 million to put 1,000 new zero-emission school buses on California roads, to add to the 1,100 zero-emission school buses already on the roads, the governor’s office said. And another 1,200 will be coming.

The Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program is accepting applications for funding through 5 p.m. on Sept. 30.

School districts can apply to get up to $375,000 to replace internal combustion engine school buses with zero-emission vehicles, along with up to $95,000 per school bus to purchase and install charging infrastructure.

The governor’s office says California leads the country in the amount of clean buses and zero-emission sales, along with the infrastructure to support it.

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris Administration announced more than $91 million in rebates to help California school districts switch to zero-emission school buses.

The governor’s office says this is the single-largest investment in state history.

“California is showing the nation and the world how to move from ambition to action. This is yet another record state investment that puts the health of our kids and communities first – replacing 1,000 older polluting school buses with clean buses,” Newsom said in the announcement.

The governor’s office cited a CARB study that said a child gets 33% of their daily exposure to air pollutants on the school bus, even though they are only riding the bus for less than 10% of their day.

The program is a collaboration between the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission, and is administered by transportation nonprofit CALSTART.

Across the state, more than 300 California school districts and education agencies have purchased at least one zero-emission bus, with some even making the switch entirely to clean vehicles, the governor’s office says.

In the state of California, all school bus purchases made by school districts are required to be zero-emission by 2035, and 2040 for school districts in rural communities.

Districts will be required to scrap one old school bus for every new bus purchased.

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