EPA awards nearly $900M for clean school bus purchases

On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it had awarded nearly $900 million to school districts across the country for clean school bus purchases.

Part of the agency’s 2023 Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, the money will go to an estimated 530 school districts in nearly every state in the country, as well as Tribes and U.S. territories, and will be used to replace older, diesel-fueled buses. The rebates will help schools districts purchase more than 3,400 clean school buses – 92 percent of which will be electric – as part of an effort to accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicle and generate cleaner air around schools.

This initiative ensures that children have a cleaner, safer, and more efficient means of school transportation and contributes to protecting our environment,” U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) said. “By making meaningful progress and offering valuable opportunities for our students, we are paving the way toward stronger student success.”

So far, the program has provided multiple grant and rebate funding opportunities, and awarded nearly $3 billion to fund nearly 8,500 school bus replacements at more than 1,000 schools.

“With today’s latest round of funding, we are transforming the nation’s school bus fleet to better protect our most precious cargo—our kids—saving school districts money, improving air quality, and bolstering American manufacturing all at the same time,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said.

The rebates announced today will provide funds to school districts in 47 states. Prioritized school districts in low-income, rural and Tribal communities make up an estimated 45 percent of the projects and will receive two thirds of the total funding.

The program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which provided $5 billion in funding to transform the nation’s fleet of school buses. The Clean School Bus Program funds electric buses, as well as propane and compressed natural gas buses, which produce zero to low tailpipe emissions when compared to diesel buses.

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