Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the award recipients of nearly $1 billion in Clean School Bus Program grants. In total, EPA is awarding grants to 67 winning applicants to fund over 2,700 buses at 280 school districts that serve over 7 million students across 37 states, with 95% of the funding going towards electric school buses. 

Created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, the Clean School Bus Program is investing $5 billion through 2026 to replace diesel school buses with cleaner alternatives. Due to overwhelming demand for the program, EPA doubled its initial offering of funding from $400 million to awarding $965 million today. 

Members and partners of the Alliance for Electric School Buses — including Chispa, Clean Energy Works, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), Generation180, Jobs to Move America,  League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Moms Clean Air Force, Mothers Out Front, New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV), Piedmont Environmental Alliance, Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) — issued the following statement in response to the EPA’s announcement:

“We congratulate the 280 school districts being awarded EPA Clean School Bus Program 2023 grant funding for over 2,500 electric school buses, the cleanest and healthiest option for children.  To date, EPA has awarded nearly $2 billion in funding to 652 school districts, as well as multiple Tribal nations and U.S. territories, more than doubling the number of electric school buses in the United States.

The second year of the EPA Clean School Bus Program demonstrates that demand for electric school buses remains high. School districts  are increasingly committed to zero-emission solutions that clean up the air students and bus drivers breathe, save thousands of dollars in fueling and maintenance costs, and provide the best performance.

We commend EPA for ensuring the 2023 grants program awarded additional points to projects in the most polluted counties; urged applicants to plan for training drivers, mechanics, and other school transportation workers; prioritized large school districts serving predominantly low-income students; and increased funding for infrastructure needs. With 85% of 2023 grants funding going to low-income, Tribal, and rural communities, we will continue our coalition’s work to ensure the children breathing the dirtiest air are the first to benefit from federal funding. 

We invite school districts ready to invest in a clean ride for kids to keep applying for the EPA Clean School Bus Program, which has a $500 million rebate application open through January 31, 2024. The Alliance for Electric School Buses is ready to work with parents, students, school districts, state governments, and others to drive towards a 100% electric fleet nationwide.”

# # #

About the Alliance for Electric School Buses: We are a diverse partnership of nonprofit organizations united by our commitment to fully transition the nation’s school bus fleet to electric models that will clean up the air 25 million children breathe. Our coalition represents over two dozen environmental, equity, community, and labor groups who work at the local, state, and federal levels.