What You Need to Know: The State of California has awarded $500 million to school districts and other educational agencies to buy zero-emission school buses and chargers. Zero-emission school buses are an important part of the state’s move to a clean-energy future and lead to better health outcomes for students and communities.  

SACRAMENTO – The State of California has awarded $500 million for educational agencies to buy zero-emission school buses and chargers, furthering the state’s lead in having the most zero-emission school buses in the nation (https://www.wri.org/insights/where-electric-school-buses-us).

The Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) (https://californiahvip.org/zesbi) project has selected 133 educational agencies to receive 1,000 zero-emission school buses and related charging infrastructure to school districts and other local educational entities. A map of awardees can be viewed here (https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/68f7537e1b874f37b2f35d9511f529dc/). The grants are expected to be finalized by the end of the year. 

The incentive program is a collaboration between the California Air Resources Board (CARB) (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) (https://www.energy.ca.gov/), and is administered by CALSTART (https://calstart.org/), a nonprofit transportation organization. 

“Cleaning up the state’s school bus fleet is central to California’s efforts to provide clean transportation in priority communities that are disproportionately hurt by air pollution,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “The vast majority of these grants will go to local educational agencies that serve these communities.” 

“California has set important benchmarks for removing internal combustion vehicles from our roads and replacing them with clean transportation,” said CEC Chair David Hochschild. “CEC is helping school districts move in that direction by funding ZESBI.” 

As California continues to lead in the deployment of zero-emission vehicles (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/08/06/california-just-notched-one-of-its-best-quarters-ever-for-new-zero-emission-vehicle-sales/) and in building the necessary infrastructure, the focus on school buses targets a sector where the switch to cleaner technology will lead to better public health outcomes for students and the communities where they live. 

Zero-emission school buses play a key role in California’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and help protect children who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts from diesel exhaust. In California, all school bus purchases made by school districts will need to be zero-emission technology by 2035, with an extension until 2045 for frontier local educational agencies in rural communities. 

The time children spend in school bus commutes accounts for less than 10% of a child's day, yet the commutes have been found to contribute up to 33% of a child's daily exposure to some air pollutants in a diesel-fueled school bus, according to a 2003 study (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/childrens-school-bus-exposure-and-mitigation-studies) funded by CARB.  

To date, California has provided more than $1.3 billion in incentives to school districts, funding more than 2,300 zero-emission school buses, of which 1,100 are already in use. Over 70% of the zero-emission school buses in use are in the state’s most pollution-burdened communities. More than 300 California school districts and local education agencies have purchased at least one zero-emission school bus – and a few have made the switch to a 100% clean fleet (https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-school-district-becomes-first-100012160.html). 

The school buses in this round of grants are expected to reduce 18,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually — equivalent to taking more than 4,000 cars off the road for a year.  

Awardees receive up to $375,000 to replace internal combustion engine school buses with zero-emission vehicles, in addition to awards up to $95,000 per school bus to purchase and install associated charging infrastructure. Awardees will be required to scrap an old internal combustion engine school bus for every new school bus purchased. 

First priority for the funding was given to small or rural school districts, as well as local educational agencies that have a large proportion of students who receive free or reduced-price meals, are in foster care, or are English-language learners. Local educational agencies located in low-income or disadvantaged communities received secondary priority. Approximately 98% of local educational agencies that have been selected for funding serve low-income or disadvantaged communities.  

About the California Energy Commission (https://www.energy.ca.gov/)

The California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency. It has seven core responsibilities: advancing state energy policy, encouraging energy efficiency, certifying thermal power plants, investing in energy innovation, developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, and preparing for energy emergencies. 

About CALSTART (https://calstart.org/)

A mission-driven industry organization focused on transportation decarbonization and clean air for all, CALSTART has offices in New York, Michigan, Colorado, California, Florida, and Europe. CALSTART is uniquely positioned to build the national clean transportation industry by working closely with its member companies and building on the lessons learned from the major programs it manages for the State of California. CALSTART has more than 280 member companies and manages more than $500 million in vehicle incentive and technical assistance programs in the United States. 

More Information (https://californiahvip.org/zesbi)