The Biden-Harris administration has selected recipients of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2023 Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. EPA selected about 530 school districts spanning nearly every state, the District of Columbia, and several tribes and U.S. territories to receive nearly $900 million in funds to replace older, diesel-fueled school buses.
These rebates will help school districts purchase over 3,400 clean school buses — 92% of which will be electric — to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities. Under the program’s multiple grant and rebate funding opportunities to date, the EPA has awarded almost $3 billion to fund approximately 8,500 school bus replacements at over 1,000 schools.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson will join schoolchildren, district leaders and community members in Jackson, Mississippi, to make the announcement May 29.
“President Biden believes every child deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy life and breathe clean air, and his Investing in America agenda is designed to deliver just that,” says Regan. “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.”
“I am grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for expanding opportunities to provide clean school buses to schools and students in Mississippi’s Second Congressional District,” says Thompson. “This initiative ensures that children have a cleaner, safer and more efficient means of school transportation and contributes to protecting our environment. By making meaningful progress and offering valuable opportunities for our students, we are paving the way toward stronger student success.”
In September 2023, the EPA made available at least $500 million for its 2023 Clean School Bus rebates. The rebate application period closed in February 2024 with an overwhelming response from school districts nationwide seeking to purchase electric and clean school buses. Given the level of demand, the EPA doubled the initial amount of available funding in this round to a total of nearly $1 billion.
This third round of funding will build on previous investments of almost $2 billion via the Clean School Bus Program’s 2022 Rebates and 2023 Grants to further improve air quality in and around schools, reduce greenhouse gas pollution and help accelerate America’s leadership in developing clean vehicles.
Prioritized school districts in low-income, rural and tribal communities make up approximately 45% of the selected projects and will receive about 67% of the total funding. The program advances Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution.
The EPA is also partnering with other federal agencies through the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to provide school districts with technical assistance to ensure effective implementation.
The agency will also make selections through more rounds of funding, as well as through other funding programs. For example, the EPA is currently accepting applications for the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time July 25, 2024, with the EPA offering up to $932 million in grant funding and anticipating about 70% of the funding will help pay for new, zero-emission Class 6 or 7 school buses. The EPA encourages school districts not selected for the 2023 CSB Rebate Program — and those that did not apply — to participate in currently open funding programs and future CSB funding rounds.
View the full list of Clean School Bus Program awards.
