For immediate release: June 6, 2024
Contact: Kia Smith, kia.smith@mothersoutfront.org
Mothers Out Front Celebrates $900M in EPA Electric School Bus Rebate Awards for 530 School Districts to Purchase 3200 Zero Emission Buses
“The recent success in New York State clearly shows that parents want this shift to electric school buses. It’s a powerful message that we prioritize our children’s health AND the environment.”
June 6, 2024 – Mothers Out Front is thrilled that thousands more children will soon have a clean, healthy ride to school thanks to the recently announced $900M in Clean School Bus Program rebate awards. On May 29, EPA awarded rebates to approximately 530 school districts spanning nearly every state, Washington, D.C., and several Tribes and U.S. territories to replace older, diesel fueled school buses that have been linked to asthma and other conditions that harm the health of students and surrounding communities.
As a climate justice organization, Mothers Out Front is pleased to note that prioritized school districts in low-income, rural, and Tribal communities make up approximately 45 percent of the selected projects and will receive approximately 67 percent of the total funding.
In Mothers Out Front’s organized states, volunteers and staff have worked tirelessly to connect community members and school districts with educational materials and technical assistance to help them make the shift to electric school buses. This current round of EPA funding, the third of four in the Clean School Bus Program (CSBP), brings another huge push forward in the transition to ESBs, with great results in our organized states:
- Virginia: 116 clean school buses in 18 school districts
- Massachusetts: 165 clean school buses in 17 school districts
- California: 380 clean school buses in 47 school districts
- Colorado: 25 clean school buses in five school districts
- New York: 355 clean school buses in 47 school districts
In New York state specifically, Mothers Out Front mobilized members and citizens to vote yes in late May for budgets and propositions that will bring more electric school buses to their school districts. These initiatives were largely funded through CSBP grants as well as state funding that NY state legislators worked tirelessly to establish in 2022, meaning the burden to electrify NY’s school bus fleet will not fall to the taxpayers. Statewide, NY saw an 83% success rate for school districts voting to accept state and federal funding for electric school buses, showing that parents firmly stand in favor of a clean ride to school for their children.
This summer, Mothers Out Front is launching a nationwide electric school bus campaign to help moms and caregivers in any state, territory, or Tribal area replicate the on-the-ground, mom-driven approach we have taken to our local campaigns in our five organized states. We will provide resources and support for parents and caregivers to start their own campaign to electrify their community’s school bus fleet or help their district continue on the journey to full electrification.
In the shorter term, Mothers Out Front continues to urge school districts to consider applying for EPA’s 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program (CHDVP), open until July 25, 2024 – with EPA offering up to $932 million in available grant funding and anticipates approximately 70% of the available funding to help pay for new, zero-emission Class 6 or 7 school buses.
On June 20 at 12pm ET, Mothers Out Front is co-hosting a CHDVP webinar with EPA Region 3, Highland Electric Transportation, and VA Clean Cities. The webinar will be chock full of information about applying for this program and will be useful for interested parents, school district officials, state legislators, and utility companies in any region. Please join us – RSVP here.
“The recent success in New York State clearly shows that parents want this shift to electric school buses,” said Bella Cockerell, Mothers Out Front NY State Organizing Manger. “It’s a powerful message that we prioritize our children’s health AND the environment. However, this is just the beginning. We need community members to step up and help decision-makers connect with the available resources and funding. Mothers Out Front is here to support community members in these efforts, providing the tools and knowledge necessary to advocate for a 100% zero-emission electric school bus fleet by 2035 in New York State. Together, we can ensure every school district makes this vital transition.”
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Mothers Out Front is a member-led climate justice organization. We are mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and other caregivers coming together to make climate justice a priority issue that our decision-makers can no longer ignore. We are building a powerful grassroots movement to ensure a swift, complete and just transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean and renewable energy future where our children and families can thrive, not just survive.