Georgia school districts have awarded federal grants for electric school buses

Georgia school systems will receive $51.1 million in federal grants to purchase electric school buses, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in October.

This story also appeared on the Capitol Beat News Service

Announced last May, the Clean School Bus program aims to accelerate the nation’s transition to zero-emission vehicles and create cleaner air in and around schools and their communities.

In all, nearly $1 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure spending bill passed by Congress last fall will go to 389 school districts in all 50 states. Washington, D.C.; and several tribes and US territories.

“Up to 25 million children rely on the bus to get to school every day,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, we are making an unprecedented investment in the health of our children, especially in communities overwhelmed by air pollution.

“This is just the beginning of our work to build a healthier future, reduce climate pollution and ensure the clean, breathable air all our children deserve.”

In Georgia, school bus grants go to 15 school districts. The largest grants, $9.9 million each, go to school systems in Atlanta, Clayton County, and Savannah-Chatham County.

The awards, announced Wednesday, represent the first billion of a five-year, $5 billion program created under the Infrastructure Act.

EPA is drafting the next rounds of program funding, which are expected to start in the coming months. Through future funding rounds, EPA will commit an additional $1 billion to clean school buses in the next fiscal year.

The agency encourages school districts that were not selected in the first round of grants — and those that did not apply for this funding cycle — to participate in future rounds.

This story is available through a news partnership with the Capitol Beat News Service, a Georgia Press Educational Foundation project.

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