School districts in all 50 states will receive funding to replace diesel school buses, providing students and communities with cleaner air
LAS VEGAS — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Nevada’s Clark County School District will receive $9,875,000 to replace 25 existing diesel-powered school buses with clean, electric school buses. In addition to Nevada, school districts in all 50 states, D.C., and several Tribes and U.S. territories, will receive grant funding from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, which was established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Nevada Conservation League applauded the announcement.
“School buses play a critical role in ensuring students get to school on time and safely. However, dirty, diesel buses spew pollution into our neighborhoods and can be most harmful to children who are still developing their lungs,” said Nevada Conservation League Deputy Director Christi Cabrera-Georgeson. “By electrifying school bus fleets, we are taking an important step in reducing tailpipe pollution and the risk of health impacts like asthma for thousands of children who ride the bus every day.”
“Everyone deserves to reap the benefits of clean energy. Today’s announcement for Clark County School District will accelerate the transition to a clean transportation future that will reach communities who stand to gain the most from these historic investments. We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for prioritizing school districts serving overburdened communities and hope to see funding for electric buses and infrastructure reach schools in areas that need them most.”
Diesel pollution has been shown to cause numerous and significant health problems, such as asthma, especially in children whose lungs are still developing. Asthma is the leading chronic illness for children and a top cause of school absences, leading kids to miss school and fall behind in class. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by asthma, with Latino children being twice as likely to die from the illness and Black children being four times more likely to be hospitalized. Switching to electric buses will help cut harmful diesel pollution and improve public health.
Moving away from polluting diesel buses will also help get Nevada closer to its climate goals. With transportation being the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions in Nevada, electrifying our school buses is an important step in addressing emissions from this sector and making progress toward our goals.
The Clean School Bus Program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, produce cleaner air, and save school districts money while prioritizing low-income, rural, and Tribal communities. This first installment will help school districts across the country purchase over 2,400 clean school buses.
The announcement is the first of many, as EPA’s $5 Billion Clean School Bus program will continue to invest in replacing older school buses with zero and low-emission models over the next five years.
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The Nevada Conservation League is the independent voice of Nevada’s conservation community. We work to maintain and enhance the natural character of Nevada and the quality of life for Nevadans through effective advocacy, the election of pro-conservation candidates, and building collaboration.