NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, all New Jersey school districts, and officials from all 21 New Jersey counties informing them that $500 million is now available through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebates Program and encouraging school districts to apply before the January 31 deadline for this opportunity to replace their districts’ diesel school buses with cleaner alternatives.

Between the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), two landmark pieces of legislation Booker supported and helped enact in the 117th Congress (2021-2023), there is unprecedented funding to electrify school bus fleets across the country. 

“There are many benefits to transitioning from diesel to an electric fleet, including lower maintenance costs, fuel costs, and emissions that impact our communities,” wrote Senator Booker. “Approximately 25 million children in the U.S. rely on school buses to get to and from school. Most of our nation’s school bus fleets—nearly 95% of buses—still operate on diesel fuel, emitting harmful air pollutants that impact the learning, development, and health of our children—causing asthma and other respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, and lowering children’s academic achievement via English and math scores.”

“Lower-income and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to the risk of diesel buses, and the emissions impact these communities both directly through lower air quality, and also contribute to the climate crisis that also disproportionately affects those same lower-income and communities of color,” he continued.

In addition to the public health and climate benefits of electrifying our school bus fleets, there are economic and grid stability benefits as well. Electric school buses not only offer cost-effective lifespans compared to diesel alternatives, putting money back in school districts’ pockets that can then be reinvested in our children’s education; but they can also function as mobile battery storage units for schools, contributing to grid stability amid the increasing integration of renewable energy sources.

“Our office would be glad to be a resource for you as you consider this funding opportunity. We are committed to helping school districts offer a clean ride to and from school for students, and to bringing federal funding into New Jersey,” Booker concluded. 

In October 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the first recipients of EPA’s Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, the first round of funding from the CSB Program. EPA awarded nearly $1 billion to 389 school districts to fund electric and low-emission school buses across school districts, including $790,000 for New Jersey. The EPA also recently announced the results of the next round of CSB funding through the 2023 grant competition, awarding nearly $19 million in grants to help five school districts in New Jersey purchase a total of 42 electric buses.

Senator Booker also encouraged school districts to leverage opportunities through the Inflation Reduction Act’s federal clean energy tax credits and Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicle program to help them electrify their school bus fleets.

Senator Booker has been a champion of environmental justice and ensuring that disproportionately impacted communities have access to clean air and water. Last year, Booker introduced the EVs for All Act, legislation that would increase access to electric vehicles (EVs) for residents of public housing across the nation.

The full text of the letter can be found here.