The Bus Stops Here

Will schools be able to acquire the electric school buses they expected to buy with help from the federal government's $5 billion Clean Bus program?

That will depend on whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency carries out the changes it envisions for the program. The EPA announced last month that it plans to revamp the program to give school districts increased choice and affordable options for school buses.

The program, established in 2021, had provided funds for more than 8,500 electric school buses as of July 2025, according to the Electric School Bus Initiative.

But since the second Trump administration has taken office, it has stalled funding and raised concerns among schools expecting to receive grants that the money would not be forthcoming. In announcing the program revamp, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin characterized the Clean School Bus program as "a disaster of poor management and wasteful spending" and asserted that the program "has forced unsafe and unreliable electric buses onto American schools.

Clean energy advocates say Zeldin's statements abouth the program don't hold up to scrutiny.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy disputed the EPA's claim that the planned program changes would provide increased choice of fuel types.

"The reality is the Clean School Bus Program already offers fuel choice," the alliance says. Some types cited by the EPA, such as liquefied natural gas and hydrogen, have not been part of the program because no company manufactures those buses.

Affordability also was addressed in the original legislation. "The program was created to make clean school buses affordable to school districts — to help school districts choose the cleaner, healthier option, even if it has a higher sticker price," the alliance argues.

The more important benefit of electric buses, the alliance says, is that they eliminate tailpipe pollution.

"Tailpipe pollution is linked to cancer, shorter lifespans, lung and heart illnesses, and higher rates of asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia," the alliance says. "This leads to more missed days of school (and more parents missing work) while children are dealing with asthma attacks and hospitalizations. Tailpipe pollution has even been found to impact brain development and cognitive performance."

The alliance contends that most schools, bus drivers, students and parents have approved of electric buses. It dismisses Zeldin's position as fearmongering to push a fossil-fuel agenda.

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