Senator Murray Announces Over $24 Million for 111 New Clean School Buses in WA State Through Program She Established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Funding comes from Clean School Bus Program Senator Murray established in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; builds on previous $15 million for clean school buses in WA Murray announced in January

So far, Murray’s Clean School Bus Program has awarded almost $3 billion to fund approximately 8,500 school bus replacements at over 1,000 schools.

PHOTOS: Sen. Murray, VP Harris Celebrate Electric School Buses Coming to WA via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Senator Murray: “Clean school buses are a huge improvement over diesel buses—they’re better for the environment, better for public health, they save school districts money on fuel, and we’re building them here in America—which is why I worked so hard to get my bill passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced over $24 million in federal funding for 16 school districts across Washington state to replace their diesel-powered school buses with 111 low- and zero-emission models—including 25 buses for Seattle and 25 for Spokane. The funding comes from the Clean School Bus Program—specifically, the rebate competition—established by Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act, which was passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and provided $5 billion in funding for low- and zero-emission school buses. The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under the Clean School Bus Program’s multiple grant and rebate funding opportunities to date, the EPA has awarded almost $3 billion to fund approximately 8,500 school bus replacements at over 1,000 schools.

Overall, EPA announced nearly $900 million today from the Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, which will allow 530 school districts—spanning nearly every state, Washington D.C., and several Tribes and U.S. territories—to replace older, diesel school buses that have been linked to asthma and other conditions that harm the health of students and surrounding communities. These rebates will help school districts purchase over 3,400 clean school buses—92 percent of which will be electric—to accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities.

“I am excited to announce that dozens of clean school buses will soon be heading to communities across Washington state thanks to funding from my Clean School Bus Act,” said Senator Murray. “Clean school buses are a huge improvement over diesel buses—they’re better for the environment, better for public health, they save school districts money on fuel, and we’re building them here in America—which is why I worked so hard to get my bill passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Soon, kids from Seattle to Spokane will be riding to school in clean buses and breathing in cleaner air as a result. This is a big win for our kids, our environment, and our economy—and I’m proud to have helped make it happen.”

In Washington state, the following school districts were selected to receive funding:

• Seattle School District No. 1 has been selected to receive $7,825,000 in rebate funding to purchase 25 electric school buses.
• Spokane School District has been selected to receive $9,125,000 in rebate funding to purchase 25 electric school buses.
• Lake Washington School District has been selected to receive $690,000 in rebate funding to purchase two electric school buses.
• Liberty School District has been selected to receive $200,000 in rebate funding to purchase one electric school bus.
• Republic School District has been selected to receive $345,000 in rebate funding to purchase one electric school bus.
• College Place School District has been selected to receive $400,000 in rebate funding to purchase two electric school buses.
• North Shore School District has been selected to receive $600,000 in rebate funding to purchase three electric school buses.
• Issaquah School District has been selected to receive $1,035,000 in rebate funding to purchase six electric school buses.
• Woodland School District has been selected to receive $2,800,000 in rebate funding to purchase 14 electric school buses.
• Sultan School District has been selected to receive $200,000 in rebate funding to purchase one electric school bus.
• Northport School District has been selected to receive $345,000 in rebate funding to purchase one electric school bus.
• Oak Harbor School District has been selected to receive $75,000 in rebate funding to purchase three propane school buses.
• Snohomish School District has been selected to receive $275,000 in rebate funding to purchase 11 propane school buses.
• Mount Vernon School District has been selected to receive $100,000 in rebate funding to purchase four propane school buses.
• Sedro-Woolley School District has been selected to receive $50,000 in rebate funding to purchase two propane school buses.
• Peninsula School District has been selected to receive $250,000 in rebate funding to purchase 10 propane school buses.

Every day, more than 25 million children and thousands of bus drivers breathe polluted air during their commute to school, which has a negative impact on students’ health and academic performance, particularly for students with asthma and other respiratory conditions—and transportation accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. With approximately 500,000 school buses on the road traveling over 3 billion miles per year, this investment will assist school districts in transitioning to cleaner buses and reducing emissions nationwide—and comes as school districts across Washington state are committing to electrifying their school bus fleets.

In September 2023, Senator Murray announced the availability of at least $500 million for the EPA’s 2023 Clean School Bus rebates. The rebate application period closed in February 2024 with an overwhelming response from school districts across the country seeking to purchase electric and clean school buses. Given the level of demand, including from low-income communities, Tribal nations and U.S. territories, EPA doubled the initial amount of available funding in this round to a total of nearly $1 billion. This third round of funding will build on the previous investments of almost $2 billion via the Clean School Bus Program’s 2022 Rebates and 2023 Grants to further improve air quality in and around schools, reduce greenhouse gas pollution fueling the climate crisis, and help accelerate America’s leadership in developing the clean vehicles of the future.

The selections announced today will provide funds to school districts in 47 states and Washington D.C., along with several federally recognized Tribes and U.S. territories. 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. The EPA is also partnering with other federal agencies through the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to provide school districts with robust technical assistance to ensure effective implementation.

The EPA is continuing to review select applications and may make additional awards from this announcement. EPA is working with those applicants and will notify them of an award if their application meets all program requirements. As additional selections are finalized, EPA will update the Clean School Bus webpage.

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