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YPSILANTI, Mich. – Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12) today announced that Yspilanti and Dearborn will receive more than $11 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Clean School Bus program to purchase 28 electric school buses. 

“We know that diesel exhaust from school buses has a negative impact not only on our environment, but on the health of our children, teachers, bus drivers, and the surrounding communities,” said Dingell. “With this funding from the Clean School Bus program, Dearborn and Ypsilanti will be able to take diesel buses off the roads, reducing our carbon emissions and ensuring the air our children breathe on the way to school is cleaner and free from dangerous pollutants.”

“President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is accelerating our nation’s transition to electric and low-emission school buses while ensuring a brighter, healthier future for our children,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “As many as 25 million children rely on the bus to get to school each day. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, we are making an unprecedented investment in our children’s health, especially those in communities overburdened 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 that all our children deserve.” 

“By replacing older, heavily polluting buses, EPA is making clean school buses the American standard,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “Students deserve to live a life free from the burdens of pollution, just as they deserve to learn and grow in a healthy school environment.” 

Dearborn City School District will receive $7,110,000 for 18 buses, and Ypsilanti Community Schools will receive $3,950,000 for 10 buses. 

These awards are the first $1 billion of a five-year, $5 billion program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. EPA is also designing the next rounds of program funding to launch in the coming months, which will include an ambitious grant competition. Through future rounds of funding, EPA will make available another $1 billion for clean school buses in Fiscal Year 2023. EPA encourages school districts not selected in the first round of rebates – and those that did not apply this funding cycle – to participate in future rounds.

The Clean School Bus Program will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money for school districts and produce cleaner air. Diesel air pollution is linked to asthma and other conditions that harm students’ health and cause them to miss school, particularly in communities of color and Tribal communities. Phasing out these diesel engines will ensure cleaner air for students, bus drivers, and school staff working near the bus loading areas, and the communities through which the buses drive each day. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from these bus replacements will also help to address the outsized role of the transportation sector in fueling the climate crisis. The program will also save school districts money as they upgrade school bus fleets, replacing older, heavily polluting buses with brand new clean school buses, while freeing up needed resources for schools.