2023 Clean School Bus Grant

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $400 million dollars in funding to incentivize and accelerate the replacement of existing school buses with clean school buses, including propane buses. Propane buses are eligible for up to $35,000 per bus. While NPGA continues to fight for increased funding, we are glad to see a small but incremental advancement towards parity with electric buses: between 2022 and 2023, propane bus funding rose an average of 19% across categories, electric rose an average of 4.25%, and CNG stayed flat with no increases.

Eligible applicants under this grant include state and local governmental entities; eligible contractors; nonprofit school transportation associations; Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations. Private school bus fleets cannot apply directly for funding. However, eligible applicants listed above can enter into a contractual arrangement with a private fleet that owns and operates buses to replace buses that serve a public school district. Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov by Tuesday, August 22, 2023. The first Information Session for this NOFO will be on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. (ET). Click here to register.

Questions? Consult the Fight Electrification tab on your NPGA member dashboard for FAQs about the grant program, a template letter to send to eligible entities, or contact NPGA Director of Regulatory Affairs Kate Gaziano.