The Environmental Protection Agency says almost 400 school districts across the country are getting grants to buy school buses that run on electricity.
The EPA annouced it would provide a half billion dollars for its "clean bus program" in May. The EPA says more than 2,000 shool districts applied, so it doubled the money available to $965 million.
The EPA has now picked 389 applications from school districts across the country, saying they identified priority areas that serve low-income, rural or tribal students.
As many as 25 million children ride familiar yellow school buses each school day and will have a “healthier future” with a cleaner fleet, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. "This is just the beginning of our work to ... reduce climate pollution and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve,” he said , according to the Associated Press.
In Texas the Dallas ISD and Houston ISD were both selected. The EPA says 95% of the buses funded by the grants will be electric, and Dallas and Houston school district officials can now start ordering buses and equipment to charge and maintain them.
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