![]() Illinois lawmakers and other clean transportation advocates argued that Chicago Public Schools serve more low-income students than the entire student body in many districts included on the priority list and that many Chicago students face a disproportionately higher air pollution burden. Not being prioritized could mean the applicant is less likely to be awarded funds or could receive lower grant amounts. Eligible school districts had to have at least 20 percent of their student population below the poverty line, leaving large school districts with high numbers of students in low-income households out of the priority list, including Chicago Public Schools. They said the agency’s prioritization model prevented districts with thousands of predominantly Black and brown students from low-income households from having a good shot at securing funds. Critics called out the program for leaving out several low-income school districts, Energy News Network reported last year. Several Chicago-area school districts that do not own their own buses or have many low-income students weren’t eligible for rebates. ![]() While Illinois received funds to replace 119 buses, only one district in the Chicagoland area received funds. Last year, the EPA awarded more than $906 million in rebates to more than 400 public school districts across all states and territories, replacing a total of more than 2,400 buses. Children riding the school bus are exposed to four times more diesel emissions than a child riding in a car in front of that bus, according to a study of diesel exhaust inside school buses. Research has shown that diesel pollution puts children at greater risk for asthma. The new funding opportunity is the second made available as part of a five-year, $5 billion investment from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace diesel buses with cleaner alternatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. “There’s ongoing work to try to figure out what makes most sense, and EPA has been trying to address that issue,” said Susan Mudd, attorney and senior policy advocate for the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Electric school buses can be up to four times more expensive than traditional school buses. The agency updated its eligibility requirements after last year’s round of funding left out some Chicago Public Schools and other Chicago suburban school districts, many of which are in environmental justice communities that serve thousands of low-income students.Ĭlean transportation advocates and school leaders say it remains to be seen whether the changes were enough to ensure more low-income districts in communities that are disproportionately burdened by air pollution benefit from the available funds. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program. 22 was the last day for school districts to apply for $400 million in grants under the U.S. ![]() As many school districts in Illinois opened their school doors for students earlier this month, some also worked to secure funds to replace their diesel school buses with low-emission buses.Īug. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |