Thanks to advocates like you, Governor Ron DeSantis has taken a step towards prioritizing clean, electric school buses. Up to $116 million has been committed to update school bus fleets and move school districts away from dirty diesel buses.
Florida Conservation Voters Education Fund is continuing to help bring clean, electric buses to Florida school districts, but we need you to apply pressure locally. At this stage of the process, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is determining how they will structure the grant program. The next step for school board leaders is simple – all they must do is raise their hand and say they’re interested! Urge your leaders to fill our FDEP’s Request for Information.
FDEP gathered public comments and released a Draft Beneficiary Mitigation in July 2019, and FCV gathered 1,200+ public comments demanding clean, electric buses for the health of Florida’s children. FDEP has now released its final Beneficiary Mitigation Plan.
The results:
- According to public comments, highest priority was given to projects that replace diesel units with alternative fuels and/or electric vehicles and equipment.
- Second in priority ranking, respondents prioritized projects that focus on communities that bear a disproportionate share of the air pollution burden.
- More than 1,900 respondents ranked school buses, shuttle buses, and transit as their number one project recommended for funding.
- More than three out of four respondents were interested in allocating funding to diesel emission reduction.
The public made their intentions clear, “We want clean energy solutions.” Florida’s children deserve to breathe clean air and we are closer to that goal with your help.
FDEP is preparing to start Electric School Bus Projects, but first, they need to see a strong demand for electric school buses. Your school district’s response to the RFI will determine how deeply FDEP and the Governor invest in school bus fleets. To bring clean, electric school buses to your school district, we need your school leaders to get the wheels rolling. There’s no time to waste. The RFI period closes on November 7, 2019.
Click on the Air Quality Priority Areas below to send a message to your school board.
