DALLAS — Students in the Dallas Independent School District will soon be seeing a new (and possibly quieter) way of getting to school.
As part of the infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden nearly a year ago, Dallas ISD will be receiving $7.6 million in funding toward 25 new electric school buses.
Last week, Dallas ISD was named as one of recipients for the funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's clean school bus program, which is giving $50 million to school districts in Texas.
Dallas ISD is among 13 Texas districts that are receiving electric school buses for Fiscal Year 2022. A total of 144 of these buses are being given to Texas districts.
"This is great news for Dallas schools and shows how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver and how North Texas school districts can lead the nation in the adoption of this technology," North Texas congressman Colin Allred said in a statement.
"I was glad to join the EPA this summer in urging our schools to apply for this funding and I am proud that Dallas ISD will receive 25 clean, pollution-free electric school buses," Allred added.
So far, the EPA is set to distribute $913 million in funding for 2,463 buses to school districts across the nation for Fiscal Year 2022. About 95% of those buses will be electric, according to the EPA.
"I am pleased to learn that Dallas ISD has been selected for participation in the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, a groundbreaking initiative that will provide $7.6 million in funding for 25 new electric school buses. Once fully implemented, students will ride buses that are healthier for the environment — and in turn, healthier for them," North Texas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson said in a statement.
The EPA said another $1 billion will be available in Fiscal Year 2023 and that school districts are encouraged to apply for funding.
