Any school district or county office of education may establish and administer a schoolbus emissions reduction fund to receive revenue from public and private sources for the purpose of purchasing low- or zero-emission schoolbuses to replace, or increase the number of, schoolbuses in the existing school district or county fleet or retrofitting existing schoolbuses to achieve reductions in emissions.
Part 10.8SCHOOLBUS EMISSIONS REDUCTION FUNDS
Section § 17920
School districts and county education offices in California can set up a special fund to collect money from various sources to buy new, low-emission or zero-emission school buses, or to retrofit existing ones, aimed at cutting down pollution from school transportation.
schoolbus emissions reduction low-emission schoolbuses zero-emission schoolbuses emissions reduction fund retrofitting schoolbuses pollution reduction school transportation funding sources public and private revenue school district transportation county education office fleet replacement increasing schoolbus numbers environmental impact clean energy buses
Section § 17921
This law allows school districts or county education offices to create a fund specifically for reducing school bus emissions. They can receive money for this fund from various grants, including those from local air quality and pollution control agencies. However, the school district or county office must provide most of the money themselves.
A school district or county office of education that establishes a schoolbus emissions reduction fund may receive revenues from air pollution control district and air quality management district grants, revenues from a city that are granted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 44243 of the Health and Safety Code, or from any other source. The school district or county office of education shall contribute a majority of the money deposited in its schoolbus emissions reduction fund.
schoolbus emissions reduction air pollution control grants air quality management emissions fund county office of education school district funding Health and Safety Code environmental grants local air quality pollution reduction initiatives
Section § 17922
Under this law, California can give state money to school districts to help them buy or upgrade school buses that produce little or no emissions. However, the state funds can't be more than the money they get from other sources.
State funds may, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be distributed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for distribution to districts and county offices of education for the purchase of low- or zero-emission schoolbuses that replace, or increase the number of, schoolbuses in the existing schoolbus fleet or for retrofitting existing schoolbuses to achieve reductions in emissions. State funds that are provided pursuant to this part shall not exceed the amount of funds provided from other sources.
state funds Legislature appropriation Superintendent of Public Instruction low-emission schoolbuses zero-emission schoolbuses retrofit schoolbuses emission reductions school district funding county offices of education schoolbus fleet replacement existing schoolbus fleet
Section § 17923
This law allows school districts and county education offices to make deals with private companies or individuals to raise money specifically for reducing school bus emissions. In these deals, the schools can give emission reduction credits back to the contributors when they buy low or zero-emission buses or upgrade older ones. If there are several contributors, each one gets a share of the credits based on how much they contributed, as decided when the agreement is made.
A school district or county office of education may enter into contracts, including multiple year contracts, with private sector individuals, businesses, and other entities for the purpose of receiving revenues to supplement its schoolbus emissions reduction fund in exchange for the issuance to the private sector contributor of emission reduction credits resulting from the purchase by the school district or county office of education of low- or zero-emission schoolbuses or the retrofit of existing schoolbuses. If there are multiple private sector contributors, each of those contributors shall receive a share of the credits allocated in proportion to their contribution, as specified by the school district or county office of education at the time that the parties enter into the agreement.
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Section § 17924
This law section requires the Chairperson of the State Air Resources Board and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create guidelines for schools to reduce bus emissions. They need to cover how schools can get funding to cut down bus emissions, how to calculate and distribute credits for reducing emissions when buses are replaced or retrofitted, and how schools in the South Coast Air Quality Management District can get funds from nearby cities.
The Chairperson of the State Air Resources Board and the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall jointly develop guidelines for school district or county office of education use that describe all of the following:
(a)CA Education Code § 17924(a) The manner in which school districts or county offices of education may obtain funding from private and public entities for deposit into a school district or county office of education schoolbus emissions reduction fund.
(b)CA Education Code § 17924(b) The methods for determining the quantity and allocation of emission reduction credits generated from a new bus that replaces an existing bus or from a new or retrofitted bus that represents an expansion of fleet capacity.
(c)CA Education Code § 17924(c) The methods by which school districts or county offices of education located in the South Coast Air Quality Management District may obtain funds from cities pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 44243 of the Health and Safety Code.
school bus emissions funding guidelines State Air Resources Board Superintendent of Public Instruction emission reduction credits bus replacement bus retrofitting emissions fund South Coast Air Quality Management District subdivision (b) Section 44243 public and private funding fleet capacity expansion education offices school district funding air quality improvement
Section § 17925
Before the Superintendent of Public Instruction gives out any state funds, they must check with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to make sure they aren't giving money for the same purpose as the Katz Schoolbus Fund.
Prior to distributing any state funds pursuant to this part, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall consult with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to avoid duplication or overlap with appropriations from the Katz Schoolbus Fund, created pursuant to Section 17911.
state funds distribution Superintendent of Public Instruction State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission avoid duplication Katz Schoolbus Fund consultation requirement appropriations overlap preventing overlap energy resources funding coordination public instruction funds budget efficiency resource allocation
Section § 17926
If a school bus is replaced and meets the 1977 federal safety standards, it can be sold to school districts to replace older buses that don't meet those standards. The sale price should not exceed the money already contributed by the school district or county, with some extra for administrative costs. However, this doesn't apply if the school district declares they still need the old bus.
Any schoolbus replaced pursuant to this part that meets the federal safety standards established in 1977 shall be offered for sale to school districts to replace schoolbuses that do not meet the federal safety standards, at a purchase price not to exceed the amount of the school district or county office of education’s contribution specified in Section 17921, plus appropriate administrative costs. This section shall not apply if the school district or county office of education certifies a continued need for the schoolbus being replaced.
school bus replacement federal safety standards 1977 safety standards school district purchase administrative costs contribution amount bus sale price county office of education continued need certification
Section § 17927
Starting in 2035, school districts in California must only buy or hire zero-emission school buses if possible. If a district can't do this due to difficult terrain and routes, they can request a one-time five-year extension. They must show they can't service the routes with current zero-emission technology, and the request is reviewed by the State Air Resources Board. From 2040, smaller or remote school districts (those with fewer students or in less populated areas) can request annual extensions until 2045 if they can't use zero-emission buses. This law aims to reduce emissions from school buses, while allowing flexibility for challenging situations.
(a)CA Education Code § 17927(a) Commencing January 1, 2035, 100 percent of all newly purchased or contracted schoolbuses of a local educational agency shall be zero-emission vehicles, where feasible.
(b)CA Education Code § 17927(b) If a local educational agency determines that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission schoolbus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, the local educational agency may request a one-time extension for a term not to exceed five years, in order to meet the requirements in subdivision (a), provided that both of the following conditions are met:
(1)CA Education Code § 17927(b)(1) The local educational agency can reasonably demonstrate that a
daily planned bus route for transporting pupils to and from school cannot be serviced through available zero-emission technology in 2035.
(2)CA Education Code § 17927(b)(2) The State Air Resources Board, in consultation with the department and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, receives and evaluates a local educational agency’s request, and grants a one-time extension based on the local educational agency reasonably demonstrating the condition in paragraph (1).
(c)CA Education Code § 17927(c) Commencing January 1, 2040, if a frontier local educational agency determines that the purchase or contracting
of a zero-emission schoolbus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, the frontier local educational agency may request annual extensions, with the last extension expiring on January 1, 2045, in order to meet the requirements in subdivision (a), provided that both of the following conditions are met:
(1)CA Education Code § 17927(c)(1) The frontier local educational agency can reasonably demonstrate that a daily planned bus route for transporting pupils to and from school cannot be serviced
through available zero-emission technology in the period in which the annual waiver is sought.
(2)CA Education Code § 17927(c)(2) The State Air Resources Board, in consultation with the department and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, receives and evaluates the frontier local educational agency’s request, and grants an annual extension based on the frontier local educational agency reasonably demonstrating the condition in paragraph (1).
(d)CA Education Code § 17927(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)CA Education Code § 17927(d)(1) “Frontier local educational agency” means a local educational agency that meets either of the following conditions:
(A)CA Education Code § 17927(d)(1)(A) The total number of pupils in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the local educational agency is
fewer than 600.
(B)CA Education Code § 17927(d)(1)(B) Each county in which a school operated by the local educational agency is located has a total population density fewer than 10 persons per square mile.
(2)CA Education Code § 17927(d)(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
zero-emission schoolbuses terrain and route constraints one-time extension State Air Resources Board frontier local educational agency annual extension population density local educational agency school district transporting pupils
