HB 1539 — An Act establishing the Electric School Bus Grant Program and the Electric School Bus Grant Program Fund; and imposing duties on the Department of Education.

PRINTER'S NO.   1810

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1539
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY MADSEN, McANDREW, RIVERA, MADDEN, HILL-EVANS,
        GIRAL, RABB, MALAGARI, SANCHEZ AND D. WILLIAMS, JUNE 2, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 3, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Establishing the Electric School Bus Grant Program and the
 2      Electric School Bus Grant Program Fund; and imposing duties
 3      on the Department of Education.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6   Section 1.   Short title.
 7      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Electric
 8   School Bus Grant Program Act.
 9   Section 2.   Definitions.
10      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12   context clearly indicates otherwise:
13      "Charging infrastructure."    A facility or equipment that is
14   used to charge a battery or other energy storage device of a
15   vehicle that is fully or partially powered by electricity.
16      "Department."    The Department of Education of the
17   Commonwealth.
18      "Electric school bus."    A school bus that is powered
 1   exclusively by an electric motor that draws its current from
 2   rechargeable storage batteries that are recharged with
 3   electricity from an electric vehicle charging station.
 4      "Electric vehicle."     A vehicle that is exclusively powered by
 5   and refueled by electricity and must be plugged in to charge.
 6      "Eligible applicant."     Any of the following:
 7          (1)   A school entity.
 8          (2)   A nonprofit or for-profit entity that provides
 9      contracted transportation services to a school entity.
10      "Eligible costs."     Any of the following:
11          (1)   Costs related to:
12                (i)    the procurement and maintenance of electric
13          school buses;
14                (ii)    the conversion of internal combustion engine
15          buses to electric school buses;
16                (iii)    the procurement or installation of charging
17          infrastructure and electrical upgrades as necessary to
18          support charging infrastructure;
19                (iv)    training for personnel on electric school bus
20          operation and maintenance; or
21                (v)    workforce development initiatives to support
22          electric school bus deployment.
23          (2)   Administrative costs associated with the
24      procurement, conversion or maintenance specified under
25      paragraph (1), including up-front third-party administrative
26      costs associated with developing and implementing a proposal
27      for the procurement, conversion or maintenance.
28          (3)   Any other costs approved by the department.
29      "Fund."   The Electric School Bus Grant Program Fund
30   established under section 5(a).

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 1      "Grantee."        A recipient of a grant under the program.
 2      "Internal combustion engine school bus."        A school bus
 3   powered by diesel, gasoline, compressed natural gas or propane.
 4      "Nonattainment area."        An area of this Commonwealth that has
 5   been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as being
 6   in nonattainment with national ambient air quality standards.
 7      "Program."        The Electric School Bus Grant Program established
 8   under section 3(a).
 9      "School bus."        As defined in 75 Pa.C.S. § 102 (relating to
10   definitions).
11      "School entity."        A public school, including a school
12   district, an intermediate unit, an area career and technical
13   school or a chartered school for the education of the deaf or
14   the blind, operating within this Commonwealth.
15   Section 3.     Electric School Bus Grant Program.
16      (a)   Establishment and purpose.--The Electric School Bus
17   Grant Program is established within the department to award
18   grants for eligible costs to eligible applicants on a
19   competitive basis to the extent that money is appropriated for
20   this purpose.
21      (b)   Duties.--The department shall:
22            (1)   Administer the program, including providing the
23      necessary technical assistance for the program to eligible
24      applicants. Technical assistance includes:
25                  (i)     Guidance on grant application preparation and
26            submission.
27                  (ii)    Support for developing long-term cost-effective
28            fleet transition plans.
29                  (iii)    Assistance with identifying appropriate
30            charging infrastructure solutions.

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 1                (iv)    Coordination with utility providers for
 2          infrastructure upgrades.
 3                (v)    Training for staff on electric school bus
 4          operations and maintenance.
 5                (vi)    Resources to help school entities identify and
 6          leverage additional funding opportunities.
 7          (2)   Establish an application process through which the
 8    eligible applicants can apply for grants. The following
 9    apply:
10                (i)    The application process must be designed to be
11          as streamlined and minimally burdensome as possible for
12          applicants, while still ensuring that the department
13          collects the necessary information to evaluate
14          applications effectively.
15                (ii)    The department shall post information about the
16          application process, including an application form that
17          the department develops for the program, on the publicly
18          accessible Internet website of the department.
19          (3)   Establish guidelines necessary to implement and
20    administer this act.
21    (c)   Application.--
22          (1)   An eligible applicant shall submit an application on
23    a form and in a manner as determined by the department.
24          (2)   The application shall require an eligible applicant
25    that is a nonprofit or a for-profit entity that provides
26    contracted transportation services to a school entity to
27    specify with which school entity or entities the
28    transportation entity will utilize the proposed grant and the
29    length of the contract currently in effect or anticipated
30    between the transportation entity and the school entity.

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 1      (d)   Audits.--The department may randomly audit and monitor
 2   grantees to ensure the appropriate use of grant money and
 3   compliance with the provisions of this act and department
 4   guidelines established under subsection (b)(3).
 5   Section 4.     Award of grants.
 6      (a)   Criteria.--The department shall develop criteria for
 7   grantees under the program, which shall give priority to an
 8   eligible applicant that meets any of the following criteria:
 9            (1)   Is located in a nonattainment area.
10            (2)   Is receiving a concentrated poverty adjustment under
11      section 2502.53(c)(1)(iv) of the act of March 10, 1949
12      (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949.
13            (3)   Is receiving a sparsity or size adjustment under
14      section 2502.53(c)(1)(vii) of the Public School Code of 1949.
15            (4)   Retires or converts:
16                  (i)    at least a certain percentage, as determined by
17            the department, of the eligible applicant's internal
18            combustion engine school buses; or
19                  (ii)   the eligible applicant's internal combustion
20            engine school buses in a certain manner.
21            (5)   Purchases electric school buses that are Americans
22      with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat.
23      327) accessible or equipped with wheelchair lifts, with
24      additional funding consideration for the increased costs
25      associated with these accessibility features.
26      (b)   Accountability and compliance.--The department shall:
27            (1)   Require periodic reporting requirements for a
28      grantee to demonstrate that a grant awarded under the program
29      is being used in accordance with this act.
30            (2)   Develop procedures for addressing a grantee's

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 1      noncompliance with this act, including procedures for the
 2      reimbursement of a grant awarded under the program.
 3      (c)   Limitation.--The department shall limit the amount of a
 4   grant under the program as not to exceed 100% of the difference
 5   between the cost of an internal combustion engine bus and the
 6   total eligible costs for an electric school bus.
 7      (d)   Charter school.--A grant received by a school district
 8   under the program shall not be included when calculating the
 9   amount to be paid to a charter school under section 1725.1-A of
10   the Public School Code of 1949.
11      (e)   Utilization.--If a grant under the program is based on a
12   priority category listed under subsection (a), the eligible
13   applicant shall be required to utilize the grant to provide or
14   upgrade services in the areas specified in the grant
15   application.
16   Section 5.     Electric School Bus Grant Program Fund.
17      (a)   Establishment.--The Electric School Bus Grant Program
18   Fund is established within the State Treasury.
19      (b)   Administration.--The department shall administer the
20   fund for the purposes of this act.
21      (c)   Sources and deposits.--
22            (1)   The fund shall consist of:
23                  (i)    Federal money.
24                  (ii)    Gifts, grants and donations from public and
25            private entities.
26                  (iii)    Money transferred or appropriated to the fund
27            by the General Assembly for implementation of the
28            program.
29            (2)   The department shall transmit money received under
30      paragraph (1) to the State Treasurer, who shall deposit the

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 1      money into the fund.
 2      (d)     Authorization.--The department may seek, accept and
 3   receive money described in subsection (c).
 4      (e)     Appropriation.--Money in the fund is appropriated on a
 5   continuing basis to the department for the purposes of this act.
 6      (f)     Interest and income.--The State Treasurer shall credit
 7   all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment
 8   of money in the fund to the fund.
 9      (g)     Direct or indirect costs.--The department may use up to
10   8% of the money in the fund to cover the direct and indirect
11   costs that the department incurs in administering the program.
12      (h)     Technical assistance.--The department shall reserve a
13   portion of the money in the fund to provide ongoing technical
14   assistance to school entities, including assistance in obtaining
15   and utilizing financial resources and understanding fleet
16   transition considerations.
17   Section 6.     Reports.
18      (a)     Issuance.--On or before January 1, 2026, and on or
19   before the January 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, the
20   department shall issue a report summarizing the progress of the
21   program.
22      (b)     Submittal.--Each report under subsection (a) shall be
23   submitted to:
24            (1)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
25      Education Committee of the Senate.
26            (2)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
27      Education Committee of the House of Representatives.
28            (3)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
29      Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate.
30            (4)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

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 1      Energy Committee of the House of Representatives.
 2            (5)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
 3      Transportation Committee of the Senate.
 4            (6)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
 5      Transportation Committee of the House of Representatives.
 6      (c)   Accessibility.--The department shall post a copy of each
 7   report under subsection (a) on the publicly accessible Internet
 8   website of the department.
 9   Section 7.     Effective date.
10      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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