The Biden administration is giving $900 million to “green” school bus endeavors.
Forty-seven states are receiving the funds.
School districts across the country will use the funds to purchase 3,400 school buses, 92% of which will be electric.
The goal of the program is to “produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities,” according to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“President Biden believes every child deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy life and breathe clean air, and his Investing in America agenda is designed to deliver just that,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said. “With today’s latest round of funding, we are transforming the nation’s school bus fleet to better protect our most precious cargo—our kids—saving school districts money, improving air quality, and bolstering American manufacturing all at the same time.”
Another $21.5 million was specifically given to six school districts in Connecticut to “ditch dirty diesel buses and purchase 91 zero emission environmentally friendly school buses,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. The effort aims to “school districts money, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.”
As the Biden administration provides resources for green energy in the name of student health, students’ test scores are suffering.
American Faith reported that student ACT scores are at a 30-year low, with some universities looking to drop admission testing requirements entirely.
“More than four in 10 seniors meet none of the college readiness benchmarks; 70% of seniors fall short of college readiness benchmark for mathematics,” according to the ACT website.
“This is the sixth consecutive year of declines in average scores, with average scores declining in every academic subject,” ACT CEO Janet Godwin said.
“We are also continuing to see a rise in the number of seniors leaving high school without meeting any of the college readiness benchmarks, even as student GPAs continue to rise and students report that they feel prepared to be successful in college. The hard truth is that we are not doing enough to ensure that graduates are truly ready for postsecondary success in college and career. These systemic problems require sustained action and support at the policy level. This is not up to teachers and principals alone – it is a shared national priority and imperative.”
