AUSTIN – The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is now accepting applications for the Texas Clean School Bus (TCSB) Program. An estimated $13 million in grant funding is available to replace or retrofit school buses to help reduce children’s exposure to diesel exhaust in and around diesel-fueled school buses.

TCSB grants are available statewide, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and may reimburse up to 100% of the cost to retrofit school buses, or up to 80% of the cost to replace school buses with newer, cleaner models. Buses eligible for this program must be used on a regular daily route. Since its inception, the TCSB has awarded over $14 million in grant funding.

Detailed eligibility requirements and instructions for how to apply for a TCSB grant can be found on the TCSB application site. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 20, 2022, or until enough applications have been received to award all available funding, whichever comes first. In 2020, sufficient applications to award all available funding were submitted within 23 days of the grant program opening.

The TCSB is administered under the Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP). TERP helps to keep the air clean in Texas by providing grants to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from mobile sources and supporting programs that encourage the use of alternative fuels for transportation in Texas. To date, TERP has distributed more than $1.4 billion in grants and reduced NOx emissions by more than 186,000 tons. 

Information about other emission reduction programs at TCEQ can be found at www.terpgrants.org, by calling 800-919-TERP (8377), or email at TERP@tceq.texas.gov.

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