EPA Clean School Bus Program

What the program funds

EPA's Clean School Bus Program, funded at $5 billion over FY2022–FY2026 by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, pays school districts and eligible fleet operators to replace older school buses. For electric-bus awards, associated charging infrastructure — the chargers, installation, and related electrical work at the depot — has been an eligible cost. Roughly $2.3 billion of the original $5 billion remains to be distributed.

The February 2026 restructuring — what changed

On February 19, 2026, EPA announced a full overhaul of the program. The 2024 rebate round — which drew over $900 million in applications — was cancelled, and applicants from that round are invited to reapply under a forthcoming 2026 grant framework. Eligibility is expanding beyond electric to include propane, CNG, LNG, hydrogen, and biofuel buses. EPA ran a 45-day public comment period on its Request for Information in early 2026, and a Notice of Funding Opportunity is expected later in 2026.

For districts planning electric buses: the case for depot charging doesn't disappear under the restructuring, but award terms, cost-share, and infrastructure eligibility rules will be set by the 2026 NOFO. Treat any pre-2026 program guide as outdated until the NOFO issues.

The compliance that comes attached

Clean School Bus awards carry EPA's financial-assistance terms and conditions. Build America, Buy America (BABA, 2 CFR Part 184) applies to federal financial assistance used for infrastructure, and EPA has applied domestic-content requirements to charging infrastructure installed under the program in prior rounds — confirm the exact terms in the 2026 NOFO when it issues. Standing requirements apply regardless of the funding: chargers must be NRTL-listed (ZEF hardware is ETL-listed) and installed to code, and depot electrical work typically involves utility coordination for capacity upgrades.

Unlike NEVI, the 23 CFR 680 minimum standards do not attach to EPA money — that regime is specific to Title 23 highway funding. Depot chargers funded through Clean School Bus are not subject to NEVI's uptime and payment rules, though districts may still want network management for operational reasons.

How ZEF Energy fits a school bus depot

ZEF Energy's Made-in-USA Level 2 and DC fast chargers with ZEFNET managed charging fit depot duty cycles: overnight Level 2 charging with load management across the fleet, DC fast charging for midday top-ups, and OpenADR 2.0b support for utility demand-response programs that can cut a district's charging costs. Public school districts in most states can also purchase through the NASPO ValuePoint cooperative contract. ZEF's Buy America position is stated in the compliance section below.