Kamala Harris on school bus

Vice President Kamala Harris's initiative to replace gas-guzzling school buses with cleaner alternatives has faced significant delays, with fewer than 7% of participating school districts completing the transition. Initially announced in 2022, the program aimed to allocate $1 billion to help 389 districts purchase around 2,400 'clean' buses, yet only 27 districts have marked their projects as complete, resulting in just 60 new electric or propane-fueled buses. Challenges such as school-board opposition and the high costs of necessary electrical upgrades have led many districts to drop out of the program. The overall funding for the 'Clean School Bus' program is part of a larger $5 billion allocation from the 2021 infrastructure bill. Critics have pointed out the slow progress and questioned the program's effectiveness amid rising costs and inflation concerns for American families. While the Biden administration emphasizes the importance of cleaner air and climate change mitigation, the practical outcomes of the initiative remain under scrutiny.