School leaders understand the effects of a changing climate on their districts, and the long-term effects
on the lives of the students to whom they dedicate themselves. They also understand the goals of the
transition to all zero-emissions school buses (ZEBs), and how this aspirational plan would assist the
state in meeting its overall climate policy goals and improve health outcomes. However, with more
than 700 districts being treated with a broad brush of universality, in one of the most socioeconomically
and geographically diverse states in the nation, and barriers that are becoming
increasingly insuperable, the transition as currently proposed is not achievable for a significant number
of districts. If left unaddressed, these barriers will force districts to reduce educational opportunities
for students, increase taxes and spend exorbitant sums, and cause voter unrest. Some of our
memberships have even expressed support for a full repeal of the law or for significant changes to the
current implementation timeline. While some notable progress has been made over the past year on
several recommendations from several of the undersigned organizations, much more must be done
to stave off the worst effects of this underfunded mandate.
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