STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6760--A 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, KAY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to transition feasibility analysis for zero-emission school buses; and to amend part A of chap- ter 56 of the laws of 2023 amending the education law relating to contracts for excellence, in relation to the effectiveness thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that feasibil- 2 ity issues related to the pace of technological advances, the capacity 3 of the state's power grid, and the impacts of weather and other route 4 conditions on zero-emission school buses (ZEBs) operated throughout the 5 state present significant challenges to school districts working to 6 transition their fleets in accordance with the department of education's 7 (SED) first transition deadline of July 1, 2027. For that reason, this 8 legislation addresses two separate concerns with current law. First, it 9 examines the feasibility of each district's transition process. Second, 10 for those districts deemed to have the most feasible paths to transi- 11 tion, the legislation directs SED, in conjunction with the New York 12 state energy research and development authority (NYSERDA) and the 13 department of health (DOH), to assess a defined group of district char- 14 acteristics to determine which districts shall receive prioritized 15 transportation and building aid for the purchase of additional trans- 16 mission capacity and/or ZEBs and the design and construction of related 17 infrastructure. 18 With respect to an individual district's ability to comply with the 19 existing mandate, the legislation directs SED to require all school 20 districts to complete a baseline transition feasibility analysis and to 21 repeat that process every five years. If a district's analysis deter- 22 mines that more than 50% of the district's regular bus routes are not EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09808-06-5
A. 6760--A 2 1 deemed feasible for service by zero-emission school buses, then the 2 district may maintain its existing fleet status quo until its next tran- 3 sition feasibility analysis. On the other hand, if a district's analy- 4 sis determines that more than 50% of the district's regular bus routes 5 are serviceable by zero-emission buses, then the district must comply 6 with the existing transition timeline for the percentage of regular 7 routes deemed feasible and may maintain the status quo for the 8 district's remaining non-feasible regular routes until the district 9 completes its next transition feasibility analysis. The outer deadline 10 for districts with substantial feasibility challenges to transition 11 their fleets will be 2040. 12 Despite the multi-faceted transition challenges faced by some 13 districts, e.g., average low temperatures, topography and route distance 14 vary widely across the state and substantially impact manufacturer's 15 specifications and ZEB reliability, voters tend to focus exclusively on 16 the variable of cost. Unfortunately, while there have been steady price 17 declines in consumer electric vehicles since the transition deadlines 18 were set in 2022, ZEBs still cost two to four times more than tradi- 19 tional internal combustion engine (ICE) buses, and the average cost of a 20 ZEB has increased by 8.7%. In addition, three years ago experts forecast 21 parity between the total cost of ownership for ZEBs and ICEs to occur by 22 2027, but now the forecast has extended to 2030 or beyond. Because the 23 high cost for adding transmission and charging infrastructure to accom- 24 modate ZEBs falls predominantly on individual school districts, public 25 support for the transition frequently wanes when voters must choose 26 between spending limited budget dollars on educational expenses or for 27 reducing local tailpipe emissions. There is no real debate for many 28 voters in such a scenario, particularly for rural school districts that 29 have low pupil populations and lots of fresh air, but few resources and 30 high educational needs. 31 To promote a more effective transition with a greater impact sooner, 32 the legislature finds that the state must initially concentrate the 33 funding allocated to the transition on school districts with more than 34 two thousand pupils. Within such group of school districts, the state 35 shall then assess which districts, based on their county's childhood 36 asthma ER visit rate, their transition feasibility analysis, SED's 37 need/resource capacity index rating and per pupil spending, shall be 38 prioritized to receive transportation and building aid relief for the 39 purchase of additional transmission capacity and/or ZEBs and the design 40 and construction of related infrastructure. Data indicates that, to 41 date, only thirty-one of New York state's seven hundred thirty-one 42 school districts have sought voter approval to purchase ZEBs. Voters in 43 eight of the thirty-one districts voted "no." 44 Upon review of all thirty-one school districts which voted, certain 45 patterns have emerged: 46 1. Districts with fewer than 2000 pupils voted "no" to ZEBs more 47 frequently. Of the eight school districts which voted "no" to ZEBs, six 48 have fewer than 2000 pupils and five of those six districts are rural 49 districts. 50 2. Rural districts with a "high" need/resource capacity index voted 51 "no" more frequently. Of the five rural school districts that voted 52 "no", SED categorizes four of those districts as "high" on its 53 need/resource capacity index, with the fifth district categorized as 54 "average". 55 3. DOH does not quantify childhood asthma ER visit rates as "high" 56 concern in the counties of most rural districts. Four of the five rural
A. 6760--A 3 1 school districts which voted "no" to ZEBs (with the exception of 2 Edwards-Knox Central School District in St. Lawrence County) are located 3 in counties of "low" concern for childhood asthma ER visit rates. (Per 4 DOH, St. Lawrence County is of "moderate" concern.) Of the six school 5 districts with less than 2000 pupils that voted "no", Mexico Central 6 School - located east of SUNY Oswego along Lake Ontario - was the only 7 suburban school district, however, it is located in a county with "low" 8 concern for childhood asthma ER visit rates. 9 Further patterns emerge when one contrasts the "no" votes with the 10 "yes" votes. 11 4. Districts with 2000 or more pupils voted "yes" to ZEBs more 12 frequently. Fourteen of the sixteen school districts with 2000 or more 13 pupils voted "yes" to ZEBs. In contrast, only nine of the fifteen school 14 districts with less than 2000 pupils voted "yes". When examining the two 15 districts with 2000 or more pupils which voted "no" - Churchville-Chili 16 Central School District, a suburban district southwest of the City of 17 Rochester, and Baldwinsville Central School District, a suburban 18 district northwest of the city of Syracuse - the votes initially appear 19 to be outliers, as each district has large pupil populations (of 3,688 20 and 5,444, respectively) and is located in a county with "moderate" to 21 "high" concern for childhood asthma ER visit rates. However, as noted 22 below, another characteristic of each of those two districts undoubtedly 23 plays a pivotal role in their voting results. 24 5. Districts with an "average" need/resource capacity index rating and 25 per pupil spending below $19,500 voted "no" to ZEBs. Each of the four- 26 teen districts with more than 2000 pupils which voted "yes" to ZEBs have 27 "low" or "average" need/resource capacity index ratings and spend more 28 than $19,500 per pupil. In contrast, the two large districts which voted 29 "no" - Churchville-Chili and Baldwinsville - each with "average" 30 need/resource capacity index ratings and high childhood asthma ER visit 31 rates, both spend less than $19,500 per pupil. Moreover, unlike small 32 districts which voted "yes" but which have "average" need/resource 33 capacity index ratings with per pupil spending exceeding $19,500, Bemus 34 Point central school district, a small district with an "average" 35 need/resource capacity index rating and less than $19,500 per pupil 36 spending, voted "no" to ZEBs. 37 While most school district administrators support the transition to 38 ZEBs, the practical mechanics of the transition are challenging and 39 costly. Administrators and voters alike feel the limitations of their 40 local school district budgets, and as demonstrated by ZEB votes across 41 the state, when put "between a rock and a hard place", voters will 42 consistently prioritize educational spending over transportation spend- 43 ing, even when the community's asthma health risks are high. Large 44 districts with low per pupil spending need financial assistance to help 45 them accomplish the transition. The state can achieve the largest 46 advances in public health in the shortest amount of time if it initially 47 prioritizes allocated funds to districts with 2000 or more pupils, no 48 more than an "average" need/resource capacity index rating, and per 49 pupil spending of less than $19,500. As a result of such policy priori- 50 ties, large districts with demonstrated feasibility challenges and small 51 districts with less than 2000 pupils will be given additional time to 52 complete their transitions in accordance with their current transition 53 feasibility analysis. 54 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 3638 of the education law, as added by 55 section 1 of subpart A of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is 56 amended to read as follows:
A. 6760--A 4 1 1. For the purposes of this section "zero-emission school bus" shall 2 mean a school bus that: is propelled by an electric motor and associated 3 power electronics which provide acceleration torque to the drive wheels 4 during normal vehicle operations and draws electricity from a hydrogen 5 fuel cell or battery; or otherwise operates without direct emission of 6 atmospheric pollutants, provided however that, notwithstanding the fore- 7 going, for the purposes of this section such term shall include a hybrid 8 battery electric bus with a second source of energy for propulsion. 9 § 3. Section 3638 of the education law is amended by adding two new 10 subdivisions 1-a and 1-b to read as follows: 11 1-a. The department shall require every school district to complete a 12 transition feasibility analysis before the end of the current school 13 year as of the effective date of this subdivision, and every five years 14 thereafter, to determine which if any regular routes can feasibly be 15 serviced by zero-emission school buses, provided that existing feasibil- 16 ity studies completed within the two years preceding the adoption of 17 this subdivision shall meet the requirements of this subdivision. The 18 analysis shall assess each district's transportation needs, current bus 19 routes and alternative routes based on distance, topography, bridge and 20 road infrastructure, average low temperatures, and a minimum end-of- 21 route charge requirement of no less than twenty percent, consider the 22 sufficiency of the school district's electric transmission capacity and 23 infrastructure and assess the availability of and accessibility to state 24 and/or federal funding for the purchase of zero-emission school buses 25 and construction of associated infrastructure. 26 1-b. Within six months of the effective date of this subdivision and 27 annually thereafter, the department, in consultation with the New York 28 state energy research and development authority and department of 29 health, shall develop a list of school districts with two thousand or 30 more pupils and rank their need for transportation and building aid for 31 the purchase of zero-emission buses and transmission capacity and the 32 design and construction of related infrastructure based on an assessment 33 of each such district's current transition feasibility analysis, average 34 per pupil spending, the most recent department of health data regarding 35 the rate of emergency room visits for asthma per ten thousand persons 36 aged zero to seventeen in the county in which such school district is 37 located, and the needs/resource capacity group to which the commissioner 38 has assigned such school district. To maximize the effectiveness of the 39 state's limited pool of aid funding for the transition to zero-emission 40 school buses, the commissioner shall prioritize the award of such allo- 41 cated transportation and building aid to the high need school districts 42 whose transition will likely have the highest positive health impact on 43 the highest number of students. 44 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 3638 of the education law, as added by 45 section 1 of subpart A of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is 46 amended to read as follows: 47 2. (a) [No later than July first, two thousand twenty-seven, every] 48 Every school district with two thousand or more pupils shall, by no 49 later than July first, two thousand twenty-seven, abide by the findings 50 of the district's current transition feasibility analysis, completed in 51 accordance with subdivision one-a of this section, as set forth in this 52 subdivision. If the findings of a school district's transition feasibil- 53 ity analysis indicate that: 54 (i) [only purchase or lease zero-emission school buses when purchasing 55 or leasing new buses;
A. 6760--A 5 1 (ii) include requirements in any procurement for school transportation 2 services that any contractors providing transportation services for the 3 school district must only purchase or lease zero-emission school buses 4 when purchasing or leasing new school buses; and 5 (iii)] fifty percent or more of all regular routes are not deemed 6 feasible for service by zero-emission school buses, then the school 7 district may continue to operate, maintain or contract for non-zero-em- 8 ission school buses and receive transportation aid for non-zero-emission 9 school buses purchased or leased to make required transportation runs; 10 or 11 (ii) less than fifty percent of all regular routes are not deemed 12 feasible for service by zero-emission school buses, then the school 13 district (A) shall operate, maintain or contract for zero-emission 14 school buses and receive transportation aid for zero-emission school 15 buses purchased or leased for such regular routes as are deemed feasibly 16 serviceable by a zero-emission school bus or for an equivalent percent- 17 age of regular routes deemed feasible for service by such buses and (B) 18 may operate, maintain or contract for non-zero-emission school buses for 19 the remaining regular routes and receive transportation aid for non- 20 zero-emission school buses purchased or leased to make required trans- 21 portation runs for such remaining regular routes. 22 (a-1) With respect to any zero-emission school buses operated or main- 23 tained by a school district in accordance with the findings of the 24 district's current transition feasibility analysis as set forth in para- 25 graph (a) of this subdivision, such school district shall include 26 requirements in any procurement for the manufacturing or retrofitting of 27 a zero-emission school bus and charging or fueling infrastructure that 28 the components and parts used or supplied in the performance of the 29 contract or any subcontract thereto shall be produced or made in whole 30 or substantial part in the United States, its territories or possessions 31 and that final assembly of the zero-emission school bus and charging or 32 fueling infrastructure shall occur in the United States, its territories 33 or possessions. 34 (a-2) Every school district with less than two thousand pupils shall, 35 by no later than July first, two thousand thirty-seven: 36 (i) only purchase or lease zero-emission school buses when purchasing 37 or leasing new buses; 38 (ii) include requirements in any procurement for school transportation 39 services that any contractors providing transportation services for the 40 school district must only purchase or lease zero-emission school buses 41 when purchasing or leasing new school buses; and 42 (iii) include requirements in any procurement for the manufacturing or 43 retrofitting of a zero-emission school bus and charging or fueling 44 infrastructure that the components and parts used or supplied in the 45 performance of the contract or any subcontract thereto shall be produced 46 or made in whole or substantial part in the United States, its territo- 47 ries or possessions and that final assembly of the zero-emission school 48 bus and charging or fueling infrastructure shall occur in the United 49 States, its territories or possessions. 50 (b) The commissioner, in consultation with the New York state energy 51 research and development authority and office of general services, may 52 waive the contracting requirements set forth in [subparagraph (iii) of] 53 paragraph [(a)] (a-1) of this subdivision if the commissioner determines 54 that the requirements would not be in the public interest, would result 55 in unreasonable costs, or that obtaining such zero-emission school buses 56 and charging or fueling infrastructure components and parts in the
A. 6760--A 6 1 United States would increase the cost of a school district's contract 2 for zero-emission school buses and charging or fueling infrastructure by 3 an unreasonable amount, or such zero-emission school busses and charging 4 or fueling infrastructure components and parts cannot be produced, made, 5 or assembled in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available 6 quantities or of satisfactory quality. Such determination must be made 7 on an annual basis no later than December thirty-first, after providing 8 notice and an opportunity for public comment, and be made publicly 9 available, in writing, on the department's website with a detailed 10 explanation of the findings leading to such determination. If the 11 commissioner has issued determinations for three consecutive years that 12 no such waiver is warranted pursuant to this paragraph, then the commis- 13 sioner shall no longer be required to provide the annual determinations 14 required by this paragraph. 15 (c) Any school district which encumbers funds and places an order for 16 a zero-emission school bus prior to July first, two thousand twen- 17 ty-seven, but which does not receive delivery of such bus before such 18 date, shall be deemed in compliance with the provisions of this subdivi- 19 sion. 20 (d) For the purpose of this subdivision, "regular routes" are defined 21 as daily runs to and from a student's home, child care or bus stop to 22 the district school. Routes to transport students off the primary 23 school campus for boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) 24 programs, special education placements at a distance greater than thirty 25 miles from the district school and to transport homeless students and 26 students to and from extracurricular activities shall be deemed "non 27 regular" routes and exempted from any zero-emission school bus require- 28 ment pursuant to this chapter. 29 § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 3638 of the education law, as added by 30 section 1 of subpart A of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is 31 amended to read as follows: 32 3. [No later than July first, two thousand thirty-five, every] (a) 33 Every school district with two thousand or more pupils shall, by no 34 later than July first, two thousand thirty-five: 35 [(a)] (i) only operate and maintain zero-emission school buses; and 36 [(b)] (ii) include requirements in any procurement for school trans- 37 portation services that any contractors providing transportation 38 services for the school district must only operate zero-emission school 39 buses when providing such transportation services to the school 40 district. 41 (b) Every school district with less than two thousand pupils shall, by 42 no later than July first, two thousand forty: 43 (i) only operate and maintain zero-emission school buses; and 44 (ii) include requirements in any procurement for school transportation 45 services that any contractors providing transportation services for the 46 school district must only operate zero-emission school buses when 47 providing such transportation services to the school district. 48 § 6. Subdivision 4 of section 3638 of the education law, as added by 49 section 1 of subpart A of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is 50 amended to read as follows: 51 4. A school district may apply to the commissioner, and the department 52 may grant a one-time extension of up to twenty-four months to comply 53 with the requirements of subdivision [two] three of this section. The 54 commissioner shall consider a school district's effort to meet the 55 requirements of subdivision [two] three of this section when granting an 56 extension, including but not limited to, procurement efforts made by the
A. 6760--A 7 1 school district, applications for state or federal funds, changes needed 2 to school district operations to meet the requirements of this section, 3 employee training, and receipt of technical assistance, if any. Upon a 4 school district receiving an extension, the New York state energy 5 research and development authority, in consultation with the department, 6 shall provide any additional technical assistance necessary to the 7 district to meet the requirements of subdivision [two] three of this 8 section. 9 § 7. Subdivision 1 of section 3623-a of the education law is amended 10 by adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows: 11 a-1. Zero-emission bus transition feasibility analysis, conducted 12 pursuant to subdivision one-a of section thirty-six hundred thirty-eight 13 of this article; 14 § 8. Paragraph e of subdivision 1 of section 3623-a of the education 15 law is amended by adding two new subparagraphs 1-a and 7-a to read as 16 follows: 17 (1-a) salary for a zero-emission transportation transition planner; 18 (7-a) costs incurred to transport an out-of-service zero-emission bus 19 for storage and repairs; 20 § 9. Subdivision 3 of section 35 of part A of chapter 56 of the laws 21 of 2023 amending the education law relating to contracts for excellence, 22 is amended to read as follows: 23 3. Section nineteen of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed 24 June 30, [2036] 2041; and 25 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.