Districts who are struggling to meet New York state’s mandate to purchase only zero-emission school buses by 2027 with the goal of full fleet transformation by 2035 could find a life preserver deep in this year’s state budget.

It comes in the form of the possibility of a second 24-month extension for districts who can prove that they need it through a consultation process with NYSERDA. 

“Is this legislation an acknowledgement of the fact that school districts and bus companies are going to have a difficult time complying with the electric school bus mandate?” Republican State Sen. Steven Rhoads asked Senate Education Committee Chair Shelley Mayer during a floor debate over budget bills last week.

Mayer got around to saying that in effect, it is. 

“These provisions reflect our continued commitment to ensure that we move forward with full implementation of the requirements of electric school buses for schools with acknowledgment of the challenges that we hear from our districts about some of the problems they face in meeting that requirement,” she said. “To the extent that we hear and response to our school districts, yes, that’s what we’re doing.”

Mayer said the change was intended to help districts with the timeline and the budget also provides $100 million in aid, but there are strings attached when it comes to the extension.

“To get that extension, you have to show good faith in having worked with NYSERDA through the process of trying to comply with the law,” she explained.

We asked Brian Fessler, chief advocacy officer at New York State School Boards Association, if an extra 24 months with hoops to jump through will actually help districts who are struggling make their way toward the end goal of full electrification. 

“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “We’re supportive of that.” 

He said the assist is needed for many districts where familiar problems persist three years after the law passed.

“Whether it be the cost of buses, power grid or lack thereof, enough power within your school community to support this, infrastructure costs and etc.,” he said. “I think it will hopefully allow for continued conversations and dialogue as we continue to zero in on what are the meaningful barriers toward this transition.”

Allowing districts to simultaneously troubleshoot, and buy some time. 

“It will hopefully allow technology to continue to advance and improve and costs to come down,” he said.

Republican Assemblymember Phil Palmesano has long been a chief critic of the mandate, but found a glimmer of hope in the inclusion of another extension.

“At least there’s some small acknowledgment, I will say small, that there is a problem,” he said.

That said, he thinks the state needs to go further, and in addition to letting districts opt out, take additional steps that he argued should have been taken in the first place. 

“Delay it, but also require a cost study be done through the state education department, have a feasibility study done through the PSC and our utilities,” he said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has shown openness to some adjustment in recent months, and there is legislation being pushed by State Sen. Pat Fahy and Assemblymember Carrie Woerner which the School Boards Association supports to modify the timeline for some districts. It would require them to conduct a feasibility study and, through that process, allow small districts and districts who prove they have significant challenges until 2040 to make the transition.

“We understand that’s maybe a little bit more of a structural change than this transition is set up for at this point, but we think it’s the most realistic in addressing some of the real barriers,” Fessler said.

Fahy said the bill, which was would cover the cost of the study and a transportation planner, is intended to take into account the unexpected challenges districts have faced in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.