Houston ISD was recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to purchase 15 electric school buses. 
Electric buses are particularly well suited for the route and schedule requirements of school buses. School bus routes are typically shorter than public transit bus routes, and there is time between school bus schedules for recharging. 

Currently the vast majority of all school buses in the U.S. run on diesel. The fumes generated by diesel buses means millions of schoolchildren, and the bus drivers that take them to school, are breathing in toxic pollution on their daily commute. Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen and can lead to or worsen respiratory illnesses like asthma. The transition to zero-emission electric buses will play an important role in improving public health in addition to reducing carbon emissions.

Other school districts in the Houston area on a waitlist for future EPA electric school bus grants are Spring ISD and Alief ISD, which are seeking to add 10 and 12 electric buses, respectively. Area environmental groups will be encouraging Houston ISD and other school districts to commit to a complete transition to zero-emission clean school buses - hopefully by 2030.

This article covers details of the HISD grant: 

Houston ISD gets $6.2M grant to add 25 'clean' school buses to fleet | Community Impact

The World Resources Institute has good resources for school districts interested in electric school buses: 

Electric School Bus Initiative | World Resources Institute (wri.org)

Update from Sierra Club on electric school buses: 

Kids Deserve Electric School Buses for a Cleaner Commute | Sierra Club

For questions or comments, contact Frank Blake at frankblake@juno.com

Photo by Brian Foulds, Concord-Carlisle Regional School District, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.