SR 95: Urging the Department of Education, in coordination with the Board of Education, to DEVELOP a plan to transition the school buses used for PUBLIC transportation to electric buses to expand the benefits already demonstrated in other places.

SENATE RESOLUTION

Urging the Department of Education, in coordination with the Board of Education, to DEVELOP a plan to transition the school buses used for PUBLIC transportation to electric buses to expand the benefits already demonstrated in other places.

     WHEREAS, section 225P-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, directs the State to sequester more atmospheric carbon and greenhouse gases than emitted within the State as quickly as practicable, but no later than 2045; and

     WHEREAS, section 226-18(2), Hawaii Revised Statutes, directs increased energy security and self-sufficiency through reduction and ultimate elimination of the State's dependance on imported fuels for electrical generation and ground transportation; and

     WHEREAS, section 225P-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, directs the State to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve zero emissions across all transportation modes, including ground transportation and interisland sea and air transportation, and each department, board, and commission to incorporate these goals into their plans and take actions necessary to achieve them; and

     WHEREAS, in the 2024 to 2025 school year, the Oakland Unified School District partnered with Zum to deploy seventy-four electric school buses, creating the first fully electrified fleet of a major United States school district; and

     WHEREAS, the Oakland transition to electric school buses has already produced noticeable benefits, including electric buses with expected lifespans twice those of traditional fossil fuel school buses, reductions in cost for fuel, maintenance, and related expenses, and has opened the door to additional revenue for the school district by providing power from the buses back to the electric grid in peak periods of high demand; and

     WHEREAS, Oakland's new generation of school buses were specifically designed to be safer, easier to operate, and have cleaner air within each bus, eliminating the exposure of students to noxious fumes present in traditional buses; and

     WHEREAS, the switch to electric buses has also resulted in more students arriving to school on time and overall higher student attendance, as students and parents are able to better plan by tracking each bus online in real time and receive automatic notifications when a student is dropped off, enabling parents to better rely on school bus transportation and freeing their schedules for work and other responsibilities; and

     WHEREAS, Oakland's transition to electric school buses is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately twenty-five thousand metric tons annually and returning approximately 2.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the grid each year, enough to power hundreds of homes during peak demand; and

     WHEREAS, Oakland's electric school bus fleet has also become an invaluable tool for disaster response, as each electric school bus is a giant battery on wheels which is able to provide immediate mobile emergency power and support to any community in the event of a disaster such as a hurricane or wildfire; and

     WHEREAS, since 2015 the laws of the State have directed state departments to begin transitioning to electric transportation and exploring innovative transportation technologies for public services that can produce numerous benefits; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Department of Education, in coordination with the Board of Education, is urged to develop a plan to transition the school buses used for public transportation to electric buses to expand the benefits already demonstrated in other places; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education and Board of Education and any other appropriate stakeholders are requested to meet and collaborate with school districts, such as the Oakland Unified School District, which have already made the transition to electric school buses to evaluate the potential benefits for the State; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education and Board of Education are requested to develop a plan to transition to electric school busses to maximize benefit to the students, parents, and people of the State; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education and the Board of Education are requested to submit a report of their findings and any recommendations, including a proposed implementation plan, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2027; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Superintendent of Education, and Chairperson of the Board of Education.

Report Title: 

BOE; DOT; DOE; Electric Transportation; School Bus Services; Student Transportation