Electric School Bus Grant Program

About this funding opportunity

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Electric School Bus Grant Program

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Notice of Intent for Fiscal Year 2027: The Maryland Energy Administration is pleased to announce the intent to award grants on a competitive basis to help defray the costs to purchase and lease electric school buses to serve Maryland public school students. Grant funding for electric school buses, as well as other medium-duty or heavy-duty fleet vehicles and heavy equipment property will be made available through one combined program: the FY27 Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Grant Program. MEA expects to begin accepting applications in Summer 2026. Further updates will be posted on the program webpage for the combined program. Final program parameters and application instructions will be included in the FY27 Funding Opportunity Announcement.

FY26 Program Status: The application portal is currently CLOSED to new applications.

Program Purpose: The FY26 Maryland Electric School Bus Grant Program is being established in support of the Moore-Miller administration’s announcement to direct $4.9 million for grants to purchase and lease electric school buses to serve Maryland public school students. The Program offers a statewide competitive application process for eligible vehicles utilized in student transportation services, with a strong focus on expanding access to funding for overburdened and low to moderate income communities facing economic challenges. Please note: in no case should MEA and other state incentives (including federal) exceed the total funding request/cost of the project.

Eligible Applicants: Public Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Fleets/private school bus vendors operating on behalf of LEAs to purchase school buses.

Eligible Vehicles: Any publicly-funded school bus procured by an eligible entity for the routine transportation of students for school or school-related programming or activities is eligible for consideration. Vehicles must be purchased new (i.e. retrofits or repowered vehicles are NOT eligible). A vehicle that has been funded in whole or in part by another Maryland State grant may not be funded through this program.

Electric School Bus Funding Diagram

Funding: Up to $4.9 million available in Fiscal Year 2026. Grant will cover up to 120% of the incremental cost of eligible vehicles, with additional funding for charging infrastructure, and other associated costs (more information in the FOA below). The maximum award amount cap will be $2,000,000.00 per Grantee, which includes electric school bus purchase, charging infrastructure, and associated costs. Depending on income qualifications and the size of the school district, the maximum award amount cap may be increased to $2,500,000.00. MEA will now cover eligible charging installation costs to better support school districts seeking to expand EV charging capacity. Equipment and installation costs provided will be proportional to what is calculated for the charger costs.

Program Documents: Applications are due on December 26, 2025 at 3:00PM ET. All application materials and instructions are found here: FY26 Electric School Bus Grant Program FOA V4 Attachment A Electric School Bus Summary Table Attachment B Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Summary Table Jotform Application Maryland Electric School Bus Grant Program FAQ

Application Deadline: December 26th, 2025 at 3:00PM ET.

Reimbursement & Reporting: Jotform link for Reimbursement ESB Reimbursement Invoice Template ESB Cost Breakdown Sheet ESB & Charger Summary Table Jotform link for Semi-Annual Operational Report ESB…

Topic areas: Energy and Environment, Transportation and Mobility, Circular Economy and Sustainability, Education and Training.

Funding amount

This other provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no single fixed deadline.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Not specified by the program.

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

Electric School Bus Grant Program is administered by Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), listed via Maryland Energy Administration.