Southwest Austin - Dripping Springs Edition | January 2024

Education

BY ELLE BENT

Austin ISD receives $6.25M for electric buses Austin ISD is one of two school districts in Central Texas to receive federal funding toward the purchase of electric buses. The overview A total of $6.25 million for 25 electric buses for AISD was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 8. The new buses will replace diesel-powered vehicles in the district’s existing eet. The EPA provided the grant to AISD with funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and has awarded 67 grants to 280 districts nationwide. “This is especially good news for children in underserved areas who are often exposed to more air pollution and health risks, such as asthma,” EPA Regional Administrator Earthea Nance said in a news release.

Renovations to begin as part of 2022 bond The Austin ISD community will see the start of construction at campuses districtwide throughout 2024, more than a year since voters approved a $2.44 billion bond. What you need to know The majority of the 2022 bond, about $2.3 billion, is dedicated toward the mod- ernization of facilities and schools, which will include security upgrades, repairs and technology improvements. A total of 25 modernization projects are part of the bond, which include full replacement campuses or major school renovations in addition to four open-concept campuses that are in need of renovations.

" Still yellow outside but green inside. While they will look the same, our new,

electric Austin school buses will be healthier for both our students and our planet."

LLOYD DOGGETT, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE

The details AISD ocials began procuring electric buses through manufacturing company IC Bus in Septem- ber 2022, followed by an announcement that they plan to convert all of the district’s diesel buses to electric by 2035. AISD is the rst school district in Texas to promise the transition. “Our district is very excited that we will be able to provide transportation for our students on zero-emission school buses,” said Kris Hafezizadeh, AISD Executive Director of Transportation and Vehicle Service. “This is an important step towards clean transportation and improved air quality for our students and community.”

For a full list of projects, visit www.bond.austinschools.org.

Ocials catch up on backlog of special ed evaluations Austin ISD ocials are making headway on the backlog of special education evaluations, which are crucial to students who may be awaiting access to accommodations at school. The gist The total number of past due evaluations completed within the required time frame of 45 school days, district ocials said. By the numbers

Special education evaluations

Total pending

Past due

AISD ocials announced that over 2,300 special education evaluations were processed in the fall 2023 semester, exceeding the district’s target by 43%. The spring 2024 semester target is 2,055, according to district documents.

decreased by about 83% from January to December 2023. By December, nearly all of evaluations were

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SOURCE: AUSTIN ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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