Transition to Electric School Buses in DuPage

By Janet F Guider

"The environments we create and experiences we provide for young children and their families affect not just the developing brain, but also many other physiological systems."*

Reflecting on the Clean School Bus journey we embarked on nearly a year ago, it's heartening to see the progress made for a healthier environment for our students and community. The initial disconnect highlighted the need for educators to recognize the importance of clean, healthy air in education. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating a conducive learning environment, it's becoming increasingly clear that environmental scientists play a crucial role in enlightening educators, physicians, and policymakers about the link between many adult-onset and chronic illnesses and early childhood exposures or experiences. This underscores the importance of our role in advocacy efforts.

Health risks to our students include behavioral and mental health, consequences linked to stress, respiratory problems, and disease sequela associated with pre-existing co-morbidities many students live with. These are further complicated by the pervasiveness of air particulates related to the adverse health effects of diesel fumes.

Over the past year, we've worked tirelessly across DuPage County in close collaboration with the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), the River Prairie Group/Sierra Club, Equity in Health Advisors Network, Inc. (EHAN), and more recently, Power DuPage. Together, we are advocating for the US and Illinois EPA to prioritize replacing diesel-fueled buses designated for our students with special needs through a social justice lens. Yes, shifting to a clinical base with a more significant benefit to our students must be a priority instead of simply retiring older buses. This collective effort is a testament to our shared commitment to the health and well-being of our students.

On March 11, 2024, we hosted a well-attended breakfast at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, Illinois, greeted by Dan Hebreard, President of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, and numerous stakeholders. Several political operatives across the County, Adam Forker, Executive Director, DuPage County Health Department, DuPage County's Regional Office of Education, Amber Quirk, superintendent, other school superintendents, representatives from the State of Illinois, Birth-to-Five program, Illinois EPA, and the US EPA joined us. For some attendees, it was their first ride onsite on an electric school bus and a courtesy from Lion Electric.

Even as Sierra Club members, we are learning the serious business of facilitating improvements to our environment using evidence-based research to acknowledge intersectionality and integrate practice with policy, particularly through the social justice lens in a public health framework.

Janice F Guider MPH CHES®

RPG/Sierra Club

Environmental Health and Justice

 

*National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2020). Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body: Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health Are Deeply Intertwined: Working Paper No. 15. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu