Ohio School Bus Safety Grant Program

The Ohio School Bus Safety Grant Program is a competitive state-funded initiative established by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) in consultation with the Ohio Department of Public Safety. The program was created in response to the Governor’s School Bus Safety Working Group Report released in January 2024, which recommended enhanced safety measures for school transportation. This program is designed to provide financial assistance to eligible educational institutions to repair, replace, or add safety features to school buses in active service, or to integrate these enhancements into the purchase of new school buses. Supported by House Bill 96, the Ohio Legislature appropriated $10 million for the 2025–2027 biennium to implement this initiative. The purpose of the Ohio School Bus Safety Grant Program is to reduce risk in student transportation by helping districts offset costs associated with modernizing safety equipment. This funding ensures that schools can equip buses with technology and devices such as external cameras, crossing arms, lane departure systems, collision avoidance systems, LED lighting, reflective chevrons, and silent panic alert systems connected to emergency response centers. The program allows flexibility for districts to select the safety features most relevant to their needs while considering financial capacity, equity, and compliance with Ohio’s transportation safety standards. Eligible applicants include city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school districts, as well as community schools, STEM schools, chartered nonpublic schools, county boards of developmental disabilities, and educational service centers. Applicants must own the school buses to be enhanced or purchased under the grant. All expenditures must comply with state law and align with the Department’s allowable cost guidelines. Funds may not be used for salaries, indirect costs, or enhancements to non-school bus vehicles. The reimbursement-based funding is distributed through the Department’s ED STEPS online grant management system upon submission of approved cash requests and supporting documentation. The application window opens on October 15, 2025, and closes November 14, 2025, at 5 p.m. Awarded funds must be fully expended by June 30, 2027, and liquidated by September 30, 2027. Applicants must submit a complete application and the required worksheet via ED STEPS; handwritten or emailed submissions are not accepted. Applications are reviewed based on established business rules that assess need, local financial capacity, and the expected benefit of the proposed equipment. Awards may be pro-rated if total requests exceed available funds. Technical assistance will be provided throughout the process via FAQs, webinars, and virtual meetings. Selected grantees must comply with monitoring, evaluation, and reporting requirements to ensure proper use of funds. Grantees are required to maintain equipment inventories, submit interim reports by September 30, 2026, and final reports by September 30, 2027, detailing procurement and installation progress for each approved safety feature. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce reserves the right to audit records and terminate funding if misuse is identified. Questions about the program should be directed to Grant Program Manager Thomas McGee at thomas.mcgee@education.ohio.gov.

Ensure correct ED STEPS roles are assigned and confirm budgeting details with the consultant.