The Cost for Putting Air Conditioning on School Buses in Louisiana

It's a new school for many in Louisiana and yes it is very hot as kids return to their respective campuses.

The extreme temperatures across the region aren't going away anytime soon, and for those students who ride school buses to and from school, some will have to endure uncomfortable conditions while on their bus.

For years parents have asked why all school buses aren't air-conditioned and now some school districts are taking it upon themselves to retrofit all buses with AC and Heat.

As you may imagine it is not an easy task to get all school buses equipped with AC and Heat, plus there is a very steep price in doing so.

KLFY News 10 reports that in Lafayette Parish, 115 buses are currently equipped with air conditioning units. Another 42 buses are being worked on now and they expect those buses to have AC units on them within the next 12 to 13 weeks.

One parent I spoke to on social media told some that her child rides a school bus without an AC unit and when he returned home after his first day, he was drenched in sweat.

If you're wondering why all buses in Louisiana don't have air conditioning on them by now, well, there was a Senate bill that would have made heating and air conditioning systems mandatory on all school buses, but the bill did not pass the House of Representatives.

The politicians we elected did not see a reason to require or mandate that all school buses in the state of Louisiana have air conditioning and heating.

As for the cost to install AC and heating on buses in Lafayette Parish, it costs $13,000 per school bus.

So, if your child rides a bus to and from school without air conditioning, I'd recommend that they have a sufficient amount of water on them as they return home after school.

We hope you and your children have a great 2024-25 school year.