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Children who ride school buses without climate control will have to continue to endure Louisiana鈥檚 extreme heat and occasional cold snaps. State legislators shelved legislation last week to require buses to have heating and air conditioning throughout the vehicles.

The Louisiana House of Representatives voted 56-43 to kill , sponsored by Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, that would have mandated climate control measures on all buses serving public schools by 2032.

House Republicans, mostly representing rural areas, said their school districts would not be able to afford such a requirement.

鈥淭his is an unfunded mandate that a lot of school boards just cannot bear,鈥� Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, said.

Louisiana鈥檚 school year begins in August, when the heat index can regularly exceed 100 degrees. Many public school systems do not have air conditioning on all of their buses, .

Only two of 44 school buses in Calcasieu Parish have air conditioning, and they are used specifically for special education students. Just a third of the school buses in East Baton Rouge Parish and 79 of 278 school buses in Rapides Parish have air conditioning.

Some jurisdictions 鈥� including Baton Rouge, Jefferson Ouachita, Tangipahoa and Morehouse parishes 鈥� recently used federal grants to purchase new buses with air conditioning. Ascension, Lafayette and Grant parishes also paid this year to air condition their fleets.

State law already requires school buses to be replaced once they reach 25 years old. Purchasing a new bus costs between $50,000 and $200,000, legislative staff said. Heating and air conditioning on a bus increases its cost by $10,000 to $15,000, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.

鈥淢y poor little town is broker than the Ten Commandments,鈥� said Rep. Dewith Carrier, R-Oakdale, who opposed the legislation.

Other legislators said the state needs to be concerned more about the health and welfare of school children.

鈥淟et me ask this question: Who serving in this House doesn鈥檛 have air conditioning in their car?鈥� said Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg, during House floor debate on the legislation. 鈥淲e get it for ourselves. Why not get it for our kids?鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected]. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

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