Orange County Public Schools said in Tuesday's workshop session its policy on students bringing electric bikes and other motorized devices to school is working largely as intended, nine weeks into its implementation.
A district survey found 73% of more than 4,500 parents reported no additional challenges for their families. About 75% said the policy had little or no impact on their transportation arrangements, while 17% reported a significant or very significant impact.
Among 97 principals surveyed, 89% rated student compliance as high or very high, and 92% said enforcement was manageable. Nearly half of principals who answered a separate question reported a positive impact on student safety, while 52% said they had not noticed a change.
While emphasizing student safety, school board member Vicki-Elaine Felder said the impact on families was less severe than she expected.
“I'm so grateful for the surveys and especially hearing from the parents that the impact wasn't as deep as I thought it was going to be because they needed their children to be able to have transportation,” Felder said. “We just want to protect the lives of our children, and I'm so grateful for the research.”
The district has registered 1,150 devices across 20 high schools.
Board member Maria Salamanca suggested reminding parents about device safety ahead of the holidays, when students may receive e-moto devices as gifts. The district plans to send that reminder warning against the prohibited devices before Thanksgiving break.
“Many families out there have these devices and don't know that you need a license and all this stuff,” she said. “Could be good before they go into Christmas and maybe start buying devices that they can't use.”
Orange County has a new ordinance that limits e-bike and e-scooter speeds to 10 mph on sidewalks and shared-use paths and 20 mph on roadways and bike lanes. Helmets are required for riders and passengers under 16.
E-motos, or electric motorcycles, are treated as motor vehicles and restricted to roadways.
The district’s safety office is not recommending changes to its current policy.
