PHOTO BY HIBOY VIA UNSPLASH.COM
Orange County Public Schools will give families a grace period before enforcing new restrictions on e-bikes and e-scooters, district officials announced Friday at the district’s annual back-to-school news conference at Lake Nona High School.
Under the new micromobility policy, e-bikes and e-scooters are prohibited on school property, with one exception. High school students with a learner’s permit or valid driver’s license can receive an approved e-decal from their school and use the devices, provided they lock them in a designated rack or other approved location.d
Superintendent Maria Vazquez said the district will allow families to adjust to the policy through Labor Day, with enforcement beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8, four days after students return to class for the new year. “They’ll have until the Tuesday after Labor Day to make arrangements, and then after that, we will start to enforce the consequences,” Vazquez said.
The School Board will review the policy after the first nine weeks and consider changes based on feedback. Vazquez said the district is also developing updates to the student code of conduct, with consequences for violations escalating from warnings and parent contact to loss of the privilege to use an e-bike or e-scooter.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said deputies will watch for students operating e-bikes and e-scooters recklessly, speeding or failing to stop at stop signs. The Sheriff’s Office is working with Orange County government on a proposed ordinance addressing micromobility violations, though deputies can already enforce existing traffic laws. Mina said additional deputies will conduct traffic enforcement around schools as classes resume, and he noted that at least one school crossing guard is struck by a vehicle or e-bike each year.
OCPS District Police Chief Bryan Holmes said school resource officers will serve at all traditional OCPS campuses this year and encouraged students, families and staff to report threats or concerning behavior.
