Orange County School Board considers ban on e-bikes, e-scooters at K-8 schools
Spectrum News 13 | By: Keith Landry | July 8, 2026
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County School Board is considering a plan to ban e-bikes and e-scooters on K-8 campuses, with some limits on high school campuses as well.
School board leaders say if the ban passes, it would be phased in over a couple of months at the beginning of the upcoming school year. They want to make sure students are safe on campus.
Even during summer break, you’ll find e-scooters and e-bikes at Avalon Middle School. Many students ride them to and from school.
Katherine Rodriguez is a sixth-grade teacher in Brevard County. She recalls a student who was injured while riding one.
“He hit a fence going pretty fast, and he was going like 30 miles per hour,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez supports Orange County Public Schools’ plan, which only allows high school students with driver’s licenses to bring those devices to school.
Orange County School Board member Angie Gallo represents District 1 and says too many young people are going to the emergency room after crashes.
“We’re seeing kids without helmets. We’re seeing kids who are jerry-rigging bikes to make them go faster,” Gallo said. “They’re going at high speeds. They’re not following the rules of the road.”
Gallo added that it will be up to school administrators to enforce the bans and acknowledges that this will be challenging with all their other duties. She also understands there might be some pushback to the ban from parents claiming this is an overreach.
“I think that we’re putting a band-aid on a bigger issue, and we need ordinances that will help fix the problem,” she said.
At least two Florida school districts already have e-scooter and e-bike policies. Hernando County requires helmets for students under age 16 and requires a vehicle motor to be less than 750 watts.
Rodriguez praised Orange County for trying to keep students safe on motorized vehicles.
“I think it’s caused a lot of kids to get bad injuries,” Rodriguez said.
Gallo hopes the district will create videos and materials to teach students about riding safely. The school board could make revisions to the plan at its July 21 work session and could take a final vote at its July 28 board meeting.
School officials say they are still determining how they would discipline students who repeatedly don’t follow new rules.
