ORLANDO, Fla. — The school board voted unanimously Tuesday night after a proposal the community has debated all summer. Under the new policy, elementary and middle school students can no longer ride the devices to school. High schoolers can still use them, but only if they have a learner’s permit or driver’s license.
Even then, they can’t ride on campus. They have to walk the device once on school property, register it with the school, and park it in a designated area away from other vehicles.
The district says the change is about safety. Officials pointed to 41 incidents between December and May that left students injured. One was deadly. Thirteen-year-old Colton Remsburg was hit and killed while riding an e-scooter in Lake Nona on Mother’s Day.
But not everyone is convinced that a ban is the answer. Gregory Mason, a father of two, called the decision ridiculous and said kids should be able to get to school without relying on a bus.
“They have them all over the city,” Mason said. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t be able to take it to school.”
For some families, the new rule is more than an inconvenience. Students who live within two miles of their school aren’t eligible for bus service, which means an e-bike or scooter was often the only practical way to get there.
Without it, a middle schooler could face a 45-minute or longer walk each way.
Mason said that leaves parents scrambling to find another option, and in many cases, extra money they hadn’t planned to spend.
“That’s where funds, extra funds that you don’t have, you’ll probably have to try to muscle up and find just to get him to school,” he said.
The district estimates about 12,000 students ride these devices to and from school, and 42 percent of them are middle schoolers, the exact group now barred from bringing them.
Mason also questioned whether the devices are really the problem, arguing that a crash can happen on anything with wheels.
“That type of accident can happen on a regular bike, on a skateboard, or on rollerblades,” he said. “The e-bike is not the issue.”
The policy may still change. The school board says it’s waiting on Orange County commissioners to set their own guidelines for the devices. Once that happens, the board can revisit its decision to ensure the school policy aligns with county rules. For now, the ban takes effect next month.
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