An Orange County school district bans e-bikes for younger students
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has a new policy this school year that bans kindergarten through 8th-grade students from riding e-bikes on school property and along the perimeter.
"Riding a bicycle or e-bike to school is a privilege, and students are expected to follow the district's safety requirements," NMUSD wrote on its website. It's the first school district in the state to prohibit e-bikes on all its K-8 campuses.
High school students in the district are permitted to ride an e-bike onto campus, but must participate in a safety program provided by the school district.
"We were one of the first school districts to implement a cell phone policy before it was required by the state, so our district is just trying to be proactive and do anything that we believe will benefit students," district spokesperson Annette Franco said.
A study done this year at Rady Children's Hospital Orange County found that e-bike injuries have become the top reason for emergency department trauma visits.
In 2021, there was one trauma patient who suffered an e-bike injury, but in 2025, that number skyrocketed to 201 children admitted with traumatic injuries at Rady Children's Hospital. Doctors say a key takeaway is the increase in internal injuries requiring treatment.
The district's school board president, Leah Ersoylu, said she and fellow board members would receive weekly, and sometimes daily, reports on student e-bike injuries.
Alex Williamson is a mom in the district who thinks that the new policy is too broad and punishes the kids who ride their e-bikes safely.
"The kids have to pass a safety test at the schools right now to ride their bikes, but also educating parents about what kind of bikes are legal," Williamson said.
Her middle school-aged son, Reid, will continue to use his e-bike for transportation, she said.
"I think the kids who are safely riding their e-bikes, their parents are supportive, they're going to ride to school, and they will have a plan," Williamson said.
Michelle Feldman stood firm and didn't allow her son to ride an e-bike to middle school for safety reasons. Now that he's 15 and in high school, he uses it to get to school.
"He definitely realizes that it was the right thing and knows that it was a very difficult decision for us. But he's now, he's you know at an age where he can have that, and it's great, and it's appropriate for his age," Feldman said.
