{"id":237504,"date":"2026-03-26T13:04:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237504\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T13:04:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:04:07","slug":"sacramento-schools-consider-stricter-rules-for-e-bikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237504\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento schools consider stricter rules for e-bikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

San Juan Unified is one of several Sacramento-area school districts grappling with e-bike and e-scooter regulation. District leaders say they want to keep students safe, without making it more difficult to get to school.<\/p>\n

Officials say collisions involving e-transportation and youth have skyrocketed in recent years. Risks escalate, they say, with minors not wearing helmets.<\/p>\n

Neighboring districts, including Elk Grove Unified, have increased education and enforcement of e-transportation on campuses.<\/p>\n

San Juan Unified is grappling with a safety epidemic plaguing school districts across the Sacramento region \u2014 electric bicycles.<\/p>\n

The problem is not only e-bikes, officials said. Students are also speeding to and across campuses on electric scooters and motorized skateboards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re kids, they think they\u2019re invincible,\u201d said Tanya Kravchuk, San Juan Unified school board president.<\/p>\n

In a meeting Tuesday, school board members weighed three potential options for regulating these increasingly popular modes of transportation. <\/p>\n

On one side of the scale, trustees are considering keeping rules as is and increasing education for students. At the other end of possibilities, the district may implement a blanket ban on any electric transportation, except for licensed high schoolers.<\/p>\n

The board plans to hold a public discussion in April and then decide on any policy changes in May.<\/p>\n

\"E-BikesAn electric bike parked at Mira Loma High School on March 25, 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

More e-bikes, more crashes across California<\/p>\n

Collisions involving electric transportation and youth have jumped significantly throughout California, according to data district officials obtained from the state\u2019s traffic reporting system.<\/p>\n

There were 184 crashes in 2018. Last year, the number swelled to 4,389.<\/p>\n

In Davis last month, 60-year-old Julie Veress died in a collision with an e-bike operated by a minor.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers have introduced half a dozen bills that attempt to regulate e-bikes and e-motos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s one week after another we\u2019re seeing these tragedies,\u201d Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-San Ramon, author of one of the bills, previously told Abridged.<\/p>\n

\"Memorial\"A bicycle reflector marks a memorial for Davis cyclist Julie Veress, who died following a collision with an e-bike operated by a minor on March 2, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

San Juan considers how to protect students<\/p>\n

San Juan officials say they want to act now before tragedy occurs in their district.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there is a catastrophic accident, people are going to look at us and say, \u2018What did you do?’\u201d said Trustee Ben Avey.<\/p>\n

Michael Jones, director of safe schools at San Juan Unified, said the young age of students operating e-bikes or e-scooters means a higher risk level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re unaware of the fact that they are obligated to abide by the rules of the road,\u201d Jones said. Some higher speed e-transportation devices require users to be at least 16 years old, a fact some families may not be aware of, Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a 12-year-old drove into the parking lot in a Honda Accord, we wouldn\u2019t not do something,\u201d Avey said.<\/p>\n

\"E-BikesAn electric scooter parked at Mira Loma High School on March 25, 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Transportation means are limited<\/p>\n

San Juan school board member Manuel Perez is a Sacramento County garbage collector in his day job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see this all the time,\u201d he said during Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cI try to stay away from the schools when I\u2019m working until they\u2019re in session.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perez said he often spots students not wearing a helmet while whizzing by on motorized bikes or scooters.<\/p>\n

While he is in favor of taking action to protect students, he cautioned against a total restriction. \u201cI know a lot of parents, that\u2019s the only way their kids have to get to school,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n

San Juan Unified eliminated the widespread use of school buses in 2011, due to budget restrictions. Since then, families must find other ways to get kids to school (except in specific cases like students with disabilities).<\/p>\n

\"E-BikesMira Loma High School students keep their electric bikes and scooters locked up around campus, March 25, 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Surrounding school districts face similar questions<\/p>\n

San Juan is far from the only school district navigating the e-transportation issue. Neighbors from Elk Grove to Folsom Cordova to Rocklin are either currently debating policies or have recently implemented new regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand students need to get to school. We want students at school,\u201d Elk Grove Unified Superintendent David Reilly told Abridged. \u201cBut we have to keep the kids safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elk Grove Unified partnered with city police and the Sacramento County sheriff in February for a monthlong education campaign. Officials appeared on campuses and distributed \u201cRules of the Road\u201d pamphlets, with information on each e-transportation device.<\/p>\n

Reilly recalled at least two incidents at the start of the year involving students in critical condition after crashing at high speeds on e-bikes without helmets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the fact that they\u2019re referred to as bikes or scooters, kids (think they) don\u2019t need helmets,\u201d Reilly said.<\/p>\n

Following the education campaign, the Elk Grove Police Department shifted to \u201czero tolerance\u201d enforcement. Officers patrol in and around school areas, looking for unsafe or illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters.<\/p>\n

Savannah Kuchar\u00a0is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.<\/p>\n

Daniel Hennessy contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: San Juan Unified is one of several Sacramento-area school districts grappling with e-bike and e-scooter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[5592,121,123,122],"class_list":["post-237504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-feature","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}