As a result of a new state law that went into effect on Wednesday, Greenwich middle schools, in particular, have prohibited students from having e-bikes and e-scooters on campus. Per state law, in order to drive an e-bike or e-scooter, riders must have an operator's license.
Greenwich middle school leaders started communicating with their communities about how this new legislation is requiring them to prohibit students from bringing e-bikes and e-scooters to campus.
"If a child shows up on an e-bike or e-scooter, parents will be called to come and retrieve the vehicle," Central Middle School Principal Tom Healy said in a Tuesday note to families.
Until Wednesday, Connecticut laws did not acknowledge these vehicles. The new legislation now classifies e-bikes without pedals and with batteries over 750 watts as motor-driven cycles, which requires a driver's license to operate.
An e-bike, once it hits 3,500 watts, is legally considered a motor-driven vehicle.
There are three legal classes of e-bikes, based on how the motor operates and the maximum assisted speed, according to the Greenwich Police Department.
The motor on Class 1 bikes engages only when the rider uses the bike's pedals, and they can only go up to 20 mph. These bikes do not have a minimum age for their riders. Class 2 e-bikes have a motor that engages when a rider uses the pedals or a throttle and can only go up to 20 mph. There is also no minimum age requirement for riders of these bikes. For class 3 bikes, the motor engages when the rider uses the pedals. These bikes can go up to 28 mph, and a rider must be 16 years old or older to use these e-bikes.
The new state law also requires all e-bike riders, no matter their age, to wear a helmet when operating the vehicle, GPD said.
According to Greenwich Public Schools, other middle school leaders are joining Healy in reminding families of this new legislation and how it impacts students who may have previously ridden to school on one of these vehicles. Western Middle School leaders, for example, are also planning to stress the importance of students not bringing e-bikes or e-scooters to campus in a Friday note, according to Jonathan Supranowitz, the district's director of communications.
Regardless of whether a middle school will be sending a formal note to families, Supranowitz said officials "are encouraging their students to follow the law."
In his Tuesday note, Healy said that "the Greenwich Police Department informed us that any violations of this new law can result in police confiscation of the e-bike or e-scooter and a juvenile summons to court."
This story includes prior reporting by Staff Writer Jordan Nathaniel Fenster.
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