OVERLAND PARK, Kan — Blue Valley elementary and middle school students will no longer be allowed to use electric scooters or e-bikes on or near district property beginning Jan. 1.
During this week’s school board meeting, the district shared video showing large groups of middle school students riding e-bikes and electric scooters near 159th Street and Metcalf Avenue, a wide and busy intersection in the Blue Valley area.
District administrators said the growing use of these bikes has led to concerns about speeding, property damage, and collisions.
Those concerns were underscored by an incident last week involving a middle school student riding an electric scooter near 159th and Horton Streets. According to the district, the student crossed the intersection without looking and collided with a car.
The student was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.
For now, the district said the new restrictions will apply only to elementary and middle school students because administrators have not seen the same issues at the high school level.
“High school kids like to drive cars and they don't see them as particularly cool,” Blue Valley Director of Safety and Security Dan Carney said. “So, we thought, well, let's stair step then. Let's go with elementary and middle. We'll continue to evaluate.”
Carney said the district could eventually extend the restrictions if similar problems begin happening among high school students.
“I kind of hope not,” Carney said. “I hope that by the time we hit high school, the maturity level's up.”
Over the next several weeks, the district plans to remind parents and families about the changes ahead of the Jan. 1 start date. Additional signage will also be placed at elementary and middle schools to alert students and families about the new restrictions.
