E-bikes are increasingly common on Santa Barbara streets, and more students will be required to learn the rules before riding them to school.
The Santa Barbara Unified School District is expanding its e-bike safety, registration and permitting program for the 2026-27 school year.
All district junior high schools, along with several high schools, are implementing the full program.
Fernando Tessari, owner of EBIKERY, said more education about e-bike laws and safety is needed.
“A lot of people don’t understand what the laws are,” Tessari said. “A lot of people will come in here and say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know my bike was illegal.’”
Under the district program, students who bring an e-bike to campus must complete safety education with a parent or guardian, register the bike and receive a permit.
The district says students should wear a properly fitted helmet, ride without passengers, keep both wheels on the ground and walk their e-bikes on campus unless a designated riding route is provided.
The program also focuses on making sure the e-bikes themselves comply with California law.
“Even if it goes 20 miles an hour but it is super powerful, that should not be on the street, and that’s one of the issues that we find,” Tessari said.
California law allows Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes to be operated by students. Class 3 e-bikes can only be operated by riders who are 16 or older.
The district says electric motorcycles, dirt bikes and modified devices that do not meet the legal definition of an e-bike are not allowed on district property.
Santa Barbara resident Victoria Frost said safety education is especially important as bicycles become more powerful and faster.
“When we were kids, we had to take a bike safety course,” Frost said. “Nobody is taking a bike safety course with motorized bicycles.”
Santa Barbara Unified is now expanding e-bike safety courses to more schools.
“I totally agree,” Frost said. “We had bike safety week at junior high school and high school.”
Resident Robin Schwartz also supports the expanded safety measures.
“We support as much safety as we can give younger people or anybody,” Schwartz said.
