I could not find anything in the game manual that requires the new license plates to be oriented “right side up” so my kids want to know if they can mount the plates sideways, so the numbers read from top to bottom or bottom to top rather than left to right.
EDIT: the numbers and letters would still be applied to the license plates in the usual slots. They just want to mount the plates turned 90 degrees with respect to the horizon.
The intent of the license plates is to make it easier to identify both the team number and alliance colour. Rotating the plates by 90 degrees seems to be acceptable in meeting this intent, however if the referees or inspectors are having a hard time reading the numbers they may ask your students to reorient the plates.