Moms For Liberty Presents RESTORATIVE JUSTICE 101

Press Release – 

Grassroots organization Moms for Liberty – Williamson County (MFL-WC) presents “Restorative Justice 101 (RJ 101),” occurring on Tuesday, January 24th, at 6:00 PM, at Generations Church, 408 Church Street, in downtown Franklin.

RJ 101 is part of the chapter’s “2022-2023 School Year for Parents” initiative, focusing on one critical issue in Williamson County Schools per month.  The January focus is on “Restorative Justice” practices that have been implemented in school systems nationwide, across Tennessee, and in Williamson County Schools.  This event offers parents and citizens a “crash course” on this topic. 

“Have you wondered how horrific school shootings such as the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that cost 17 lives came about?” asks MFL-WC chapter chair, Robin Steenman, “Was it an unforeseeable tragedy, or were warning flags and opportunities missed or ignored that could have prevented it?  How has school disciplinary policy changed since in the last ten years?  Are kids safe?  Are teachers safe?  Could something like this happen in Williamson County?  We believe these questions are crucial.”

RJ 101 will feature two incredible speakers who can provide answers on this topic: Mr. Ryan Petty and Mr. Max Eden.

Ryan Petty lost his daughter, Alaina, in the tragic school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day 2018.  Since then, Ryan and his wife, Kelly, have been actively involved in the public policy arena as advocates for improving school safety, through early identification, and intervention of potential threats.  Ryan was appointed in March 2018 by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission.  Ryan was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida State Board of Education in January of 2020.  Ryan is also a board member of Stand with Parkland and is the co-founder of The Walkup Foundation (walkupfoundation.org), an organization whose mission is to protect children & teachers at school through the support of evidence-based policies and programs.

Max Eden is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on education reform, specifically K–12 and early childhood education. He was also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.  Mr. Eden is the coauthor of “Why Meadow Died: The People and Policies That Created the Parkland Shooter and Endanger America’s Students” (Post Hill Press, 2019) and the coeditor of  “The Every Student Succeeds Act: What It Means for Schools, Systems, and States” (Harvard Education Press, 2017).  Mr. Eden has testified about school violence before Congress and about the “school-to-prison pipeline” before the US Commission on Civil Rights and has been widely published on these issues.

Tickets are $15. Purchase online at: https://momsforlibertywc.org/events/rj101.

For a comprehensive list of events and resources visit the Moms for Liberty – Williamson County site online at MomsforLibertyWC.org.