“Children need consequences,” said Brooke Weiss, chair of Moms for Liberty’s Mecklenburg County chapter and vice chair of the state legislative committee. “Restorative justice has been an utter failure. You can’t just send a kid to an office to talk it out and send them back to class with a lollipop.”

But supporters of restorative justice practices say they can reduce out-of-school suspensions and keep more students in school learning and can help students recognize the harms of their actions.

Opposition to school-based health clinics

Moms for Liberty is urging parents to oppose the inclusion of school-based health clinics.

Schools across the country have adopted the Whole Schools, Whole Community, Whole Child model, which can include school-based health clinics. Often called the community schools model, this approach provides a wide range of services to parents, students and employees, including wellness and nutrition information and mental health support.

Speakers called the clinics “dangerous,” saying they’ll allow schools to provide services to students without the knowledge of parents.

“The school-based health clinics are a danger,” said Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty. “Everybody needs to be aware of them. You should be asking your elected representatives about them, asking if they’re putting them in your schools and actively working against them.”

Questions about groups with access in schools

Panelists urged parents to closely monitor what groups are getting access to their children in school.

Mary Summa, general counsel for the N.C. Values Coalition, suggested that parents ask schools which groups are involved with after-school clubs.

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