Friday Recap August 7th, 2026

My Comment

Well, the votes are in the decisions have been made. There were a few close races and a number that were not. To see the 30,000 foot view go to Williamson Herald. If you want a more granular view AKA, in the weeds, go here to see results by precinct and here by district.

District 10, which is my district, elected the only Democrat in the both the county commission and the school board races. I have met Jody Todd, who will be sitting next to me on the county commission and we share similar concerns with regard to growth and fiscal accountability. I know very little about Jennifer Konyon other than what is on her website . You will see their comments and votes right here in FC for the next four years.

Reality Check

As mentioned above, we now have two Democrats on boards in the county. Williamson County has long prided itself as a dark red county. That is demonstrably changing. While we Republicans have been living as though our Republican majority is a birthright, the Democrats have been organizing, recruiting, training and voting. They are a unified front with a purpose and that purpose is to turn Williamson County blue. Meanwhile, we Republicans are split in a most acrimonious way. Ever since the 2025 re-organization, we have been at odds.

I don't see any point in rehashing what has gone on for the last year and a half, but it must stop. We call ourselves grownups; we call ourselves Christians; we call ourselves conservative Republicans and yet we stay divided with no sign of reconciliation on the horizon. This is shameful behavior and we need to find another way.

We must find a way to become more united. We must enter into meaningful dialogue. We must not let this feud continue because, if we do, we will be handing over the leadership of this county to a surging Democrat party. I for one, will be reaching out all my Republican brothers and sisters to find ways that we might unite with the purpose of keeping Williamson County conservative and Republican.

The Williamson County Fair is going on right now, go here for details

Highlights from this week

Monday, August 3rd

• Williamson County School Board policy committee reviewed 13 policy updates, nearly all required by new state law, introduced by new in-house legal counsel Seth Wilson.

Meetings this past week were:

Monday, August 3rd

School District Policy Committee

 Wednesday, August 5th

Highway Department

Meetings Next Week:

Monday, August 10th

Williamson County Economic Development Council will meet at 1:30 pm in the Executive Conference Room in the County Building at 1320 W. Main St, Franklin. The membership of the council is made up of all the city mayors and city managers as well as the county mayor and chief of staff. For more information, go here

Tuesday, August 11th

Franklin BOMA Work Session will meet at 5:00 pm in the auditorium in the County Building at 1320 W. Main St. Franklin Agenda

Franklin BOMA Board will meet at 7:00 pm in the auditorium in the County Building at 1320 W. Main St. Franklin Agenda

Wednesday, August 12th

Growth Management Round Table will meet at 8:30 am in the executive conference room at the County Building at 1320 W. Main St. Franklin. I have no further information.

Thursday, August 13th

School Board Work Session Agenda Video at 6:00 PM in the Professional Development Center. The PD Center building is located at 1761 West Main Street, Franklin, TN 37064. Video starts at 6:00 pm for live stream and can be watched anytime after that.

Williamson County Planning Commission agenda will meet at 5:30 pm in the auditorium in the County Building at 1320 W. Main St. Franklin.

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The AI program I use is pretty accurate, but it does make mistakes from time to time and I don't always catch them. I provide agendas and videos/audios when I have them available and recommend that you watch the video and follow along with the summary to get the most accurate report.

One of the limitations of AI is that if a participant's name is not called out, then they are listed as participant 1, 2, etc. A limitation with audio, as opposed to video, is that one cannot always identify a person by voice alone. As imperfect as these AI summaries are, they still give a pretty good account of a meeting.

Williamson County School Board

Monday, August 3rd

Policy Committee met Agenda, Video,

AI Summary:

Action Items

• [ ] Participant 13 - Coordinate ABA private pay provider onboarding for start of school year Coordinate all incoming private pay ABA provider requests from families, ensure law requirements are met in the interim before policy is formally approved, and begin working with schools to schedule services without disrupting instruction.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Add district-wide student handbook to annual August board reporting Compile the district-wide student handbook (common consequences by grade band) and send to the board each August alongside the discipline data.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Finalize ABA private pay SOPs and MOU template post-policy approval Once the ABA policy is passed, finalize SOPs and the MOU template, then share with the board.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Bring ABA private pay policy back for second reading in September Bring the ABA private pay policy back for a second reading in September after gathering real-world data on scope, grade bands affected, and any unanticipated issues.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Initiate conversations about replacing social media for sports/club communications Start conversations with coaches and club advisors about moving away from using social media to communicate with students about practices and activities, since not all students have social media access.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Add consequence cross-reference to digital devices policy Add cross-reference in the digital devices policy linking social media/proxy violations to the consequences already outlined in the student handbook/code of conduct.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Research impact of leave policy change on teachers with 15+ years of service Research whether teachers with 15+ years of service who currently earn an extra personal day would lose that day under the new 4-personal/8-sick split, and bring a recommendation (including any budget impact) to the work session.
• [ ] Participant 2 - Add annual Title VI/bullying report to annual board agenda Add the annual bullying/harassment/anti-Semitism report (due to Dept. of Ed. by August 1) to the annual board agenda so the board receives a copy each year.
• [ ] Participant 4 - Flag residency/tuition policy for update to align with military student graduation policy Find the residency/tuition policy and add it to a future agenda to cross-reference the new military student graduation option, so military families can be exempted from tuition requirements.
• [ ] Participant 4 - Revise digital devices policy social media language for clarity Reword the social media prohibition language so it's clear the restriction applies during the instructional day (including field trips and school-sponsored activities during that day), and remove or expand the 'district internet service' limitation so it covers personal devices too.
• [ ] Participant 4 - Update safety plan policy to say 'superintendent or designee' Update the safety plan policy language on lines 13-14 to say 'superintendent or designee' rather than just 'superintendent.'
• [ ] Participant 4 - Review digital devices policy for social media instructional-use exception Review the digital devices policy social media section to determine whether an exception is needed for instructional use cases like social media marketing classes, and bring a recommendation to the work session.

Overview

• Williamson County School Board policy committee reviewed 13 policy updates, nearly all required by new state law, introduced by new in-house legal counsel Seth
• Most policies are first and final reading; two flagged for possible second reading — teacher leave (longevity day question) and ABA private pay providers (complexity, still evolving)
• Key operational changes starting this school year: stronger phone consequences (confiscation on first offense), social media ban during instructional day K–12, classroom evacuation notifications required same day, and ABA private pay providers allowed on campus starting day one
• ABA policy is the heaviest lift — law took effect July 1st, guidelines came out July 10th, district is honoring the spirit of the law now pending final board approval, with Mary Alonzo coordinating all provider requests; board leaning toward a second reading in September
• Teacher leave shifts from 10 sick / 2 personal to 8 sick / 4 personal (same 12 total days); question raised about whether teachers with 15+ years of service lose their longevity personal day — unresolved, staff asked to research and bring recommendation

Board meeting electronic attendance

• New exception added allowing board members to attend electronically when physical attendance is prevented by weather or natural disaster, pulled directly from Public Chapter 52

Agenda and public comment rules

• Policy 1.403 renamed to "Agendas and Public Comment" to reflect two new statutes: agendas must be published at least 48 hours in advance, and public comment at any public meeting may now cover anything germane to the board — not just agenda items
• The 48-hour posting requirement matches existing practice; the broader public comment rule (previously limited to agenda topics at special meetings) is a real change and now applies to both general and special meetings
• Voting meetings only — policy and work sessions are not affected

Credible threat of mass violence policy

• Amendment to last year's statute adds the term "credible threat" with a statutory definition, now reflected in policy
• Any person (student or employee) with knowledge of a credible threat must report it; board receives a quarterly report on credible threats investigated and determined — Participant 2 confirmed the district has been compliant, just hasn't had anything to report

Order of protection safety plans

• New law requires a specific school safety plan when a court order of protection is issued between two students and the family brings it to the school
• All school administrators are directed to call legal when they receive notice of an order of protection; district will consult on every safety plan at the start of the year and may develop a standard format over time
• Participant 1 suggested adding "or designee" to lines 13–14 so the superintendent doesn't have to personally sign every plan — Seth and Participant 2 agreed, change to be made

Family life ed and child trafficking

• New law extends child trafficking instruction to K–12 (previously secondary only); already part of the family life curriculum for secondary, will be delivered by elementary counselors in small group or classroom settings
• Parents will be notified before content is delivered at all grade levels; the policy explicitly prohibits age-inappropriate sexual activity topics in K–5

Teacher personal and sick leave

• State law shifts teacher leave from 10 sick / 2 personal to 8 sick / 4 personal — same 12 total days, just a different split, requiring changes to two separate policies
• Participant 6 raised that teachers with 15+ years of service currently earn 3 personal days and would effectively lose one under the new structure — Participant 2 explained that the longevity day is granted through the MOU (not policy) and under current legal advice cannot roll over into sick leave, unlike the policy-granted days
• Whether to allow the longevity day to roll over is unresolved — Participant 2 offered to research and bring a recommendation, noting any budget impact would need to be assessed before changing the effective date

E-verify, staff conduct, and other brief policy updates

• E-verify policy updated to reflect existing practice now required by law; Ashley Slaughter (assistant superintendent, HR) confirmed all new hires go through the process, documents are verified in person, and the district is audited periodically
• Staff rights and responsibilities policy updated to prohibit educators from engaging in sexually related behaviors with students, extended to cover graduates or former students for 12 months after their enrollment ends or completion of the highest grade level

Interrogations and searches

• New law extends who can conduct a search beyond SROs, school security officers, and administrators to include a school employee designated by the superintendent who has completed specific state-developed training
• District is not designating anyone beyond administrators to start the year; the flexibility is intended for edge cases like a school with only one assistant principal on extended medical leave
• "Or designee" was removed from the authorization language because the statute ties authorization to the principal specifically — Seth confirmed this cannot be delegated, though Participant 2 noted "any principal" (including assistant principals) likely satisfies the requirement
• District's expectation for notifying parents after a search is same day; Participant 1 prefers leaving the statutory "reasonable time" language rather than adding stricter policy language

Title VI antisemitic harassment reporting

• Policy 6.304 updated with statutory language from a Title VI bill (section 47) on handling antisemitic discrimination and harassment investigations
• Participant 6 asked that the annual August 1st report to the Department of Education also be shared with the board — Participant 2 confirmed it's already being pulled and will be added to the annual agenda alongside bullying and harassment data
• Ashley Slaughter confirmed Title VI coordinator is Ashley Slaughter and Title IX coordinator is Jacob Crossno

Wireless device consequences

• District is moving to confiscation on first offense (no warning) once the policy is taught the first week of school, based on feedback from high school principals that stronger early consequences immediately reduced hallway phone use
• Consequence progression: first offense — phone held until end of day with parent communication; second and third offenses — parent must come pick up the phone, with escalating consequences
• Board leaned toward keeping consequences in policy (not just the student handbook) for transparency and to give teachers backing when enforcing the rule; Participant 2 said either approach works and the handbook will reflect consistent consequences by grade band regardless
• Participant 2 plans to share the district-wide student handbook with the board each August, showing consistent consequences across all grade bands for common behaviors

Digital devices and social media ban

• New policy on digital devices (distinct from wireless communications) covers school-provided instructional hardware; district went beyond the statute in two ways: extended K–5 social media ban to K–12, and banned social media use during the instructional day regardless of whether students use district Wi-Fi or their own data
• Participant 5 raised a potential exception for marketing or social media-focused classes — Participant 2 agreed to review the language before the work session to see if a carve-out is needed
• Participant 9 flagged that "school-sponsored activity" in the social media prohibition could be read to cover after-school clubs and sports that use Instagram or similar platforms — Seth and Participant 2 agreed the intent is instructional day only (start bell to end bell) and will clarify the language
• Law took effect July 1st and requires a policy to be in place; board is comfortable with first and final reading, with Participant 2 able to strengthen handbook language in the interim if the board wants more time

Classroom evacuations

• New law defines classroom evacuation (removal of students due to violent, aggressive, or severely disruptive behavior of one student) and requires parent/guardian notification by end of the school day unless an investigation is ongoing
• Every evacuation now requires central office involvement, logging of the occurrence and duration, and communication routed through legal — Participant 2 confirmed this is already being coordinated with Corey
• Board asked for a quarterly or annual report on evacuation data; Participant 1 suggested it be added to the annual reporting dashboard

ABA private pay providers

• New law (effective July 1st) allows licensed ABA providers (BCBAs, RBTs, licensed assistant behavior analysts) to deliver private-pay services to students on school grounds; DOE guidelines came out July 10th with an informational session around July 24th
• District has roughly 15+ families already requesting services; Mary Alonzo (student support services) is the single point of contact coordinating all provider requests, background checks, and MOUs while the policy is finalized
• Private pay services cannot replace IEP services — the law is explicit; Participant 2 flagged that IEP teams must not reduce services just because a private provider is present
• Services are expected to happen alongside students in class (least restrictive environment), not in isolation; providers will work on treatment goals that often overlap with IEP goals — social skills, emotional regulation, academic prompting
• Students without IEPs can receive private pay ABA if insurance covers it; Mary's team will initiate a child find conversation in those cases to ensure families know about special ed evaluation options
• MOU template was provided by the DOE with the guidelines; final SOPs and MOU will be completed once the board approves the policy
• Board leaning toward a second reading in September to allow more time to assess scope, refine the appeals process language, and incorporate early implementation experience; district will operate under the spirit of the law in the meantime

Williamson County Commission Meetings

Wednesday,

Highway Commission met and the only information I have is their agenda

Franklin Board of Mayor and Alderman

For meetings go here.

Election Commission

No meetings this past week or next

If not me, who?

If not now, when?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1)

“We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer gently.” (1^st Corinthians 4:12-13)

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves" (Philippians 2:3)

Blessings,

Bill

pettyandassociates@gmail.com

Community resources

If you like Friday Recap, check out these other grassroots conservative projects!

• Grassroots Citizens of Williamson County Provides free tools and information to help grassroots conservatives exercise their citizenship here in Williamson County.
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• TruthWire Local news and commentary.
• Williamson County Republican Party is one of the most active parties in the state and captures the conservative heart of Tennessee.
• Mom's For Liberty Williamson County is dedicated to fighting for the American family by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.
• Tennessee Stands produces video media, podcasts, and live events, and provides social commentary on relevant issues in our state.
• M4LU is a new site developed by the national Mom's for Liberty but generated right here in Williamson County. The mission of M4LU is to to inform, equip, and empower parents with knowledge, understanding and practical tools.

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