Arrested for Education Freedom
from Black Minds Matter PodcastED Hosted by Black Minds Matter
In 2012, Kelley Williams-Bolar of Ohio was convicted of lying about her residency to get her children into a better school district. Williams-Bolar lived in a school district that only met 4 of 26 of school standards and wanted to send her children to the neighboring Copley-Fairlawn School District where all of the school standards were met. She asked her father, who lived in the Copley-Fairlawn School District, to use his address. The Copley- Fairlawn School district hired a private investigator to follow Williams-Bolar and ultimately she was asked to pay $30,000 in tuition reimburse the district for the education her children received since she did not pay taxes in the district; when she was refused to pay, she was charged with a felony (her father, Edward L. Williams, was also charged with a felony). Williams-Bolar was found guilty and sentenced to 10 days in county jail plus three years of probation. She eventually received some help from Ohio Gov. John Kasich who believed "that the penalty was excessive for the offense" and pardoned her, reducing the crimes to two misdemeanors. Kasich, however, qualified his act, by saying, "No one should interpret this as a pass — it's a second chance." Kelley was arrested for seeking a better education environment for her daughters.
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