Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton says an Ohio woman convicted of a felony for using her father’s address to enroll her children in a neighboring school district should be “saluted, not arrested.”

Sharpton spoke to a cheering crowd of about 300 people at a rally for Kelley Williams-Bolar on Thursday in Akron, a struggling industrial city south of Cleveland. The New York City-based activist says the issue of obtaining “equal education” shouldn’t be criminalized.

Williams-Bolar spent nine days in jail for falsifying documents to enroll her daughters in the Copley-Fairlawn schools from 2006 to 2008. She said she wanted a safer school environment.

The felony record could rule out her goal of becoming a teacher.

Republican Gov. John Kasich has asked the state Parole Board to review her case.